Comparison

Sonos S1 Controller vs Bose Connect

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

Head to head
About

Sonos S1 Controller

Manage your older Sonos systems with ease. This app allows you to control volume, group rooms, set alarms, and stream from your favorite services. Enjoy thousands of free stations with Sonos Radio.

Highlights
  • Control older Sonos products
  • Adjust volume
  • Group rooms
  • Save favorites
  • Set alarms
  • Stream from services
  • Listen to Sonos Radio
Read full description

This app controls systems that include the earliest Sonos products: Zone Players, Play:5 (Gen 1), Bridge, Connect (Gen 1) and Connect:Amp (Gen 1) Easily control your system. Adjust volume levels, group rooms, save favorites, set alarms, and more. Stream from popular services. Connect your streaming services and browse all your music, podcasts, radio, and audiobooks in a single app. Listen to Sonos Radio. Enjoy thousands of stations free on your system, including live radio from around the world, genre stations, artist-curated stations, and original programming from Sonos. If you are a California resident, for more information about our privacy practices, please see: California Privacy Notice: https://www.sonos.com/legal/privacy#legal-privacy-addendum-container

About

Bose Connect

Control and enhance your Bose Bluetooth audio devices. Manage settings, share music with friends, and customize noise cancellation. Stay updated with the latest software for an optimized listening experience.

Highlights
  • Manage product settings
  • Control auto-off timer
  • Adjust volume
  • View battery readings
  • Share music with two headphones
  • Sync speakers for Party Mode
  • Enable Stereo Mode for speakers
  • Adjust noise cancellation
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Bose Connect unlocks the full potential of your Bose Bluetooth® Product. EASY ACCESS TO EVERYTHING Get quick access to the key features on your products, like the auto-off timer, volume control, and battery readings. And it’s the easiest way to manage multiple Bluetooth connections. But that’s just the beginning. SHARE THE MUSIC MUSIC SHARE lets you listen together. Now two pairs of Bose® wireless headphones can share the experience - listen together, at the same time, while one of you DJ’s. New PARTY MODE lets you sync two SoundLink® speakers for double the audio…ideal for listening in two different places, and new STEREO MODE immerses you in music by separating the sound into Left and Right channels across two paired speakers for that amazing stereo experience. GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HEADPHONES CONTROLLABLE NOISE CANCELLATION on our QC®30 headphones lets you decide how much of the world to let in by adjusting the level of noise cancellation right in the app. And the built-in HEART RATE MONITOR for our SoundSport® Pulse headphones displays your heart rate clearly in the app. AND SO MUCH MORE From viewing product details to personalizing settings, get the most out of your Bose wireless products. It even downloads the latest software in the background and only installs it when you’re ready. See how our simple app can make all the difference. 
* NOTE *
 Bose Connect works with Bose Frames, QC®35, SoundSport® wireless, SoundSport® Pulse wireless, SoundSport® Free wireless, QuietControl™ 30, SoundLink® wireless II, ProFlight® headphones, and SoundWear Companion speaker, SoundLink® Color II, SoundLink® Revolve, SoundLink® Revolve+, SoundLink® Micro, and S1 Pro® speakers
 
 Some features may not be available for all products. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Bose Corporation is under license. https://www.bose.com/en_us/legal/california_privacy_notice_of_collection.html https://worldwide.bose.com/privacypolicy Location Location access is optional and is used only for the Find My Buds feature. Find My Buds uses your device's location to help identify the last known location of your earbuds. If you do not use Find My Buds, you can decline location access and continue to use the rest of the app. Location information used by Find My Buds is stored locally on your device and is not transmitted to Bose.

Screenshots

Sonos S1 Controller4 screens
Bose Connect4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Bose Connect at free against Sonos S1 Controller's free with in-app purchases. Bose Connect also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 52%) and chart position (#70 vs unranked). Sonos S1 Controller's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Sonos S1 Controller against 4.8 for Bose Connect. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 821K and 293K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Sonos S1 Controller's written reviews are positive against 68% of Bose Connect's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sonos S1 Controller ships an update every 2 months, Bose Connect every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Sonos S1 Controller versus Bose Connect: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSonos S1 ControllerBose Connect
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (821K ratings)4.8 (293K ratings) — better
Positive reviews52.1% of reviews67.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings821K — better293K
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank—#70 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better16
Further details — not scored
Size103 MB235 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperSonos, Inc.Bose Corporation

Customer experience

Sonos S1 Controller

All ratings820,654 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews1,751 reviews
Positive52.1%
Neutral8.2%
Negative39.6%

Bose Connect

All ratings293,404 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews2,474 reviews
Positive67.5%
Neutral6.5%
Negative25.9%

User reviews

Sonos S1 Controller

From 821K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great sound quality
  • 🔍 Versatile and easy to use
  • 💡 Whole-home audio experience
  • 🎨 Sleek and modern design

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
  • 🔀 Confusing and unintuitive app updates
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate and control
  • ⚠️ Planned obsolescence of older products

Bose Connect

From 293K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Seamless connectivity
  • 👍 Great sound quality
  • 💡 Useful features like stereo pairing

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent connectivity and pairing issues
  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable app
  • 🔋 Battery life concerns
  • 👎 Difficult to set up stereo mode

Bugs and requests

Sonos S1 Controller

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App fails to recognize speakers
  • Music playback randomly cuts out
  • Inability to control volume from lock screen

Requested features

4 requests
  • Restore previous app interface
  • Improve search and playlist management
  • Add Bluetooth connectivity
  • Better integration with personal music libraries

Bose Connect

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App frequently loses connection with devices
  • Firmware updates cause issues and break functionality
  • Stereo mode often fails to work properly
  • Random power-on and disconnection problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Equalizer options
  • Ability to set default noise cancellation level
  • Improved Bluetooth management and device switching
  • Better accessibility support

In-app purchases

None

Sonos S1 Controller

No in-app purchases

None

Bose Connect

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sonos S1 Controller free?
Sonos S1 Controller is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Bose Connect free?
Bose Connect is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Sonos S1 Controller or Bose Connect?
Bose Connect is rated higher. Sonos S1 Controller averages 4.7 out of 5 from 821K ratings, while Bose Connect averages 4.8 from 293K ratings.
Do Sonos S1 Controller or Bose Connect have ads?
Neither Sonos S1 Controller nor Bose Connect shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sonos S1 Controller or Bose Connect?
Sonos S1 Controller ships an update every 2 months, and Bose Connect every 3 months. Most recently, Sonos S1 Controller was updated on October 16, 2026 and Bose Connect on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons