Comparison

Focal & Naim vs Play

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

Head to head
About

Focal & Naim

This app unifies your music experience, offering seamless control over your audio devices and streaming services. Manage your entire ecosystem, set up new products, and enjoy high-resolution playback with personalized settings.

Highlights
  • Unified ecosystem control
  • Intuitive product setup
  • High-resolution streaming
  • Multi-room audio synchronization
  • Personalized EQ and settings
  • Internet radio access
  • CarPlay integration
Features
Read full description

The Focal & Naim app gives you total control of your entire Focal & Naim ecosystem. It brings streaming, radio, and your personal music library together in one beautifully simple interface. Your Focal & Naim Account Create your free account to register your products, access local Internet Radio, and receive exclusive benefits such as extended warranties and enhanced customer support. Seamless Setup Ready your new Naim & Focal devices with our intuitive product setup process. Total Control Manage every aspect of your system — speakers, streamers, and settings — all from your phone or tablet. Whole-Home Sound Stream music perfectly in sync across rooms or set a unique mood in each of your spaces with Naim Multiroom technology. Stream Without Limits Access high-resolution playback up to 24-bit/96 kHz from your favourite streaming services. Enjoy thousands of internet radio stations, including Naim Radio, now also available locally on your mobile device. Tailor Your Experience Fine-tune your speakers to your room with ADAPT™ technology, adjust EQ, lighting, and noise cancellation for Focal Bathys headphones, or personalise settings across the Naim Mu-so range. Stay Connected Anywhere Control playback from your wrist with Apple Watch support. Version 8.0 also adds CarPlay integration, bringing high-fidelity Internet Radio straight to your car. Compatible with all current Focal & Naim network-connected music players (some legacy products not supported).

About

Play

Wirelessly stream high-fidelity audio throughout your home using Wi-Fi. Control music from various sources, including streaming services, radio, and your device's library. Easily set up and manage multiple speakers for a whole-home listening experience.

Highlights
  • Whole-home wireless audio
  • Wi-Fi streaming
  • Multiple music sources
  • Speaker group management
  • Volume control
  • DLNA server support
Features
Read full description

Breakthrough DTS Play-Fi(R) technology powers simple, great-sounding whole-home wireless audio systems for smartphones and tablets. You can stream your favorite tunes over Wi-Fi right from the Play-Fi app to speakers from DTS Play-Fi product partners. It's a huge step up from Bluetooth - the audio quality and reliability are outstanding, and you can enjoy music from your phone in one room, or all your rooms. The "Hi-Fi over Wi-Fi" listening experience is just a touch away, thanks to this handy app. Choose a speaker, choose a song, and your favorite tunes are streaming all through the house. The app offers built-in streaming options: stream from worldwide music services; use AM/FM and Internet radio, connect to DLNA servers, or play anything from your device's music library, including your iTunes playlists. The app automatically organizes and indexes the music for you. The app also handles set-up for your speakers, and gives you full control of volume and speaker selection. Choose one, set up speaker groups, or stream to all of them at once. Manage speaker groups for Spotify Connect, too. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a Play-Fi product from Polk Audio, Definitive Technology or Phorus, please search for and download the custom Play-Fi app for your audio brand. Please also note that the Play-Fi app is companion software to audio products enabled with Play-Fi technology. It is not intended as a stand-alone audio player.

Screenshots

Focal & Naim4 screens
Play4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Play at 4.5 against Focal & Naim's 2.2. Play also leads on ratings volume (3.5K vs 254) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). Focal & Naim's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

Play holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Play has 3.5K ratings behind it against 254, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 23% of Focal & Naim's written reviews are positive against 25% of Play's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focal & Naim ships an update every 5 weeks, Play every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Focal & Naim versus Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocal & NaimPlay
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.2 (254 ratings)4.5 (3.5K ratings) — better
Positive reviews23.2% of reviews25.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2543.5K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size448 MB285 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperNaim Audio LtdDTS, Inc.

Customer experience

Focal & Naim

All ratings253 ratings
Positive23.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative68.0%
Written reviews681 reviews
Positive23.2%
Neutral10.0%
Negative66.8%

Play

All ratings3,465 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral6.6%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews209 reviews
Positive25.4%
Neutral13.4%
Negative61.2%

User reviews

Focal & Naim

From 254 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 App works well
  • 👍 Focal app works fine
  • 👍 Naim app works well with Uniti Atom
  • 👍 Seamless Tidal integration
  • 👍 Reliable connectivity

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections and crashes
  • 🐛 Unstable app, unreliable connectivity
  • 🐛 Buggy, freezes, and loses connection
  • 🐛 Constantly needs to be reset
  • 🐛 Struggles to find and connect to devices

Play

From 3.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Works well
  • 🔒 Integrates well with amplifier
  • 👍 Keeps improving with updates

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy, glitchy, and unreliable
  • 👎 Limited features and functionality
  • 🔌 Constant connection issues
  • 💤 Slow to load and connect
  • 🤯 Frustrating user experience

Bugs and requests

Focal & Naim

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Frequent disconnections from devices
  • Inability to find and connect to devices
  • Crashes and freezes during use
  • Issues with firmware updates
  • Compatibility problems with iOS 16
Show 1 more
  • Metadata issues and incorrect album art

Requested features

7 requests
  • Improve volume control granularity
  • Add EQ controls and presets
  • Improve Tidal integration
  • Enhance radio station browsing
  • Implement better multi-room support
Show 2 more
  • Provide more customization options
  • Improve overall app stability and reliability

Play

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Drops connections frequently
  • Fails to recognize devices
  • Resets music playback unexpectedly
  • Issues with volume control and balancing
  • Incompatible with recent firmware/software updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Apple Music
  • Improve Spotify integration
  • Implement gapless playback
  • Provide better interface and navigation
  • Add search functionality for local music libraries

In-app purchases

None

Focal & Naim

No in-app purchases

None

Play

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focal & Naim free?
Focal & Naim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Play free?
Play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Focal & Naim or Play?
Play is rated higher. Focal & Naim averages 2.2 out of 5 from 254 ratings, while Play averages 4.5 from 3.5K ratings.
Do Focal & Naim or Play have ads?
Play shows ads; Focal & Naim does not.
Which is updated more often, Focal & Naim or Play?
Focal & Naim ships an update every 5 weeks, and Play every 2 months. Most recently, Focal & Naim was updated on November 1, 2026 and Play on November 1, 2026.

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