Sonos Trueplay Now Works With iPhone 14 Models

[MacRumors]

Sonos today updated the Trueplay feature available for the Sonos app, allowing Trueplay to work with iPhone 14 models. Trueplay uses the iPhone to take a scan of the room where a Sonos product is located, measuring how sound reflects off of walls, furnishings, and surfaces in the area.

Trueplay is designed to use that information to fine tune a Sonos speaker or device to optimize the sound output. A three minute process, Trueplay can be done through the Settings tab of the Sonos app on iOS devices.

Since the launch of the iPhone 14 models, Trueplay has not been available, which means iPhone 14 users with Sonos speakers and no other iPhone have not been able to use the tuning feature. Sonos implemented over-the-air support as of today, so Trueplay is able to work with the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

All Sonos products support Trueplay with the exception of the Port, Connect, and Roam SL.

(Thanks, Steve!)

Article Link: Sonos Trueplay Now Works With iPhone 14 Models

 

[KrisLord]

I find it really odd that it didn’t already work with the 14. I wonder what the issue was?

 

[mmendoza27]

It's annoying but they go through this every year. I believe it's because of how finely tuned the usage of the microphones are but newer devices aren't supported with TruePlay until a software update later in the year. I had to use my wife's iPhone 13 Pro Max to set up TruePlay about 2 months ago.

 

[Kabeyun]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

 

[rgwebb]

I find it really odd that it didn’t already work with the 14. I wonder what the issue was?

It's not really anyone's "fault"

Sonos has to do a great deal of testing to tune their algorithm to the specific characteristics of the phone's microphones and it just takes time.

 

[FoxyKaye]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

I'm a Sonos fanatic, and I'm not even sure what Trueplay does for the room in which we have our home theater. Maybe it sounds, "better," or maybe it's a placebo? The speakers are incredible, however, and occasionally during a movie the surround is so real it convinces our dog someone's outside, or it literally "feels," like something is moving through the room. So, maybe Trueplay works? I'm just not sure I could tell the difference.

 

[RoarinRow]

I've had to use my daugher's iPhone 11 in order to use Trueplay lol.

 

[PauloSera]

I'm a Sonos fanatic, and I'm not even sure what Trueplay does for the room in which we have our home theater. Maybe it sounds, "better," or maybe it's a placebo? The speakers are incredible, however, and occasionally during a movie the surround is so real it convinces our dog someone's outside, or it literally "feels," like something is moving through the room. So, maybe Trueplay works? I'm just not sure I could tell the difference.

I don't know about that. I've jacked up the volume on my surrounds just to get them to do anything. Even with a good 5.1 source, I feel like they are under utilized. It's a rather disappointing experience when what you want is surround sound and 90% of the audio comes from a couple center channels on the soundbar. I just don't agree with that kind of multi channel experience.

 

[testcard]

I had to run Trueplay on my iPad last week after moving house and setting up my Beam and a couple of Play:1s again. Good to know I can do it on my 14 in the future.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I'm a Sonos fanatic, and I'm not even sure what Trueplay does for the room in which we have our home theater. Maybe it sounds, "better," or maybe it's a placebo? The speakers are incredible, however, and occasionally during a movie the surround is so real it convinces our dog someone's outside, or it literally "feels," like something is moving through the room. So, maybe Trueplay works? I'm just not sure I could tell the difference.

I was somewhat skeptical myself. However, you can reset to factory and then listen to a few things... then use Trueplay to do its thing and listen to the same things. I definitely notice a fairly meaningful difference. I didn't expect it to be dramatic but I would claim dramatic to my ears and for my purposes (which is mostly music).

Of course, in a "blind" test, someone could manually change EQ and fool someone that a Trueplay-type process was run. But the idea here is that maybe a program can "listen" within each owners room to tweak settings to try to make these speakers sound as good as they can in that room.

This kind of idea has been around for a long time. A receiver I bought about 10+ years ago came with a long wire to a mic that was supposed to be put in the prime listening position to auto-adjust my speakers to optimal listening from that spot. iPhones now claim to do AppleTV video calibration for TVs (usually a multi-hundred dollar service by an in-home tech). HomePods claim to do the same for audio. I give Sonos some faith (too) that they can actually squeeze more out of their speakers by this process. Else, my discerning ears are effectively fooled by using it.

Given that it is FREE, even if it is a placebo, Sonos owners can easily give it a try themselves and hear or not hear a difference. No big loss either way... but possibly a gain- imagined or actual- like using an iPhone to adapt AppleTV video quality... and all of the "magic" we mostly accept accomplished by HomePods.

 

[atomic.flip]

I'm a Sonos fanatic, and I'm not even sure what Trueplay does for the room in which we have our home theater. Maybe it sounds, "better," or maybe it's a placebo? The speakers are incredible, however, and occasionally during a movie the surround is so real it convinces our dog someone's outside, or it literally "feels," like something is moving through the room. So, maybe Trueplay works? I'm just not sure I could tell the difference.

I could explain what Trueplay is intended to do here but I feel this would be a great opportunity to share Peter Pee's YouTube channel. He does brilliant dives into Sonos (and other audio tech) and he doesn't make you wait till the end of his videos for the "answers" to questions. He gives you a summary and then goes into details for those who really want that. An honest audio engineering evangelist. (And I have no affiliation, just respect from another audio engineering professional.)

https://www.youtube.com/c/peterpee

Within a number of his Sonos focused videos he covers Trueplay function and implementation.

 

[bodonnell202]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

I've found with my Sonos setup that Trueplay consistently leads to a brighter sound. For music I actually tend to avoid using Trueplay, but I do use it on my surround sound sytem.

 

[Nozuka]

I almost returned my new Arc before i tuned it with Trueplay.
Night and day difference for me.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

Consumers are lucky if anything works with the iPhone 14. What a dud out of the gates. Glad Sonos could work around Apple's shortcomings.

 

[Docsta80]

I'm a Sonos fanatic, and I'm not even sure what Trueplay does for the room in which we have our home theater. Maybe it sounds, "better," or maybe it's a placebo? The speakers are incredible, however, and occasionally during a movie the surround is so real it convinces our dog someone's outside, or it literally "feels," like something is moving through the room. So, maybe Trueplay works? I'm just not sure I could tell the difference.

Yep. I have Sonos literally in every room of the house. Can’t beat it. Love them.

 

[rahulr]

Sonos today updated the Trueplay feature available for the Sonos app, allowing Trueplay to work with iPhone 14 models. Trueplay uses the iPhone to take a scan of the room where a Sonos product is located, measuring how sound reflects off of walls, furnishings, and surfaces in the area.

Trueplay is designed to use that information to fine tune a Sonos speaker or device to optimize the sound output. A three minute process, Trueplay can be done through the Settings tab of the Sonos app on iOS devices.

Since the launch of the iPhone 14 models, Trueplay has not been available, which means iPhone 14 users with Sonos speakers and no other iPhone have not been able to use the tuning feature. Sonos implemented over-the-air support as of today, so Trueplay is able to work with the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max.

All Sonos products support Trueplay with the exception of the Port, Connect, and Roam SL.

(Thanks, Steve!)

Article Link: Sonos Trueplay Now Works With iPhone 14 Models

This is a poorly reported headline. Sonos always works with every model. You just can’t use the true play tuning feature with the 14. It was the same with the 13, the same with the 12, and the same with android.

You don’t trueplay frequently, frankly it’s not a big deal.

 

[crisss1205]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

It depends on the environment. In my bathroom I have a Play 3 in a closed cabinet so trueplay makes a huge difference.

Once it is setup you can quickly turn it on and off and you can sometimes hear a difference that way.

 

[Silverado]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

It certainly at least changes the balance in a home theater setup such that rear speakers’ volume is appropriate for the main sitting position. So least for this reason it is better.

It clearly does more than just that, though.

(And one can make this kind of adjustment without using TruePlay.)

 

[nt5672]

I’d be very interested in the results of a randomized, double-blind study comparing unmodified vs Trueplay-modified sound.

Which would be useless unless the listener was very, very familiar with a very highly accurate version of the listening material.

 

[CarlJ]

I don't know about that. I've jacked up the volume on my surrounds just to get them to do anything. Even with a good 5.1 source, I feel like they are under utilized. It's a rather disappointing experience when what you want is surround sound and 90% of the audio comes from a couple center channels on the soundbar. I just don't agree with that kind of multi channel experience.

Your system may not be tuned right, but it sounds like you're expecting loud continuous sound out of the surround channels, and that's not how it is supposed to work. Akin to people who used to complain bitterly about black bars at the top and bottom of their 4:3 TVs when watching movies, who felt that they were somehow being ripped off because the screen wasn't full.

Surround channels are there to play the sounds that the producer and director wanted to put behind you or around you. Subtle amounts of sound from the surround channels heighten the immersion (like, say, crickets when the main characters are standing in a field at night) - loud continuous sound from the surround channels pulls you out of that immersion and pulls your focus to that speaker. Some movies handle surround very well, but plenty of others not so much. And if what you're watching is two people on screen, close-up, talking, you want their voices to only be coming from the center channel drivers.

On a Sonos system, when playing (2-channel stereo) music, as opposed to watching movies, you can have the sound more evenly distributed around the room by going into settings and changing the surrounds from "ambient" to "full" (ambient is the default) - this setting affects only 2-channel audio (so, mostly music), not 5.1/Atmos movies/video. This will fill the room with music, rather than keeping the focus at the front. It lessens the stereo imaging a bit, but I like having the music all around me.

Don't turn the surrounds way up "to get your money's worth" from a movie / your system, you're just setting yourself up for a mediocre experience. If you want sound from all the speakers all the time, maybe check out some action movies? But for proper use of surround, google "movies with best surround sound" or similar (though you have to watch out for people simply going on how much low frequency there is - some people's appreciation of home theater begins and ends with the subwoofer). Blade Runner 2049 gets recommended a lot, for good reason. The pod racing scene in Star Wars: Phantom Menace will run all the pods around you, each with different sounding engines.

 

[CarlJ]

This is a poorly reported headline. Sonos always works with every model. You just can’t use the true play tuning feature with the 14. It was the same with the 13, the same with the 12, and the same with android.

You don’t trueplay frequently, frankly it’s not a big deal.

I didn't find the headline the slightest bit misleading. Someone who uses Sonos gear understand that that means an iPhone 14 can now be used to set up TruePlay. If you have Sonos speakers and your only iPhone/iPad is an iPhone, it kind of is a big deal.

Also, please don't quote the entire story - it's already there for all of us to read. Save quoting for when you want to highlight a specific part to which you want to reply.

 

[CarlJ]

Consumers are lucky if anything works with the iPhone 14. What a dud out of the gates. Glad Sonos could work around Apple's shortcomings.

No shortcomings for Sonos to work around, they just have to get around to running some very detailed tests on the microphone response of every new iPhone (when you're using a phone's microphone to listen to and correct a speaker's sound, you need to know exactly how that microphone is coloring the sound, and every microphone colors the sound).

Sonos has a history of taking too long to do this with basically every new Apple device. Sure, it's involved. Start sooner, Sonos.

 

[CarlJ]

I find it really odd that it didn’t already work with the 14. I wonder what the issue was?

Same deal as with every other new iPhone/iPad release. It's a complicated process for them to test the microphone output of each new Apple device (to remove the inherent colorations before then using the result as an accurate reflection of what effect their speakers are having on the room), but they always seem to takre their sweet time supporting new devices.

The most charitable answer I might be able to come up with for their usual delay would be if they were intentionally buying both first-production phones and also some that had come off the line months later to see if there was any differences in the sound. Though I would think you could counter that by running the tests multiple times, over time - best available / continuous improvement, rather than making some users wait months.

 

[Someyoungguy]

What an interesting idea. Taking advantage of a sophisticated smartphone to tune the speakers once, instead of permanently adding complex hardware and cost to the speaker itself (I’m looking at you, Tim).

 

[FoxyKaye]

Given that it is FREE, even if it is a placebo, Sonos owners can easily give it a try themselves and hear or not hear a difference. No big loss either way... but possibly a gain- imagined or actual- like using an iPhone to adapt AppleTV video quality... and all of the "magic" we mostly accept accomplished by HomePods.

I mean, it didn't stop me from configuring Trueplay, anyway, lol.