Sonos has always wanted you to listen to your music through its ecosystem. Whether you linked it to your streaming service of choice or enabled the new TuneIn integration for radio stations and podcasts, Sonos products have always provided options to listen to whatever you pleased. For a while, Android users even had the ability to stream locally-stored music onto Sonos devices, but that will end sooner than later.
The audio company will no longer allow users to play music stored on their devices through Sonos speakers (via The Verge). Sonos claims that it's removing the feature because an updated version of the Android operating system changed the way devices exchange information.
Despite Sonos ending the feature's direct support, it listed several different ways for you to keep on listening to your MP3 library. Users can upload their local files to any of Apple Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, or Plex and then stream those songs from their preferred platform. It isn't as seamless, sure, but it's a solid enough workaround to keep listening to those tracks.
Users can also store their files on a network-attached storage drive on the same network as their speakers and have their Sonos device play them off of that.
Even with this slight hurdle, Sonos is expected to release a batch of new products, but they won't necessarily be speakers. Headphones and home streaming devices could be on the horizon for the company.
Before those products launch, Sonos still has a few solid speaker choices if you're looking to improve your home audio situation. Between the Sonos Era 300 and last year's Sonos Move, there are still plenty of options to choose from. Pixel users should be warned, however, as they might not be able to set up certain Nest or Google Home-branded devices thanks to an ongoing spat between Google and Sonos.
Sonos Era 300
Sonos brought its A-game when developing the Era 300. It's packed to the brim with features like spatial audio, Wi-Fi 6, and a wide variety of connection options that include a line-in and Bluetooth. It's got big sound that can fill a room without coming close to maxing out its four directional tweeters and two woofers, justifying its somewhat hefty price tag to users looking for a top-notch listening experience.