Comparison

Phonos Plus vs rooWatch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Phonos Plus

Monitor your Sonos system, view what's playing, and manage playlists across different system versions. Export and import important Sonos data like alarms and favorites. Prepare for system updates by checking device compatibility.

Highlights
  • View all Sonos rooms and playback status
  • Cross-system playlist playback (S1 to S2 and vice versa)
  • Export Sonos data (alarms, favorites, radio, playlists)
  • Import Sonos playlists
  • Check S1/S2 device compatibility
  • Supports S1, S2, and deactivated devices
Features
Read full description

See all Sonos Rooms and what is playing, plus a simple, clean Now Playing display. Choose a Playlist from an S1 system and play it directly on S2 (or vice versa). (Playing an entire playlist requires the Premium Feature Pack at additional cost). Export important Sonos data to files, such as your alarms, favorites, radio stations and Sonos playlists. Those playlists can be imported directly. See which devices are S1 and S2 compatible to prepare your system for updates. Works for every Sonos device on your network, both S1 and S2 at the same time, and even deactivated ones (though those must be wired to your network). This app is NOT connected to, or endorsed by, Sonos. Sonos is a registered trademark of Sonos, Inc.

About

rooWatch

Control your Roon music server directly from your Apple Watch. Browse playlists, control playback, adjust volume with the digital crown, and even use Siri for hands-free commands. It works independently of your iPhone or iPad.

Highlights
  • Full cover art display
  • Independent operation (no iPhone/iPad needed)
  • Digital crown volume control
  • Siri integration for playback and search
  • Browse playlists and library
  • Zone selection and control
  • Shuffle and repeat mode management
Features
Read full description

rooWatch is part of rooExtend, an extension platform and software for the Roon music server based on Raspberry Pi. rooWatch offers: - Full cover art with track and artist name - Always works: The Roon app does not need to run on iPhone or iPad - Use the digital crown to control the volume - Play/Pause music (tap screen) - Swipe ot next and previous track (swipe left/right) - Seek by tapping on the seek bar - Use Siri to control playback, play songs, artists, bands and albums, playlists and radio stations - Use Siri to search the Roon library - Browse Roon playlist and select tracks (swipe up) - Use Siri to search your library and select albums/artists/songs - Browse Roon, i.e. radio stations, playlists, library etc. (double tap) - Select and control different zones on Apple Watch (swipe down) - Full Roon zone control, including the transfer music to other zones (actions menu using long tap) - Enable shuffle and repeat modes (actions menu using long tap) - Shutdown playback devices (actions menu using long tap)

Screenshots

Phonos Plus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phonos Plus at 4.5 against rooWatch's 3.4. Phonos Plus also leads on ratings volume (19 vs 5) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). rooWatch's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Phonos Plus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. rooWatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phonos Plus holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 5 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 63% of Phonos Plus's written reviews are positive against 67% of rooWatch's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Phonos Plus ships an update every 2 months, rooWatch monthly. The most recent releases landed on July 7, 2026 and August 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Phonos Plus versus rooWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhonos PlusrooWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (19 ratings) — better3.4 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAndrew PennellAngisoft

Customer experience

Phonos Plus

All ratings19 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral21.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

rooWatch

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Phonos Plus

One-time1
  • Premium Feature Pack$0.99
None

rooWatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Phonos Plus free?
Phonos Plus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is rooWatch free?
rooWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Phonos Plus or rooWatch?
Phonos Plus is rated higher. Phonos Plus averages 4.5 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while rooWatch averages 3.4 from 5 ratings.
Do Phonos Plus or rooWatch have ads?
Neither Phonos Plus nor rooWatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Phonos Plus or rooWatch?
Phonos Plus ships an update every 2 months, and rooWatch monthly. Most recently, Phonos Plus was updated on July 7, 2026 and rooWatch on August 13, 2026.

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