Comparison

BluOS Controller vs SoundMachine Player

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

Head to head
About

BluOS Controller

Control your wireless hi-res music systems from multiple brands. Stream music from various sources, synchronize playback across rooms, and manage your entire audio experience wirelessly from your smartphone or tablet.

Highlights
  • Universal remote for BluOS-enabled systems
  • Wireless multi-room music streaming
  • Access streaming services, libraries, and radio
  • Synchronized playback across multiple rooms
  • Control from smartphone, tablet, or laptop
  • High-resolution audio with no lag
Features
Read full description

The BluOS Controller app serves as the universal remote for all BluOS-enabled wireless hi-res music systems, including Bluesound, NAD Electronics, PSB Speakers, Bluesound Professional, Cyrus Audio, DALI Speakers, and Monitor Audio. Link multiple BluOS-enabled systems to enjoy synchronized music throughout your home. Access, stream, and enjoy music from various sources, such as streaming services, your music library, or global Internet radio stations and podcasts. The best part? It's all wireless, effortlessly controlled from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, delivering stunning audio with no lag and zero loss in sound quality. Available for iOS devices, the BluOS Controller app is everything you need to set up, control and listen to your music on a BluOS-enabled wireless music system. • Wirelessly stream your music to any BluOS-enabled stereo system, wired loudspeakers, or wireless speakers. • Effortlessly browse, access, and enjoy music from numerous streaming services, Internet radio stations, or your personal library. • Take control of your music from anywhere within your home using your smartphone or tablet. • Play different music in each room simultaneously, or achieve flawless synchronization across all BluOS-enabled speakers and players. • Easily position BluOS-enabled speakers and players throughout your home, connecting them to your WiFi network with user-friendly setup tutorials and support. Learn more about BluOS at www.bluos.io. Have questions or need support? Go to support.bluesound.com for BluOS FAQs, setup tips, and troubleshooting articles.

About

SoundMachine Player

Stream licensed background music for your business. Manage playlists, schedules, and multiple locations remotely from your phone or tablet. Control music playback and user assignments with ease.

Highlights
  • Licensed music for business
  • Remote playback control
  • Playlist and schedule management
  • Multi-location management
  • User assignment
  • Like/dislike songs
Features
Read full description

The SoundMachine Player app allows you to play fully licensed music for your business. Log in to the app with your SoundMachine username and password and enjoy all the content from the web platform now on your phone or tablet. Access all your mixes and schedules from your phone. Have them available to play directly on your app or assign them to users. You can also assign music to any user with SoundMachine software: see what station they have assigned or update them. Control every location and every zone from the palm of your hand. Assign them mixes, schedules or stations. Manage the SoundMachine player remotely, both for the main account and the users. Choose what music is playing and change it any time. Like and Block songs directly from the app. What is SoundMachine? SoundMachine brings commercial background music to the fore with a subscription-based service that gives business owners everything they need to create a seamless, engaging and on-brand music experience in their stores, restaurants, hotels, spas or other locations. Features for all plans: - Public Performance licensing in the US and Canada - Access to SoundMachine’s collection of professionally curated playlists - Mix playlists to create the perfect audio backdrop - Insert promotional messages - Schedule different types of music for different times of day - Control music in multiple locations from a central account Subscribers to Business Premium powered by Napster receive access to an expanded catalog of millions of songs and hundreds of curated stations, along with the ability to create their own custom stations starting from a single artist or song and building a consistent mood. Subscribers to the Enterprise plan can request a custom playlist curated specifically for their needs. The service is fully licensed for business use within your commercial environment. No additional licenses to play music in public are required if you are based in the US (ASCAP, BMI, GMR, and SESAC) or Canada (SOCAN and RE:SOUND). If you are from another country, please visit the Licensing section at our website. New in this version: - Entirely rebuilt app - New interface - Browse genres, stations, My Stations, mixes and schedules - Like and dislike songs in real time - Search function added - See and manage your users - Control the SoundMachine player remotely

Screenshots

BluOS Controller4 screens
SoundMachine Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

BluOS Controller and SoundMachine Player both sit at 4.4 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of SoundMachine Player's written reviews are positive against 39% of BluOS Controller's. BluOS Controller's advantage is ratings volume (5.3K vs 8) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, rating, ads 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for BluOS Controller against 4.3 for SoundMachine Player. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BluOS Controller has 5.3K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 39% of BluOS Controller's written reviews are positive against 100% of SoundMachine Player's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BluOS Controller ships an update monthly, SoundMachine Player every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BluOS Controller versus SoundMachine Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBluOS ControllerSoundMachine Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (5.3K ratings) — better4.3 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews38.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.3K — better8
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size100 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBluesoundSoundMachine

Customer experience

BluOS Controller

All ratings5,318 ratings
Positive84.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative11.4%
Written reviews809 reviews
Positive38.7%
Neutral11.9%
Negative49.4%

SoundMachine Player

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

BluOS Controller

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App fails to detect/connect to players
  • Playlists not saving/loading properly
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Streaming service integration issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved Spotify/Apple Music integration
  • Better local music library support
  • Chromecast/AirPlay integration
  • Customizable app interface

SoundMachine Player

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BluOS Controller

No in-app purchases

None

SoundMachine Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BluOS Controller free?
BluOS Controller is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SoundMachine Player free?
SoundMachine Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BluOS Controller or SoundMachine Player?
BluOS Controller is rated higher. BluOS Controller averages 4.4 out of 5 from 5.3K ratings, while SoundMachine Player averages 4.3 from 8 ratings.
Do BluOS Controller or SoundMachine Player have ads?
Neither BluOS Controller nor SoundMachine Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BluOS Controller or SoundMachine Player?
BluOS Controller ships an update monthly, and SoundMachine Player every 3 months. Most recently, BluOS Controller was updated on October 14, 2026 and SoundMachine Player on September 25, 2026.

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