Still frustrated with the Sonos app? People have been making alternatives using AI, so solve long-standing annoyances — and some are pretty damn cool | Tech Radar

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Still frustrated with the Sonos app? People have been making alternatives using AI, so solve long-standing annoyances — and some are pretty damn cool

The likes of Claude and Chat GPT have unleashed a new wave of creativity among Sonos super-users

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Sonos customers have been AI-generating alternatives to the Sonos app

Some look pretty cool in design, and offer easy access to features

They won't all be easy to set up and run yourself, though

The Sonos app continues to be a controversial point for people. After a 2024 app overhaul annoyed basically every customer with bugs and missing features, and 2025 fixes only barely addressed the problems, owners of the best Sonos speakers started looking for alternative solutions.

A game changing Sonos app update in March fixed a lot of the problems, with new company CEO Tom Conrad explaining to us what went wrong in the first place. But the app doesn't go far enough for some users, who want to make their own alternatives, either to improve functionality or just because they've had a tool idea.

Using the power of vibe coding (or regular coding in some cases), there's been a spate of Reddit-posting Sonos owners creating their own alternative control apps or tools, and some of them look pretty neat.

Sonos is planning yet another app overhaul — so be ready

Sonos has finally fixed one of its app's major annoyances on Android

Sonos launches 2 new speakers, and CEO Tom Conrad tells us all about them

Some user-made Sonos apps are simple, and for specific functions. Take, for example, Hello Atmos, made by user u/Adrian Tubbly. This scans your Spotify playlist to see which of your songs are available in Dolby Atmos on Apple Music, so you can choose to play spatial audio tunes via the Sonos app.

I created a Webapp to scan Spotify playlist for Dolby Atmos songs. from r/sonos

Others are graphical overhauls. I like u/chat Mueller's Sonoshaus, which overhauls the Sonos app to look like a vintage stereo receiver. Sure, the designer themselves admits it looks a little AI slop-esque, but it's a neat alternative way to control your speakers without changing how the app works, and who doesn't prefer playing with a physical-looking control rather than sliding a dot up a line?

Sonoshaus - Vibe Coded a Vintage Stereo Receiver Sonos Controller from r/sonos

There are some apps out there that are unabashedly Sonos app alternatives. A user called u/Sense Choice 7969 used Claude Code to make an app called Arc Controller, which brings loads of functionality for Sonos' high-end soundbar: you can set up sound profiles with custom combinations of volume, EQ and subwoofer use, all of which can change when you toggle them or at specific times.

The user explains how they could have added more functions, but they "just needed quick access to the settings I actually change". And now they're pledging they're "never opening the Sonos app again unless I'm applying a software update".

I used Claude Code to build a custom Sonos Arc controller and I'm never going back to the Sonos app!! from r/sonos

For the Mac OS users, another user called u/Un Traditional_Speed built a Sonos controller that manages your speakers and playback via your computer (and, I must note, doesn't appear to be vibe coded based on what the creator has said. But it feels appropriate to include here anyway). The app has support for various languages, dark mode and accent colors, and it works with various music sources.

Native mac OS Sonos controller — open source, Apple Silicon, v 2 update from r/sonos

Sonos' app is coming on leaps and bounds, but since it's so easy to turn your preferences into an alternative using AI, we'll likely continue to see people home-brewing their own.

But Sonos would do well to take a peek at some of the above, to see if there are any features it can pinch for its own software. However, it's unlikely that people will be flocking to swap the app for these tools — most are available via Github, meaning you need to build them yourself to run on your computer, and that's not most people's speed. But, for the enthusiasts, it might be worthwhile.

Vibe coding, like any other use of generative AI, is fraught with perils: studies suggest the quality of vibe-coded apps is low, the practice has been accused of killing open-sourced software, and there are reports of vibe-coded apps having massive security flaws. But if you want functionality that the base app won't provide, you gotta do what you gotta do.

➡️ Read our full guide to the best soundbars

Best overall: Samsung HW-Q800F
Best budget: Sony HT-S2000
Best premium all-in-one: Klipsch Flexus Core 300
Best Dolby Atmos surround system: Samsung HW-Q990F

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Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond Tech Radar, he has bylines on sites including Games Radar, Digital Trends, Android Police, Tech Advisor, Whatto Watch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the Tech Radar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.

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Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards