Sonos Controller for iOS gains lock screen control access, new 3D Touch + Split View features, more

Sonos has released a big update to its Controller app for iPhone and iPad that improves the experience on iOS in several ways. Because Sonos speakers stream music from services including Apple Music directly over the Internet and your iPhone or iPad is only used to tell it what to play, the lock screen has lacked playback controls; today’s update works around that on iOS 8 and later. Sonos Controller 6.3 for iOS adds lock screen controls that you can access from iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch for the first time. The new version includes some other new features for Apple’s latest hardware as well:

In addition to now putting playback controls on the lock screen, Sonos Controller for iOS now includes 3D Touch shortcuts from the Home screen that let you jump into specific parts of the app. Quickly go to the play screen, your favorites page, or access search with a deep press of the Sonos Controller icon on iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

The update also includes multitasking enhancements for iPad users with iOS 9. Split View and Slide Over are both supported so you can run Sonos Controller and other Split View apps side by side or pull Sonos Controller over any app for a quick interaction.

Sonos says it has also improved the Trueplay tuning process, which optimizes your Sonos speakers for the best sound based on their placement in the room. Speakers that have already been tuned and haven’t moved won’t need any attention, but you should notice this improvement the next time you go through the Trueplay tuning process.

Check out the full release notes below:

Quick Control from iOS Lock Screen

See info about track you’re grooving to. Turn it up. Pause. Skip forward or back. All from your iPhone or iPad lock screen. No ‘unlock’ required. Works with iOS version 8.0 and higher.

Richer Sound for Rhapsody and Napster

Rhapsody and Napster now stream at higher bitrates. That’s geek speak for more bits of audio data coming through. Which translates into more vibrantly detailed sound. We’ve also given the UI a little facelift. Looks cooler, IOO. Hoping you agree.

Peek and Pop Nav

Got an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus? Gently press your Sonos app–Play, Favorites and Search controls appear. Once you’re in the app, swipe up for quick access to additional menus. You can use Peek and Pop to jump to any content in your Sonos app a lot faster than drilling down, screen by screen.

Double Your Fun with Split View and Slide Over

You can now open other apps right alongside Sonos using the iOS features Split View and Slide Over. Use Split View to check music blogs while building a playlist. Or Slide Over to fire up some tunes then get back to your emails. Split View works with iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 4. Slide Over works with iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, and iPad mini 2 or later.

Trueplay Tuning Simplified

Trueplay is an amazing pro level tool that helps you tune your speaker to sound great, no matter where you put it or how you position it. To make it easier for Sonos owners to take full advantage of Trueplay, we’ve simplified the tuning process. If you’ve already Trueplay tuned your speaker and you haven’t moved it since, you won’t need to retune it after this update. If you haven’t tuned your speaker yet, this update will make it even easier.

“System Not Found” Bug Work.

We’re sorry so many of our owners encountered that nasty “system not found” error in our last update. Should it rear its nasty head, you’ll find it’s much easier now to either fix it yourself, or connect directly with us so we can fix it together.

Help is Just a Tap Away

You can now reach Customer Care directly from the Main Menu of your phone or tablet’s Sonos app. Got a question or a sticky situation? Just tap Help.

System Requirements

Sonos software version 6.3 supports the following OS versions:

Android: Android 2.2 and higher (certain features need higher versions of Android)

iOS: iOS 7 and higher (certain features need later versions of iOS):

• iPhone 4 or later
• iPod touch (5th generation or later)
• iPad 2 or later

Macintosh®: Mac OS X 10.7 and higher

Windows®: Windows® XP SP3 and higher

A Final Note of Warning

Running iOS 6 or earlier? Your iPhone or iPad will find Sonos 6.3 too hot too handle. This might be a good time to upgrade your iOS device before attempting to install this update.

Sonos Controller 6.3 for iPhone and iPad is available now on the App Store. For more on Sonos, check out our Play:5 review and coverage including a Q&A with Sonos CEO John MacFarlane.