Comparison

Play vs Sound Bar Remote

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

Head to head
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.

About

Sound Bar Remote

Control select Yamaha sound bars directly from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Adjust volume, change inputs, and select sound modes with ease. Requires iOS 14.1 or later and uses Bluetooth for connectivity.

Highlights
  • Volume control
  • Input selection
  • Sound mode selection
  • Bluetooth connectivity
Read full description

The Sound Bar Remote app provides easy operation for select Yamaha Sound Bars using your iPhone or iPad. [Key Features] - Basic control functions such as volume up/down and input selection - Sound mode selection [Supported Models] B200A, SR-B40A, SR-B30A, SR-B20A, SR-C20A, SR-C30A,ATS-B400, ATS-B300, ATS-B200, ATS-C200, ATS-C300, YAS-108, ATS-1080 [iOS Version Requirement] This application supports iOS version 16 or above. -This application uses Bluetooth function on your smartphone / tablet for the purpose of controlling Bluetooth enabled devices."

Screenshots

Play4 screens
Sound Bar Remote2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Sound Bar Remote at none against Play's shown. Sound Bar Remote also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 25%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Play's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

Sound Bar Remote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.5K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Play's written reviews are positive against 45% of Sound Bar Remote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Play ships an update every 2 months, Sound Bar Remote every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Play versus Sound Bar Remote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlaySound Bar Remote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (3.5K ratings)4.7 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews25.4% of reviews45.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.5K — better1.6K
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size285 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDTS, Inc.Yamaha Corporation

Customer experience

Play

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

Sound Bar Remote

All ratings1,526 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral3.1%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive45.3%
Neutral11.7%
Negative43.0%

User reviews

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

Sound Bar Remote

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient remote control
  • 💡 Visually see soundbar settings
  • 🚀 Straightforward setup
  • 👍 Great connectivity

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connection issues
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems
  • 🐛 Unreliable performance
  • 🐛 Blank/black screen after updates
  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections

Bugs and requests

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

Sound Bar Remote

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Cannot find/connect to soundbar
  • 3D mode turns off automatically
  • App doesn't work after recent update

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add volume control buttons
  • Support for more soundbar models
  • Improve EQ/sound customization options
  • Allow controlling multiple speakers simultaneously

In-app purchases

None

Play

No in-app purchases

None

Sound Bar Remote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Play free?
Play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sound Bar Remote free?
Sound Bar Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Play or Sound Bar Remote?
Sound Bar Remote is rated higher. Play averages 4.5 out of 5 from 3.5K ratings, while Sound Bar Remote averages 4.7 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Play or Sound Bar Remote have ads?
Play shows ads; Sound Bar Remote does not.
Which is updated more often, Play or Sound Bar Remote?
Play ships an update every 2 months, and Sound Bar Remote every 6 months. Most recently, Play was updated on November 6, 2026 and Sound Bar Remote on November 7, 2026.

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