Sonos Premium Home Theater Experience
Soundbar and Home Theater Platform
Reimagining how millions of users interact directly with premium home audio by making on-device controls intuitive, discoverable, and worthy of a flagship product.
The Challenge
Research, telemetry, and customer feedback revealed that users struggled to discover and remember the on-product controls on Sonos Arc, leading them to rely on the mobile app for simple playback tasks. The challenge was to redefine the hardware interaction model to feel intuitive, instantly discoverable, and effortless to use while preserving Sonos’ premium design language and working within the constraints of embedded hardware.
The Outcome
Launched in 2024, the redesigned hardware interaction model shipped as part of Sonos Arc Ultra, delivering a more intuitive, discoverable, and cohesive on-product experience that aligned with users’ mental models while preserving Sonos’ signature minimalist design.
At a Glance
Role: Lead Hardware UX Designer
Duration: 2.5 years
Launched: 2024
Team: Industrial Design, Engineering, Research, Product, Packaging, Compliance, Marketing
Responsibilities: Interaction Design, Hardware UX, Prototyping, Research, Usability Testing, Design Specs
The Experience
You have a few close friends and their children visiting you for lunch on Sunday. Since it’s been a few weeks since you last tidied up, you’ve decided to give the house a quick clean and make it a bit more inviting.
Since the task you’re about to undertake isn’t particularly enjoyable, you put on some upbeat music on your Arc Ultra to set a positive mood. It truly works and gets you started.
As you make good progress cleaning the living room, you dance to the beats of your favorite songs from Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Now, your most favorite song, “Beat It,” is playing, and you want to crank up the volume instantly. So, you quickly reach for the volume control on Arc Ultra and make a quick finger slide through the volume control. You appreciate how effortlessly and enjoyable it is to adjust the volume using that user interface.
It’s Sunday noon and your friends with their kids have already arrived. Have a nice lunch and have a pleasant conversation afterward. As you all engage in conversation, the voice assistant on Arc Ultra unexpectedly activates. In response, you swiftly make your way to the soundbar and press the Voice Control button on the user interface to temporarily disable the voice assistant.
A few minutes later, you realize that the TV is extremely loud. Upon entering the room, you discover that the kids had accidentally turned up the volume on the TV remote. You couldn’t find the remote control, so you resorted to the volume control on Arc Ultra to lower the volume. You kindly asked the kids to keep the volume low and leave.
After a few hours, your friends express their gratitude for the wonderful meal and enjoyable time, and then they bid you farewell.
The Process
As the Lead Hardware UX Designer, I led the end-to-end design of the on-product user experience—from research and interaction strategy through concept development, prototyping, validation, and production. Working closely with Industrial Design, Product Management, User Research, and Hardware and Software Engineering, I defined a new hardware interaction model that balanced intuitive usability with the realities of embedded hardware.
Key contributions:
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Synthesized research, telemetry, competitive analysis, and usability findings to identify UX opportunities.
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Defined the hardware interaction architecture, control hierarchy, and user experience principles.
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Designed and iterated multiple hardware UI concepts in collaboration with Industrial Design.
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Validated concepts through functional prototypes and usability testing.
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Partnered with engineering to deliver a production-ready experience that aligned with the design vision.
Understanding the Problem
To understand why users rarely interacted directly with the soundbar, I synthesized insights from telemetry, usability studies, competitive analysis, customer reviews, support data, and previous research. The findings consistently pointed to a fundamental issue with the hardware interaction model rather than any individual control.
The Sonos Arc soundbar’s user interface features a zoomed-in view of the playback controls and status light. The playback controls consist of three capacitive touch buttons.
A test participant is trying to control music playback on the Sonos Arc prototype during a usability study.
30 days telemetry data showing the usage of the various user interface elements in Sonos Arc user study.
Key Findings:
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Users struggled to discover the purpose of the on-product controls, often mistaking them for decorative elements.
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Hidden gestures and multifunction controls increased cognitive load by relying on recall instead of recognition.
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The interaction model conflicted with users’ established mental models for media playback.
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Hardware controls were underutilized, with many users defaulting to the Sonos app for simple playback tasks.
Root Cause Analysis
Digging deeper into the research, I found that the usability issues weren’t caused by individual controls—they stemmed from the overall interaction model.
The original interface combined multiple functions into a small set of touch targets supported by hidden gestures and abstract visual cues. While this achieved a clean, minimalist aesthetic, it conflicted with decades of learned user behavior, where each playback function is represented by a dedicated, recognizable control.
The gestures supported on the Sig Detail playback control UI on Sonos Arc.
As a result, users struggled to discover available actions, remember how to perform them, and build confidence using the hardware. Instead of interacting directly with the soundbar, many defaulted to the Sonos app for simple playback tasks, even though it was often less convenient. The core issue wasn’t the touch technology itself—it was an interaction model that prioritized minimalism over recognition and discoverability.
Establishing the Design Principles
The root cause analysis established a clear set of design principles that guided every design decision throughout the project. Rather than redesigning individual controls, the objective was to create a hardware interaction model that felt familiar, intuitive, and effortless to use.
Recognition over recall
Use familiar playback controls and standard iconography so users could recognize available actions instead of remembering hidden gestures or interactions.
One control, one purpose
Assign each primary playback function to a dedicated control to reduce ambiguity and eliminate unnecessary cognitive load.
Prioritize high-frequency interactions
Place the most frequently used controls where they are easiest to discover and access, while moving infrequently used functions to secondary surfaces.
Preserve simplicity without sacrificing capability
Maintain Sonos’ clean, minimalist aesthetic while supporting advanced interactions through thoughtful control design rather than additional buttons.
Design for the physical product
Create an interaction model that felt natural on a premium soundbar, balancing usability with industrial design, embedded hardware, and manufacturing constraints.
Defining the Hardware Interaction Architecture
Rather than redesigning the existing controls, I used this opportunity to rethink the role of the hardware interface itself. Before exploring layouts or interactions, I identified every task users might reasonably expect to perform directly on the soundbar and evaluated whether it deserved a dedicated hardware control or status indicator.
At the same time, I collaborated closely with the Industrial Designer to analyze the product’s physical form and identify the surfaces available for user interaction. By evaluating the visibility, accessibility, and interaction characteristics of each surface, we established a primary UI surface for frequently used touch interactions and a secondary UI surface for infrequently used mechanical controls. This created a physical foundation for organizing the hardware experience.
Soundbar surfaces feature areas designated for the placement of user interface elements.
Each interaction was then evaluated using three key criteria:
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Frequency: How often would users perform this task?
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Importance: How critical is quick and direct access to this function?
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Alternatives: Can the same task be completed easily through the Sonos app or another device
This exercise established a clear hierarchy of interactions. Frequently used controls—such as playback, volume, and voice control—were prioritized for the primary UI surface, while infrequent actions like Bluetooth pairing and microphone privacy were intentionally moved to the secondary surface.
The result was a focused hardware experience that balanced usability, discoverability, and simplicity without overwhelming the product with unnecessary controls.
Designing the UI Layout
Primary UI
The primary UI was designed around the interactions users perform most frequently. Working closely with the Industrial Designer, I explored multiple layout concepts that balanced discoverability, ergonomics, aesthetics, and the physical constraints imposed by the soundbar’s architecture.
Each concept optimized a different balance of usability, visual simplicity, and engineering feasibility before being evaluated through prototyping and usability testing.
Six layout concepts explored different approaches to balancing usability, discoverability, ergonomics, and aesthetics while maintaining a consistent, center-aligned Play/Pause control across the Sonos portfolio.
Designing for Human Perception
The primary UI was organized into three functional zones based on principles of human perception and ergonomics. Playback controls were positioned at the center, where users naturally focus their attention first. The frequently used volume control was placed on the right for improved reachability, while the less frequently used voice assistant controls occupied the left side.
The primary user interface (UI) surface is divided into three distinct zones: the Center zone, the Left zone, and the Right zone. The Center zone houses the playback controls for Play/Pause, Next Track, and Previous Track. The Right zone features the volume control, while the Left zone includes the voice assistant control, along with a light that indicates the voice assistant’s status.
This organization reduced visual search, reinforced interaction hierarchy, and created a layout that felt intuitive without increasing visual complexity.
Secondary UI
The secondary UI was designed for controls that users interact with infrequently, allowing the primary interface to remain focused on everyday playback tasks.
Before deciding what belonged on the rear surface, I considered not only how often each control would be used, but also how users would physically interact with it.
Since the rear controls would often be operated without direct visibility, mechanical controls were chosen over capacitive touch to provide tactile feedback and prevent accidental activation.
The secondary UI design features a Bluetooth button and a microphone toggle switch located on the rear side of the soundbar.
Microphone Switch:
The microphone privacy switch was intentionally placed on the rear surface because research indicated that users typically decide whether to enable or disable the microphones during initial setup and rarely change that preference afterward. A physical switch also provides a clear and trustworthy indication that the microphones are truly disabled at the hardware level, reinforcing user confidence around privacy.
Bluetooth Button:
The placement of the Bluetooth pairing button proved to be more controversial. During design reviews, several stakeholders argued that placing it on the rear surface would reduce discoverability. While that concern was valid, my goal was to balance discoverability with the intended product experience.
Bluetooth was intentionally positioned as a secondary listening experience. Giving it equal prominence on the primary interface risked encouraging an interaction that wasn’t aligned with the product vision or the highest-quality listening experience.
To address the discoverability concerns, I proposed an alternate path by allowing users to initiate Bluetooth pairing directly from the Sonos app.
This preserved the clean, focused hardware interface while ensuring the feature remained accessible when needed. The solution balanced user needs, stakeholder concerns, and the long-term product strategy.
The graphic illustrates various connectivity options available on Arc Ultra, enabling users to stream content to the device. The distribution of streaming options based on usage suggests that Arc Ultra is expected to have lower Bluetooth usage.
Validating the Interaction Model
To validate the proposed interaction model, I partnered with prototyping engineers to build functional hardware prototypes of the most promising UI layouts. These prototypes were evaluated through moderated usability sessions with external participants performing realistic tasks such as controlling music playback, adjusting volume, and interacting with the soundbar in everyday scenarios.
Three of the total five functional prototypes that were built are setup for the usability testing.
Six external participants tested five different UI design options, which were 3D printed, and provided their feedback. The user study was conducted at the Sonos facility, where participants were invited to test the early design and provide feedback.
The study revealed clear trade-offs between usability and aesthetics. While participants appreciated symmetrical layouts, they consistently preferred designs that made the volume control easier to discover and operate. These insights helped refine the interaction model and informed the selection of the final UI layout.
Design Refinement
Although usability testing validated the overall interaction model, it also revealed opportunities to improve the physical architecture of the interface itself.
While the distributed three-zone layout was logical, users occasionally struggled to locate controls and transition between interaction zones. The distributed architecture also increased engineering complexity through longer electrical routing beneath the product.
Rather than refining individual controls, I revisited the physical architecture of the interface. To address these challenges...
...I proposed bringing the controls closer together and introducing a dedicated UI surface that would make the interface instantly recognizable while preserving Sonos’ minimalist design language.
Working closely with the Industrial Designer, we explored several form factor concepts before converging on a refined design that improved discoverability, reduced interaction effort, and simplified implementation.
The are the couple of ideas I suggested to the industrial designer to create a dedicated UI surface that would aid in the discoverability of the primary user interface. The variations are designed to ensure that the user can see the UI even when standing a bit farther away from the soundbar.
The new design features a dedicated area on the rear side of the top surface, called the UI Ledge. This UI Ledge houses all the primary UI elements and the related electronics underneath.
The UI Ledge has voice assistant control and status indicator is placed on the left hand side.
The UI Ledge has playback controls located in the center.
Volume control slider is placed on the right hand side.
The new form factor, with its updated design, possessed several key attributes.
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Dedicated UI ledge: Introduced a purpose-built interaction surface that made the hardware UI instantly recognizable while blending seamlessly with Sonos’ minimalist industrial design.
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Improved discoverability: Consolidated related controls into a smaller interaction area, making the interface easier to locate and use.
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Simplified engineering: Reduced the footprint of the touch interface, shortening electrical routing and simplifying the underlying hardware architecture.
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Preserved product aesthetics: Positioned the low-profile UI ledge toward the rear of the soundbar so it remained hidden during TV viewing yet became naturally visible when users approached to interact with it.
The new design reduces the width of the user interface surface to approximately two-thirds of its previous width, which will enhance the overall usability of the primary user interface on Arc Ultra.
The new form factor’s attributes would mitigate the perceived risk of the Linear Long UI layout by making the user interface instantly discoverable, easier to use, and aesthetically pleasing.
The animation demonstrates how the user interface on Arc Ultra would remain out of sight while the user is watching TV and would be revealed when the user stands near the soundbar.
The design received immediate positive feedback in reviews and was promptly released for 3D printing, allowing for further review and testing.
Validating the Refined Design
A few design variation were 3D printed and physically reviewed. The variations in the prototypes were mainly related to the industrial design with changes in geometry and surfacing of the UI ledge.
The new design was 3D printed and presented to the broader design team and the key stakeholders. Several variations of design prototypes were created, each with a different size for the main speaker body and a unique geometry and surfacing for the UI ledge.
One of the prototypes was hung on a fake wall with a cardboard cutout in the size of a 50-inch TV to observe how the design appears and functions when mounted on the wall.
The feedback from the rest of the design team was overwhelmingly positive, so we conducted another round of usability study to gather further unbiased feedback from external users before we fully commit to the design direction.
In order to get realistic feedback from the user testing, a low fidelity functional prototype was also built along with the 3D prints. The test included following prototypes:
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3D printed model with complete concave ledge that had simple integrated slider
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3D printed model with flat ledge with volume trough slider
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Functional prototype with old design with no UI ledge
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Functional prototype with UI ledge
Test prototypes being set up by me in the user research lab for the UI ledge usability testing. 3D printed models were used in usability testing with two different designs of UI ledges: a concave one and a flat one.
A functional prototype of the UI ledge design setup for usability testing. A test participant is using the new primary user interface design on the Arc Ultra functional prototype.
The refined UI was validated through a second round of usability testing with eight participants using 3D prints and functional prototypes.
Usability tests revealed that the dedicated UI ledge significantly improved discoverability and usability, with participants praising its intuitive layout, natural finger guidance, and unobtrusive integration into the product.
The volume trough was consistently preferred for its ease of use, and the design performed equally well in both tabletop and wall-mounted scenarios.
Resolving the Bluetooth Placement Debate
While the design was looking great, and I, along with the industrial designer, were preparing for the major milestone in the program where the design would be finalized after presenting to all the stakeholders and would be released to make the high fidelity appearance models, some concerns was raised by the key stakeholders regarding the location of the Bluetooth button.
The concerns revolved around the discoverability and accessibility of the Bluetooth button, which is hidden on the secondary surface in a standard installation scenario.
Bluetooth button and Microphone switch located on the secondary surface Arc Ultra.
The original decision to keep the Bluetooth out of sight was taken after carefully analyzing the significance of Bluetooth and its advantage and disadvantages as compared to other streaming options Arc Ultra would offer.
Previous usability tests had demonstrated that the button is easily accessible, regardless of whether the soundbar is placed on a credenza or mounted on a wall. Therefore, I was not too worried about the concerns about accessibility. However, since the discoverability aspect of the Bluetooth button was not tested the stakeholders requested to conduct a study and ensure we’re taking an informed decision. So, decided to conduct another user study specifically to test the discoverability and accessibility of the secondary user interface.
To validate one of the project’s most debated design decisions, I conducted a focused usability study to understand users’ expectations around Bluetooth and evaluate the discoverability of the pairing button.
In the user research lab, two prototypes of Arc Ultra are displayed: one is mounted on the wall beneath the TV, while the other is placed on a credenza.
Test participants were tasked with performing the tasks and locating and using the Bluetooth button on the Arc Ultra prototypes.
The findings confirmed that users viewed Bluetooth as an occasional connectivity option rather than a primary listening experience. While a few participants initially needed help locating the pairing button, they quickly understood and remembered its location once discovered. Many also preferred initiating Bluetooth pairing through the Sonos app.
Most importantly, participants agreed that placing the Bluetooth button on the secondary UI preserved the clean, uncluttered primary interface without compromising usability. Participants successfully paired devices in both tabletop and wall-mounted scenarios, giving the team confidence to move forward with the design.
Engineering Collaboration
Throughout development, I partnered closely with hardware and software engineers to refine the UI based on engineering builds and validation.
Together, we optimized the design by improving the ergonomics of the volume control, increasing the touch target size for frequently used controls, refining the UI ledge to accommodate evolving hardware and thermal constraints, tuning touch sensitivity in software, optimizing LED brightness for different lighting conditions, and adjusting icon contrast to ensure legibility across both black and white product variants. These refinements ensured the final experience remained intuitive while meeting the realities of manufacturing and embedded hardware.
The electronics schematic displays the playback control user interface, featuring play/pause, next track, and previous track controls. Notably, the size of the most frequently used play/pause control is larger than the next track and previous track controls.
Three variations of the UI ledge design were created, each with a different height (from the top view) or width (from the side view). These variations were 3D printed for usability testing. The height and width of the ledge determine how easy or difficult it is to tap a UI control in a hurry.
Variations of the prototypes from the final builds were modified to tune the UI dwell time and test the sensitivity of UI controls. The prototypes differed in the type of electronics used to address the radio frequency interference issues that caused UI malfunctioning during a functional test.
From Concept to Production
The design was successfully developed, and the production version matched the intended design. The final round of UX validation was conducted on the production version, and no post-release UX issues were discovered.
Impact
The redesigned hardware interaction model shipped as part of Sonos Arc Ultra, introducing a more intuitive and discoverable way to interact directly with the product while preserving Sonos’ premium industrial design.
The dedicated UI ledge, tactile volume slider, and simplified interaction hierarchy created an experience that felt natural during everyday use without distracting from TV viewing.
The project also established a scalable interaction architecture that balanced usability, industrial design, engineering, and manufacturing constraints—providing a strong foundation for future hardware experiences.
The customer ratings and reviews received during the initial month of sales were exceptionally positive. While there were a few reviews mentioning challenges with the ongoing app issues and occasional audio quality problems, the overall consensus was overwhelmingly positive, reflecting the product’s exceptional quality.
Industry Recognition
Arc Ultra received widespread critical acclaim and earned multiple Editor’s Choice awards following its launch. Reviewers consistently praised the redesigned hardware controls, particularly the recessed volume slider and intuitive playback interactions.
"I love the new volume controls… swiping left and right on an indented strip on the right, making it much easier to find."
"The touch sensitive volume slider is far right and is slightly recessed. It’s a really nice design feature imo."
"These require an intuitive range of taps or swipes that work perfectly well… I’m glad those touch controls are there, just in case."
Customer Feedback
"When you play music from another source than the TV the remote does not work. So you need the phone or the touch controls."
"Users note that the recessed strip is intuitive and well‑designed, placed just right to feel natural when using it as a back‑up control method."
"The volume slider/buttons work reliably, as does Play/Pause."
The project was also featured on the Design Better Podcast, where the design and development approach behind Arc Ultra was discussed, reflecting broader industry interest in the product’s design process.
Reflection & Learnings
This project reinforced that successful hardware UX emerges from balancing user needs with industrial design, engineering, and manufacturing constraints—not optimizing any one discipline in isolation.
It also highlighted the importance of aligning stakeholders early around design decisions that intentionally involve trade-offs. User research and rapid prototyping proved invaluable in resolving debates, validating assumptions, and building confidence in the final direction before committing to production.