Sonos is rolling out a big update to its mobile app today, bringing the popular Live Activities feature to its iOS users. After a tough year marked by messy redesigns and the departure of its top boss, the audio brand is slowly bringing back the tools people actually want to use.
Anyone with an Apple smartphone can now handle their speaker playback right from the lock screen without opening the main app.
You can control your speaker from the lock screen after unlocking
Once you start a song and close the app, the new widget appears on your screen. It shows the current room or speaker group where your audio is playing. When the music stops, the widget hangs around for another fifteen minutes before going away.
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You can view this widget on your lock screen, but you have to unlock your phone with your face or passcode before you can actually tap the buttons. You will also notice that album art is missing from the display right now. The company mentioned it is looking into other ways to make the lock screen experience look better down the road.
The update brings limited support to connected car screens and watches
This new tool works on other screens besides your phone. You will see the widget pop up when you use CarPlay in your vehicle, and it also appears on your Apple Watch. The downside is that the buttons do not work on these smaller screens yet, so you can only use them to see what is currently playing.
If you usually start your music using Bluetooth or other wireless options outside the main app, your normal playback buttons will still work just fine. If you decide you do not want this new widget showing up on your phone at all, you can easily turn it off inside the settings menu.
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