Sonos has added direct music playback from Android devices, allowing you to stream locally stored music on Android phones and tablets to your Sonos speakers.
Sonos added local music support from Apple devices at the end of last year, and now a free update to the Sonos Controller app for Android brings the same functionality to Android devices.
You'll need a device with Android 2.1 OS or higher (Android 2.2 for podcasts), and to then update your Sonos Controller app to version 4.1.1.
Provided your phone/tablet is on the same wireless network as your Sonos system, you will now be given an option to access 'This Mobile Device', which will show your device's "music, playlists and podcasts".
Sonos says the upgrade supports music files in your 'Music' folder, suggesting other music apps won't be supported directly.
As Sonos says: "Tracks downloaded directly from the Google Play Store are not immediately available for playback.
"To play these tracks through Sonos, you must download them from Google Play to a computer, and then transfer them to your Android device’s Music folder."
The Sonos wireless hi-fi family includes the Playbar, Play:3, Play:5 and Sub, as well as the Connect, Connect: Amp and Bridge.
by Joe Cox