"Roon Remote" is Now Simply "Roon"! šŸŽ‰

Maybe its because I use ROCK, but I always think ROCK, Roon, and ARC. ROCK is the Server, Roon is app for accessing the server, listening and settings. ARC is more the remote, when youā€™re away from the server. Roon (the app), regardless of itā€™s on a PC, Mac or mobile device, pretty much does the same thing.

1 Like

I think the change is for the better. Most people will associate Roon with the UI app, and work out if they need to run Server and Endpoints.

The change grounds the brand into whatā€™s important - the UI is what we interact with to enjoy music.

Improvements to explain/refine use of Server and Endpoints in the context of the change will follow elegantly I would think and end up with a clearer user experience for new users.

As for us that have been on the journey from the start, well, Iā€™m sure we can adapt :slight_smile:

@Grasshopper: Or Roon Mobile instead of ARC?

1 Like

I think this name change is an improvement. I have always found the name Roon Remote to be a bit confusing, The function of the app is to be a local Roon server controller and audio device. Since it has to be connected to the local lan, its a local device not a remote device. Adding a new app that does support remote connect but with less function has made the Roon Remote name to be even more confusing. Dropping Remote from the app name reduces this confusion.

There shouldnā€™t even be a separate ARC app. Roon should merge the ARC function into the regular Roon app (Android/iOS). Itā€™s crazy that you have to launch one app while at home and a different app while away. They could even auto-detect whether the app should be running in ARC mode or not.

2 Likes

Why is it an issue that these are two different apps? At home I open Roon and away from home I open Roon Arc. They are two different ICONS on my phone and tablets.

1 Like

But why should there be two different icons on your phone? Itā€™s a question of elegant product design and user interface.

A user wants to listen to Roon and itā€™s intuitive to run the Roon app ā€“ donā€™t even think about choosing which version to run.

1 Like

The two apps were designed and built by different teams. They are not similar as far as I understand. Personally, I see zero reason to combine them even if that was possible.

I use Microsoft Word to write and Microsoft Excel to crunch numbers.

2 Likes

Itā€™s not simply that the apps were built by different teams, itā€™s that the underlying network technologies involved and what needs to be done to provide connectivity between the Roon app and the Roon Server are completely different - chalk and cheese.

Roon Labs apparently have the goal to merge the two into one app (thereā€™s been talk of ā€œARC for the Desktopā€), but itā€™s a big ask and call on their development resources.

Itā€™s like saying that an automobile and an aircraft are both forms of transport - why canā€™t we combine the two?

2 Likes

My thoughts exactly. I still hope both apps will be merged. I sometimes find myself opening Roon when I should have opened Roon ARC. Probably because I donā€™t use Roon ARC that much.

1 Like

And if they are combined into one app, then some features in the one app will probably only work at home but not when mobile. Then some people will be confused, too.

1 Like

I think those are terrible analogies, but weā€™ll just agree we have a difference of opinion. Suppose that Roon did originally integrate ARC into main app since the beginning. Would anybody now advocate that it would be better if they split it into two apps?

For sure, some of the UI would need to be updated to make it intuitive for the user.

As a software developer, I understand the technical and practical reasons why Roon took the approach that they did. As a user, I feel that Roon would be a better product if ARC were integrated.

1 Like

Yeah maybe, Iā€™m just saying that itā€™s not as straightforward as some people like to think. And during the development of ARC and the very rocky start it had, it was probably a good thing that it was separate and work on ARC couldnā€™t break regular Roon.

As was pointed out many times, they havenā€™t ruled out later unification.

1 Like

Ok, do Roon is a local networking app, server and front end GUI combined, what do I use to control it when Iā€™m not at home? Roon?

Roon on a phone or tablet will probably never have the server component built in, so we will need to ask ā€ždo you mean Roon desktop, or Roon mobile?ā€œā€¦ which is the same distinction as Roon and Roon Remote :man_shrugging:

Hopefully this will all become clearer with the next Roon update :+1:

Iā€™m confident a merge is planned for some time in the future, but for now, it may be safer (w/r to stability) to develop the two apps separately first.

Daar moet ik je eigenlijk helemaal gelijk in geven!


Translation
I actually have to agree with you on that one!

You are confused because you are using the wrong part of speech. ā€œRemoteā€ in this instance is not an adjective meaning distant. It is a noun ā€” as in ā€œWhere is the remote?ā€ ā€” meaning the remote control. Because that is how people refer to a remote control, as ā€œthe remote.ā€ And that is precisely what Roon Remote is, a remote control for Roon Server.

AJ

4 Likes

After starting ROON on my device called ā€žROON-Serverā€œ (it is a headless windows-11 box) two tasks:

  • ROON-server
  • ROON-Application

Never knew what the ā€žApplicationā€œ task is doing. I am not running anything except the Server or Core on this box.
I am using ROON on a separate Windows-Laptop and of course- on an Ipad.

In my opinion you are about to maximize the confusion.

There are 2 hard things in computer science: naming things, distributed systems, and off by one errors.

1 Like

Not a problem for me.