Ux Feedback On Sonos For Mac
Apple Music and Spotify are the dominant players in the streaming music industry. Spotify just announced they have paid subscribers with 170 million total active users. Apple recently hit.
It’s clear that both companies are a hit with consumers. In fact, the streaming music industry has the music business. I often get asked, how do I choose between Apple Music vs Spotify I’ve gone back and forth on that. In reality, Apple Music and Spotify are both excellent services. I remember paying $20 for a single CD that probably had two good songs.
This time period is the golden age for music fans. We have access to all the music in the world for around $10 per month. Apple Music vs Spotify Pricing Both services are $9.99 per month. Both services offer family plans that cover up to six people for $14.99 per month. Both services provide student plans for $4.99 per month.
Apple also offers a $99 per year plan for single subscriptions. This plan makes the monthly rate $8.25 per month. Spotify has offered this plan on occasion in the past, but it’s just a promotion (instead of an ongoing pricing plan). Spotify made the news recently by offering a bundle with The bundle costs $12.99 per month, and for that you get Spotify Premium plus the entry-level Hulu package. That’s a saving of five dollars on the normal $18 cost.
Sonos Connect:Amp Front. Sonos Connect:Amp - Front. Average Review: (194) Reviews. See all reviews Write a review. Perfect addition to any Sonos.
Spotify Premium subscribers can also trial Hulu for three months for just 99 cents. The downside to this bundle is you can’t use a Spotify family plan or activate any add-ons with Hulu. Spotify and Hulu also offer similar plan that is only $5 per month. In the end, both services are around the same amount of money per month. If you are buying a single subscription, Apple’s $99 per year plan is the way to go. Apple Music vs Spotify Content Comparison When looking at Apple Music vs Spotify, they are both loaded with music. Spotify claims it has over 35 million songs in its library.
Apple claims it has 45 million songs. When it comes down to it, both are loaded with tons of back catalog and current content. Apple Music will have the occasional exclusive album for a few weeks, but most albums usually appear on both at the same time. One aspect where Apple Music has a clear advantage is for content that isn’t available on its service. A feature of Apple Music is iCloud Music Library. This feature lets you add music to iTunes on the Mac or PC, and then it will add it to your library across all your devices.
This feature is helpful if you have a lot of live albums that aren’t available for any streaming service. ICloud Music Library is also handy when a record isn’t available to stream but is to purchase. An example of when this is useful is when Taylor Swift’s most recent album was released. It didn’t appear on Apple Music or Spotify for. If you wanted to buy it as an Apple Music subscriber, you could just purchase it on iTunes and then it would be automatically added to your library. If you are a Spotify user, there is no way to do this. You can still buy it, but it would be inside the Music app on your iPhone vs being inside of Spotify (where the rest of your library is).
Apple Music is also its music video section. Apple now curates playlists of music videos to watch like ‘Today’s Video Hits,’ as well as featuring the latest new music videos and spotlights on particular artists. Music videos have been part of the Apple Music service since its inception, with unlimited ad-free video playback included in the monthly subscription. The updates take the content that was always available and make it more prominent with recommendations and continuously updated editorial, akin to the New Music page for singles and albums. Spotify doesn’t offer music videos. It includes a video section with some exclusive music-related content, though. If music videos matter in your Apple Music vs Spotify comparison, then Apple Music’s videos will be a strong reason to pick it.
One area that Apple could do a lot better is on Beats 1. I love the premise of Beats 1 with DJs who love music and are sharing a lot of new music with the world. I find the premise of it hard to follow. There are no notifications for certain shows (or when artists I follow are going to be doing interviews, etc).
Spotify has been promoting its podcast support recently, and while Apple offers a podcast solution, it’s inside another app. Spotify is touting “one app” for all of your audio content. If you only listen to one or two shows, you might find it useful. Otherwise, you should look at a dedicated app like Apple Podcasts. Outside of a few exceptions, both companies have more content than you could probably ever listen to. Social Experience Both apps offer a social experience that I find well done.
Apple’s social experience is tied to its For You tab. You can follow your friends and will show you what you are listening to. Spotify’s desktop app has a listing that shows what your friends are listening to.
App Experience It feels comical to be critiquing both of these services. Both are good. I probably prefer Apple’s design a tad better, but Spotify isn’t far behind. Here are a few things Apple does well regarding app design:. Tapping on an Artists takes you to a list of the albums you have saved by the said artist.
It’s really easy to add albums to your library and find them later. The Recently Added feature helps keep new albums top of mind. Here are a few things Spotify does well:. Launch screen does a great job of finding your something timely to play (piano music late a night, happy music first thing in the morning, etc). Its browse screen makes it easy to find a playlist for whatever you are in the mood for at the time. The Recently Played section is front and center in the Your Library section.
I have my pros and cons for both of them. They both are close to perfect, but just place priorities on different things. I wish Apple’s For You section was laid out slightly different. Their overall album section could use a lot of work (see Benjamin Mayo’s ).
In Spotify, my number one complaint is that if you go to Your Library Artists, tapping on said artist shows you all the songs you have saved. This section should take you to an album page. It’s clear Spotify would prefer you listen to a playlist or just shuffle that artist’s entire catalog. Apple Music vs Spotify Hardware Support From a hardware support perspective, you could argue both are excellent. Apple Music excels if you are firmly in the Apple hardware ecosystem. If you have Apple TV, HomePod, and Apple Watch, Apple Music has a definite leg up on Spotify.
If you use Amazon Echo devices, Spotify is well-integrated. Apple Music is on everything Apple, and Spotify is on just about everything non-Apple. Both services work with, but Spotify’s integration is a little bit better in my opinion.
You can use the Spotify Connect protocol inside the native Spotify app, but Sonos has a custom Apple Music interface inside its app. Music Curation and Algorithms I saved this section for last because I think it’s critical for a lot of people. Here’s the thing, Spotify’s Discover Weekly is the best recommendation engine I’ve ever seen.
If you are curious how it works, watch the video below. Between Discover Weekly and Spotify’s, you’ve always got personalized music ready to go. Apple has a couple of personalized playlists that update weekly. The first is New Music Mix. It’s similar to Discover Weekly, but not as good. The Favorite Mix is a collection of songs you’ve favorited. Chill Mix is similar to your New Music Mix, but with more relaxing songs.
It’s not that they are bad, but it’s just that Spotify’s are so spot on. This conclusion is obviously personal to me, and you may feel differently. All I know is that Spotify seems to recommend new music that I end up saving to my library more than Apple does.
Apple Music vs Spotify Conclusion There is no wrong answer. I think both services are amazing, and it’s going to come down to a few things. I’ve spent a lot of time with both services, and it’s hard to look at Apple Music vs Spotify and pick a clear winner. It’s just going to depend on your circumstances. Do you want Apple Watch support? Do you want a native Apple TV app?
Do you have/plan to buy a HomePod? If you answered yes to any of those, go with Apple Music. Do you prefer playlists over complete albums? Do you want Amazon Echo support? Do you have a Sonos system?
If yes, I’d say Spotify is the best pick for you. One thing I haven’t mentioned until now is Siri support. Apple Music has relatively deep Siri support, where Spotify is just now beginning to roll out. While I only use it in the car, Siri support for Apple Music is a pretty significant feature. I love both services, and both are worthy of your money. I think for the person who sticks to mostly Apple services, Apple Music is a great solution.
Spotify offers a free version so you could use it for the great playlists and use Apple Music for everything else. Apple Music also offers a three-month free trial. Give both of them a shot to see which one fits you best. For most people, it’s just going to come down to personal preference when choosing between Apple Music vs Spotify. If you want to swap between the two, check out. Can Spotify survive being independent against companies who don’t have to make a profit in the music business (Apple, Amazon, etc)? Scott Galloway of L2, Inc.
Thinks Spotify is the. He also thinks that Apple Music is growing faster than Spotify because it’s abusing monopoly power. CIRP recently reported that, and it said Apple Music was the reason. On the other hand, they recently hit their.
Ux Feedback On Sonos For Mac Download
Apple is said to have more US subscribers now. What do think you? Which do you prefer?
Let me know in the comments (and include why).
For many, a $199 Play:1 might be all they need. On its own it's not a stereo speaker, but it sounds good regardless, with solid fidelity and bass. It's also fairly compact, and 'humidity resistant,' which makes it an option for bathrooms or sheltered patios.
People rolling in cash can pair a couple of Play:1s with a Playbar and Sub to build a 5.1-channel home theater setup. Sonos claims that the 1 'fits in any space,' but in practice it may still be a little big on some shelves, and especially on crowded bathroom counters. People with simple needs and little room might be better off looking at Bluetooth speakers like Logitech's UE line. Sonos's 35-pound behemoth, the Sub. To us the Sub ($699) felt somewhat redundant.
It does indeed offer deeper bass, and can be paired with any Sonos speaker. The Play:1/3/5 line typically offers enough bass though, at least in small- to medium-sized rooms. It makes more sense when paired with the Playbar - since extra punch is welcome in movies - but the Playbar also features strong bass, making it hard to justify the cost unless dealing with an especially large room. Should you go with Sonos?
For a single-speaker setup, we'd say only if a demo unit sounded just that good at the store. A Bluetooth speaker can be just fine, and there are plenty of alternatives supporting Wi-Fi standards like Google Cast and Apple AirPlay - AirPlay is only an option for Sonos with an Apple TV or AirPort Express, it should be pointed out. For a house-wide audio system, there really aren't any options that accomplish so much so easily. Sure, it can be relatively cheap to outfit a home with AirPlay or Chromecast Audio, but the Sonos technology makes setup and grouping ridiculously easy, even without the convenience of combining multiple services in a single app. People building a multi-room system from scratch, then, should at least consider going the Sonos route.
The ultimate decision is whether to hitch to a platform that's so dependent on proprietary technology, or go a more agnostic route. Score: 4 out of 5 Where to buy: The Sonos Play:1 can be bought at B&H for with free expedited shipping and no sales tax on orders shipped outside NY and NJ, or at simply with free shipping. The Play:3 is at B&H.
The Play:5 is $499 from. And share the same price. The Playbar is $699 at.
The is available for the same price from both retailers. Shoppers can also of course, which is luring people with free 2-day shipping with promo code FRE2NDYSHP17 and a 45-day return window. I bought a Play:5 for Christmas and I love the speaker. But I don't care for the software. Unless the music you want to play is accessible through the Sonos app you cannot play it unless you use the analog line in. Which means you need an AirPlay device like an Airport Express or a Bluetooth adapter if you want to stream music from you Mac, iPad or iPhone. But this seems to defeat the advantage of having a WiFi connection to the speaker which the Sonos App uses.
Personally I would prefer to just have a driver installed on the Mac, iPad or iPhone that would allow WiFi access to the speaker no matter what application you want to port the sound from. I use an Airport Express and I have occasional dropouts for some reason I haven't looked into yet. I assume the WiFi connection would be more robust but I haven't really tested it because the music I mainly listen to is not accessible through the Sonos app. My comment here: - I have a Sonos system and can't love it more.
Specially the 1 in my bathroom. Good job on making It 'humidity-proof'. I have a different setup that takes advantage of my amplifier. I have a Sonos Bridge.
With this, I can use my Yamaha sound system. AND, I use Sonos via the Harmony smart remote app on my iPhone.
That's a cool thing for me too. I have a Harnony 'activity' configured so it connects everything.
You need to set up the volume at a constant level, so it sounds well via the amplifier controls. I'm still waiting for Sonos to come up with an Apple Watch integration. At least with a Back and Fast Fiorward button. When I'm in the bathroom I want to repeat song and don't want to bring my iPhone with me. Get a Sonos, it's the best. I bought a Bose wifi with Bluetooth, the one that competes in size and price with Sonos 1, but it's horrible. Audio quality is distorted and it doesn't perform so well.
Can I use Apple's built-in Music app to fully control a whole house Sonos solution? I really wish Apple would double down and improve AirPlay No, you have to connect Sonos to Apple Music via the integration that they provide. Then the UX is pretty similar inside the Sonos app. If your Apple Music subscription is for a single user, you will be able to play from one device at a time. It's happen to me that I'm playing Sonos and then I put on my earphones to start running and get a message that there's another session playing somewhere else, you simple press Play again and that's it.
They improved that in the most recent version of Apple Music, and haven't seen that alert in a while now. The Sonos hardware is excellent sound for the price, given that audio can be exponentially expensive for incremental improvement. The speakers sound great. My top request (and for many others) remains integration of Sonos speakers with AirPlay. Currently there is really no way to do directly, even using 'audio in' from AirPort express to Play 3 or 5, as there is an obvious audio delay - it sounds like you are in a stadium. I am not sure if this is also the case using a Sonos Soundbar. There is a 'hack' in firmware but I am not confident enough in my skills to try.
Perhaps it is a licensing issue from Apple as it certainly not a hardware limitation. So I use the Sonos app which is ok, while I wait patiently for Sonos to add AirPlay. I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to kit out most of my home with Sonos last year, and it's been an absolute delight.
Over two floors my Wi-Fi is a touch flaky upstairs, but that was easily solved by adding a Sonos Boost to my router, which essentially creates a separate network just for the speakers. Using the Controller app for Apple Music isn't quite as nice as being able to use the official app, but I find it works quite well.
Queuing up songs, and then editing the 'up next' queue is just as easy. Grouping multiple rooms for whole-home sound is also dead simple. For me the real advantage over a Bluetooth speaker is the ability to play songs from multiple music services, including local libraries, without having to change apps. That might not matter for some people, granted. I also prefer not having to carry a single speaker around the house, or worrying about connectivity issues if I move around and stray too far. I added the sub to my set up.
The difference when adding a sub to the Playbar is dramatic; it might be overkill for a smaller room, but for a large living room it makes a significant difference. Also, the review states that ' the Play:1 can only be mounted on a stand' - this is not the case, it can be wall mounted like the Play:3 just fine. I bought a Play:5 for Christmas and I love the speaker. But I don't care for the software.
Unless the music you want to play is accessible through the Sonos app you cannot play it unless you use the analog line in. Which means you need an AirPlay device like an Airport Express or a Bluetooth adapter if you want to stream music from you Mac, iPad or iPhone. But this seems to defeat the advantage of having a WiFi connection to the speaker which the Sonos App uses. Personally I would prefer to just have a driver installed on the Mac, iPad or iPhone that would allow WiFi access to the speaker no matter what application you want to port the sound from. I use an Airport Express and I have occasional dropouts for some reason I haven't looked into yet. I assume the WiFi connection would be more robust but I haven't really tested it because the music I mainly listen to is not accessible through the Sonos app.
I have had a Sonos system since 2009. At first I had the same concerns about trying traditional HiFi to Sonos but soon realised that this was missing the point.
Sonos is a modern system that is designed to play your music saved on a computer or network storage disk. This is far more flexible, especially for multi speaker set ups. It can also stream from ApplyMusic, Spotify, Amazon Prime etc. If you want to connect a traditional HiFi system to your Sonos system then the answer is to get a Sonos Connect. I have some Sonos kit and I love it. The Play 1s are best paired and set in stereo. These are a lot better than bluetooth speakers in that they are 'pull', not 'push', i.e.
Ux Feedback On Sonos For Mac Free
I can use my phone to get the music going, but then turn it off/make calls etc with no interruption. Doesn't put a drain on the phone battery either. The SUB redundant?! Not unless you're rocking a pair of Play 5s. I do agree about the Playbar being an excellent all in one option for the budget conscious, (and living in apartments/small house). The Playbar sounds not great to me. Disappointingly so.
Not sure they got the form factor right on that one. I'm looking forward to Alexa integration coming later this year. Once voice controls these puppies, it'll be amazing. Edited May 2017. You have to go through the Sonos app? Sorry, that's not for me.
That makes it a single vendor system and, if I'm going to go with a single vendor, it will be Apple. The same is true for me with car audio: I don't want to invest a lot of money in a manufacturer's proprietary audio and navigation system. Actually, the best for me would be an IPad mini mounted on or in the dash and connected & amplified to the car's speakers.
That way, as software and hardware evolve, I just replace or upgrade a single unit rather than the whole system. I bought a Play:5 for Christmas and I love the speaker.
But I don't care for the software. Unless the music you want to play is accessible through the Sonos app you cannot play it unless you use the analog line in. Which means you need an AirPlay device like an Airport Express or a Bluetooth adapter if you want to stream music from you Mac, iPad or iPhone. But this seems to defeat the advantage of having a WiFi connection to the speaker which the Sonos App uses. Personally I would prefer to just have a driver installed on the Mac, iPad or iPhone that would allow WiFi access to the speaker no matter what application you want to port the sound from. I use an Airport Express and I have occasional dropouts for some reason I haven't looked into yet. I assume the WiFi connection would be more robust but I haven't really tested it because the music I mainly listen to is not accessible through the Sonos app.
I have had a Sonos system since 2009. At first I had the same concerns about trying traditional HiFi to Sonos but soon realised that this was missing the point. Sonos is a modern system that is designed to play your music saved on a computer or network storage disk. This is far more flexible, especially for multi speaker set ups.
It can also stream from ApplyMusic, Spotify, Amazon Prime etc. If you want to connect a traditional HiFi system to your Sonos system then the answer is to get a Sonos Connect. I am talking about music saved on a computer and not traditional media.
I use ITunes. The Sonos controller app will allow me to play some iTunes songs but not others. Apparently it has to do with DRM and I would need to repurchase the songs to play them through the Sonos controller. But I bought the product for the speaker not the app. Why should I need to use their app.
ITunes can directly play all my songs. I just need a driver installed to access the speaker via WiFi. It is the same if I want to watch a video on YouTube while playing the audio through the Play:5. I can't unless I use the analog line in. Is this website SonosInsider now? If Apple bought Sonos I would be interested in this a little bit (more once it was integrated with the Apple products better) but not now.
I'm much more interested in the rumored new Apple product and hoping it scales up to compete with SONOS. Oh look, a complainer. Doesn't like the article, but took time out of his day to come inside and tell us so.
Also seems to be confusing his personal interests with everyone else's in the entire world. Since Sonos is part of the iOS ecosystem, it's relevant. I'm interested and have been curious about the new speakers and models.