Sonos S1 Controller vs SonoWatch
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
SonoWatch
Control your Sonos speakers directly from your Apple Watch. Adjust volume, skip tracks, view cover art, and manage speaker groups with ease. Quickly access controls via watch face complications.
- Play/Pause/Change tracks
- Volume control via digital crown
- Display cover art
- Select multiple households
- Control Sonos groups
- Watch face complications
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This is the simplest and cleanest way to control your Sonos speakers from your Apple Watch. Change songs, turn up the volume and check out the cover art. Effortlessly switch between all your Sonos speakers and control all of them individually. Get quick access to the app via complications directly on your favorite Watch Face. WHAT CAN SONOWATCH DO · Play/Pause/Change tracks · Rotate digital crown to change volume · Show cover art · Select multiple households · Access and control all your Sonos groups · Quick app access via complications MORE FEATURES ARE COMING This is the first version of SonoWatch. More cool features are coming soon. Stay tuned! Questions? Problems? Ideas? Then please get in touch with us: info@northmind.io Note: This is not an official Sonos App. Sonos is a trademark of Sonos Inc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Sonos S1 Controller at Free against SonoWatch's $0.99. Sonos S1 Controller also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.4) and ratings volume (821K vs 40). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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
Sonos S1 Controller is free to download; SonoWatch costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sonos S1 Controller holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sonos S1 Controller has 821K ratings behind it against 40, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of Sonos S1 Controller's written reviews are positive against 27% of SonoWatch's.
Sonos S1 Controller ships an update every 2 months, SonoWatch every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sonos S1 Controller | SonoWatch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (821K ratings) — better | 2.4 (40 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.1% of reviews — better | 27.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 821K — better | 40 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 103 MB | 4 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sonos, Inc. | Northmind AB |
Customer experience
Sonos S1 Controller
SonoWatch
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
SonoWatch
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Sonos S1 Controller
No in-app purchases
SonoWatch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sonos S1 Controller free?
Is SonoWatch free?
Which has better reviews, Sonos S1 Controller or SonoWatch?
Do Sonos S1 Controller or SonoWatch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sonos S1 Controller or SonoWatch?
Other comparisons
