Sonos has begun a public beta test of a redesigned app navigation system, months after chief executive Tom Conrad first outlined the planned changes on Reddit.
Conrad first shared those plans in a Reddit post in June, months after visible frustration built among Sonos owners following the botched 2024 app relaunch, and he committed to changes that would make the interface easier to learn.
That redesign began rolling out this week as a public, opt-in beta available to anyone running app version 87, with the feature enabled through a new toggle in the Settings menu labelled Enable Improved Navigation.
A tabbed layout and native navigation gestures
The redesigned interface replaces the app’s previous card-based layout with a tabbed structure across Home, System, and Search, natively implemented on both iOS and Android to replace swipe gestures and close boxes that many users had struggled to learn.
Screen transitions now follow standard native patterns as well, and new views slide in from the right while a swipe gesture returns users to the previous screen, a pattern consistent with most other apps on iOS and Android.
The System tab has also gained sorting controls that let owners arrange their speakers and pin favourite devices to the top of the list instead of scrolling through a fixed order.
Volume controls and other beta refinements
Volume control also receives an overhaul, with new plus and minus icons for fine adjustments, a one-tap option to synchronise levels across grouped rooms, and higher-fidelity dragging near the upper and lower limits.
iOS currently carries most of those volume refinements first, with Sonos confirming that equivalent controls will reach Android devices in a future update as testing continues across both platforms this year.
Beyond those headline changes, the update also brings quality-of-life improvements to the Now Playing screen, playlist management, and the app’s layout on iPad, refinements Sonos gathered from beta community feedback over several months.
Sonos is also working on lock screen controls for iOS delivered as a Live Activity, a feature already available to Android users and currently in its own beta phase ahead of a wider rollout that will not require opt-in.
That phased approach reflects how deliberately the rollout has moved, and Conrad has stopped short of setting a firm date, though he expects the navigation to become default by autumn depending on how feedback develops.
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