Sonos S1 Controller vs Bose
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Control older Sonos products
- Adjust volume
- Group rooms
- Save favorites
- Set alarms
- Stream from services
- Listen to Sonos Radio
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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
Bose
Control all your Bose audio products from a single app. Personalize noise cancellation, customize EQ settings, and set up your devices for seamless listening. Access your favorite music services and playlists with one-touch ease.
- Unified control for Bose products
- Controllable noise cancellation
- Customizable EQ settings
- One-touch music presets
- Integrated music streaming
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The Bose app lets you easily control all your Bose products in one place. Bose app (formerly Bose Music app) compatible speakers, soundbars, amplifiers, headphones, earbuds, OpenAudio products, and portable PA systems are designed to work together seamlessly to enhance your listening experience. GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HEADPHONES AND EARBUDS Personalize your environment with controllable noise cancellation on our QuietComfort products. With Modes on QuietComfort products, you decide how much of the world to let in. Choose Quiet Mode for full noise cancelling, or Aware Mode to hear your surroundings and your music at the same time. Select products offer Aware Mode with ActiveSense technology, which brings the sounds around you down to a more comfortable level. The result is hearing everything you need to, but at a much more pleasant and balanced volume. All the QuietComfort and OpenAudio features, like Immersive Audio from the Ultra line, are made readily available for you. Fully customize your experience by balancing the EQ settings, picking your on-product shortcuts, and more all within the app. EASY SETUP AND TOTAL CONTROL Easily set up your products and get right to listening. Play the same content throughout your home or listen to different content in different areas—it’s up to you. The Bose app lets you control all your Bose products from any room. ONE-TOUCH ACCESS One touch and your home is filled with the music you love most. The Bose app makes it easy to set your favorite playlists or stations as presets. Then you can access them effortlessly on your app, the buttons on your speaker, or soundbar remote. ActiveSense, Bose, the B logo, and QuietComfort are trademarks of Bose Corporation. Spotify is a registered trademark of Spotify AB. TuneIn is a registered trademark of TuneIn, Inc. Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Amazon, Amazon Music, Alexa and all related logos are trademarks of Amazon, Inc. or its affiliates. Wi-Fi® is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance®. Pandora, the Pandora logo and the Pandora trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pandora Media, Inc. used with permission. iHeartRadio is a registered trademark of iHeartMedia, Inc. SiriusXM and all related marks and logos are trademarks of Sirius XM Radio Inc. and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy https://worldwide.bose.com/privacypolicy California Privacy Notice of Collection https://www.bose.com/californiaprivacynoticeofcollection [Location] Location access is not required to use the Bose app. The app does not collect location data through your device's location services. [Microphone] Microphone access is optional and is used only for CustomTune, which uses audio measurements to personalize your listening experience. If you do not use CustomTune, you can decline microphone access and continue to use the rest of the app. [Nearby devices] Nearby devices access is required to find, connect to, and communicate with supported Bose Bluetooth products. [Notifications] Notification access is optional. You can decline notification access and continue to use the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bose at monthly against Sonos S1 Controller's every 2 months. Bose also leads on chart position (#9 vs unranked). Sonos S1 Controller's advantage is ratings volume (821K vs 181K) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Sonos S1 Controller against 4.8 for Bose. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 821K and 181K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Sonos S1 Controller's written reviews are positive against 47% of Bose's.
Sonos S1 Controller ships an update every 2 months, Bose monthly. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.
| Parameter | Sonos S1 Controller | Bose |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (821K ratings) | 4.8 (181K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews — better | 47.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 821K — better | 181K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #9 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 1.1 GB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonos, Inc. | Bose Corporation |
Customer experience
Sonos S1 Controller
Bose
User reviews
Sonos S1 Controller
From 821K App Store ratingsWhat 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
From 181K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy setup and programming
- 🔊 Impressive sound quality
- 👍 Useful app features
- 💡 Customizable EQ and noise cancelling
Room to improve
- 🐛 Connectivity issues and app crashes
- 🔌 Unreliable Bluetooth connection
- 🤖 Lack of accessibility and voice control options
- 🤔 Confusing app layout and navigation
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
Reported bugs
4 issues- App frequently fails to recognize connected devices
- Noise cancelling settings revert to default unexpectedly
- Bluetooth pairing and reconnection issues
- Forced firmware updates causing sound quality degradation
Requested features
4 requests- Add landscape mode support for iPad
- Improve multi-device connectivity and switching
- Provide more customization options for noise cancelling
- Integrate with more music services like Apple Music
In-app purchases
Sonos S1 Controller
No in-app purchases
Bose
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sonos S1 Controller free?
Is Bose free?
Which has better reviews, Sonos S1 Controller or Bose?
Do Sonos S1 Controller or Bose have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sonos S1 Controller or Bose?
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