Play vs Sound Bar Remote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Whole-home wireless audio
- Wi-Fi streaming
- Multiple music sources
- Speaker group management
- Volume control
- DLNA server support
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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.
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.
- Volume control
- Input selection
- Sound mode selection
- Bluetooth connectivity
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Play | Sound Bar Remote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (3.5K ratings) | 4.7 (1.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.4% of reviews | 45.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3.5K — better | 1.6K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 285 MB | 19 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | DTS, Inc. | Yamaha Corporation |
Customer experience
Play
Sound Bar Remote
User reviews
Play
From 3.5K App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
Play
No in-app purchases
Sound Bar Remote
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Play free?
Is Sound Bar Remote free?
Which has better reviews, Play or Sound Bar Remote?
Do Play or Sound Bar Remote have ads?
Which is updated more often, Play or Sound Bar Remote?
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