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Sonos is finally opening its great speakers to Spotify's app

Sonos is finally opening its great speakers to Spotify's app

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You're not stuck with the Sonos Controller app anymore

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Sonos is beginning to open up its popular line of home audio speakers to third-party subscription music apps — starting with the biggest one. Today at an event in New York City, Sonos revealed that users will soon be able to control its devices directly through Spotify both on desktop and mobile. A beta of the new feature will launch in October.

In today's demonstration, Sonos speakers appeared in the Spotify Connect menu and could also be easily grouped by hopping back into the Sonos app. But that's not necessary anymore; you can ignore the Controller app completely if you so desire. "For many companies, sending people outside their app would be out of the question," said Sonos software VP Antoine Leblond. But one of the company's top priorities today is convenience, and this aligns perfectly with that. Spotify can take control of Sonos hardware both over Wi-Fi and cellular data connections.

For those who listen to their music with other services, Sonos has committed to bringing the same "direct control experience" to any streaming partners that want the functionality. Pandora has already announced plans to implement Sonos controls within its app. "We’ve collaborated with Sonos for years to create a delightful, personal in-home experience for Pandora listeners," said Tim Westergren, Pandora CEO. "Using your Pandora app to control Sonos will take this unique music experience one step further – making it easier to use than ever before. We’re excited to continue our quest with Sonos for the ultimate home music solution.” There haven't been announcements as to specifically when Pandora, Google Play Music, Tidal, and other services will be able to control Sonos speakers.