SonoPhone for Sonos vs Lyd
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SonoPhone for Sonos
This app offers a streamlined and faster way to control your Sonos system, featuring a cleaner interface and backward compatibility with S1 firmware. It simplifies common tasks, allowing for quicker navigation and management of zones and music sources.
- Faster common task completion
- Cleaner, stable, and fast interface
- Supports Sonos S1 firmware
- Manage zones and music sources
- Intuitive drag-and-drop zone grouping
- Volume and progress popups
- Touch To Play functionality
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Yes. There's a better way to control your Sonos system. - Speeds up most common tasks (less taps) - Cleaner, more stable and fast interface. - Backward compatibility is king (we support Sonos S1 firmware and also iOS15 devices) - Manage zones and music sources. You control your Sonos. Not the other way around. See the features in action on YouTube (https://youtu.be/aMEuaZPUH58) or read more below. This application is a third party app and not endorsed by or associated with Sonos, Inc. (which is why it is not free) ◆◆◆ A new, intuitive and concise user interface ◆◆◆ SonoPhone is designed to leverage the latest iOS design principles: - Tap or drag the player on the top and you'll find the players view to select a new player and with volume controls for all players. From here you can also enter Zone Management, where you can group and ungroup players with drag and drop. - Tap or drag the Track infos on the bottom and you'll be at the big covers screen - Drag the main menu from any place to the left or right to have instant access to playlist or shortcuts - volume + progress popups: when changing volume or progress of a song, you get popups telling you the actual values. Stop guessing your desired values today! ◆◆◆ less taps for common tasks ◆◆◆ SonoPad tries to optimize most often used tasks to have the least taps needed. In the end you are able to navigate and control your players much more fluently. - Touch To Play: are you sick of always beeing asked what to do when you tap a track or album? SonoPhone defaults to just starting an album or song. A long press still gives you access to all options - you can also change the tap default in the settings menu. Want to build a playlist fast? Just set the default to 'always add to end' and off you go ... - tap an album cover image and the whole album starts to play immediately - aggregated search: search results are collapsed into one view, so you see immediately in what category you have the best results, without switching back and forth - shortcuts to most used functions: drag the main menu to the right to get shortcut buttons for artist, albums, radio and musicservices. - you can control the volume of every player directly from the player selection screen. No need to switch players anymore. ◆◆◆ S1 and S2 devices in one app ◆◆◆◆ - If you still have old S1 devices, the time of always having to change apps is over. We simply display all existing players in the network in one list. Grouping is unfortunately not possible, this is prevented by Sonos. ◆◆◆ Limitations ◆◆◆ - all music services except YouTube Music are supported - no support for administrative features (adding/removing players, music service, ...). You need the official Apps for initial setup of your system, SonoPad will pick up all changes automatically. - no options to set alarms or sleep settings - no playing of music stored on iPhone - no support for discontinued WD100 dock ◆◆◆ Other stuff ◆◆◆ - Sonos is registered trademark of Sonos, Inc.
Lyd
Control your Sonos system directly from your iPhone's Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Apple Watch. Enjoy instant playback control, volume adjustments, and speaker management without needing to open the main app or unlock your device.
- Home Screen widgets
- Lock Screen widgets
- Dynamic Island Live Activities
- Apple Watch remote
- Group/ungroup speakers
- Sleep timers
- Shortcuts and automation
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Control Sonos from your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Apple Watch. No app to open, no unlock required — just tap and play. Lyd gives you instant widgets and Dynamic Island controls on iPhone, plus the gold-standard Watch remote trusted since 2019. And on iPad, a fully native, big-screen app — library and Now Playing side by side — the Sonos experience iPad users deserve. Fully compatible with Sonos S2 and even backwards compatible to Sonos S1. SCENES — YOUR WHOLE SETUP IN ONE TAP Save the perfect moment once, recreate it forever. A Scene remembers which speakers play together, how loud each one is, and what music starts — then makes it all happen the instant you tap. • "Morning Kitchen", "Dinner Party", "Movie Night" — a Scene for every moment • One tap groups your speakers, sets the volume, and starts your music • Smart suggestions build Scenes from the way you already listen • Custom icons and names make every Scene your own • Works on iPhone and Apple Watch, synced across both • Launch any Scene with Siri, Shortcuts, and automations INSTANT WIDGET CONTROL • Home Screen widgets in multiple sizes • Lock Screen widgets for one-tap access • Live Activities in Dynamic Island • Control playback without unlocking your phone GOLD-STANDARD APPLE WATCH REMOTE • Full playback control on your wrist • Rotate the Digital Crown to change volume • Add complications to any watch face • Control everything without touching your iPhone POWERFUL FEATURES • Works with Sonos S2 and S1 systems • Volume adjustments with iPhone volume keys • Group and ungroup speakers • Play any playlist or radio station • Send voice messages to any speaker • Sleep timers for automatic shutoff • Shortcuts and automation support • Guest mode for parties • Multiple Sonos households ONE-TIME PURCHASE. NO SUBSCRIPTION. Pay once, use forever. Includes a 14-day free trial with full access to every feature. --- All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Sonos is a trademark of Sonos Inc. This is not an official Sonos app. Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lyd at Free against SonoPhone for Sonos's $3.99. Lyd also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 weeks). SonoPhone for Sonos's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Lyd is free to download; SonoPhone for Sonos costs $3.99 up front. Lyd sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per year. SonoPhone for Sonos asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for SonoPhone for Sonos against 4.4 for Lyd. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 234 and 355 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of SonoPhone for Sonos's written reviews are positive against 86% of Lyd's.
SonoPhone for Sonos ships an update every 3 weeks, Lyd every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SonoPhone for Sonos | Lyd |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.4 (234 ratings) — better | 4.4 (355 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 84.3% of reviews | 85.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 234 | 355 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 13 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stefan Hansel Solutions UG (haftungsbeschraenkt) | App Lane OU |
Customer experience
SonoPhone for Sonos
Lyd
User reviews
SonoPhone for Sonos
From 234 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Exceptional performance
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🔒 Reliable and stable
- 👍 Restores functionality to Sonos system
- 👍 Seamless integration with music services
Room to improve
- 🔧 Dated user interface design
- 🔧 Missing some advanced Sonos features
- 🔧 Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Lyd
From 355 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Seamless Sonos control
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🔒 Reliable and stable
- 💡 Convenient Apple Watch integration
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional connectivity issues
- 🔋 Drains Apple Watch battery
- 🔒 Requires Sonos account login
Bugs and requests
SonoPhone for Sonos
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional connectivity issues
- Playback problems with large music libraries
Requested features
4 requests- Sleep timer
- Graphic equalizer
- Ability to customize main menu
- Support for Sonos S2 devices
Lyd
Reported bugs
2 issues- App sometimes loses connection to Sonos
- Complication disappears after updates
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to control volume directly from the app
- Support for more Sonos features like creating playlists
- Interactive widgets for iPhone
In-app purchases
SonoPhone for Sonos
No in-app purchases
Lyd
- Yearly tip$2.991 Year
- One-time tip$0.99
- One-time support$1.99
- One-time Support$4.99
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- Lifetime Unlock$8.99
- One-time Support$8.99






