Several days ago, internet of things company Sonos issued a statement stating that its older, “legacy” speakers would stop receiving software updates beginning in May. Sonos speakers communicate through the internet to allow all speakers to be connected and play the same audio from music, podcasts, or videos. This announcement meant that those who owned legacy speakers would not be able to use them alongside newer speakers, and once updates ceased, these speakers would be bricked and would no longer be functional. Long time users were outraged and let their anger be known on the companies own user forums, prompting a response from Sonos CEO Patrick Spence.
In an open letter, Spence apologized by saying “We heard you. We did not get this right from the start.” He continued by stating that old Sonos gear will continue to function as usual, but it will not receive any new features. He also pledged to keep old gear up to date in terms of bug fixes and security issues for as long as the company could. He concluded by stating that Sonos was working on a way to enable new and legacy gear to continue to work on the same network.
The CEO also stated that if the company runs into “something core to the experience that can’t be addressed, we’ll work to offer an alternative solution and let you know about any changes you’ll see in your experience.”
This situation comes at a time when many users are expressing their frustration with the current state of internet of things products and their manufacturers. Users purchase these products to ease their lives, but are instead forced to spend more money to keep products working through pointless subscriptions and unnecessary upgrades that make older products unfunctional. This Sonos saga is just another example of internet of things products failing its users.
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/24/sonos_support_legacy_speakers/
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 