Sonos’ recent reveal of its Arc Ultra and Sub 4 mark a positive shift for the company, as the two products were previously delayed so employees could focus on repairing its much-maligned app. The launch of the two products could be seen as a sign that Sonos is feeling optimistic about its app experience; a theory that has now been confirmed by company CEO Patrick Spence. Sonos claims that 90% of the app’s previously missing features have been restored, and that support will continue for the app over the coming months.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to address the most critical app issues and reintroduce the most requested legacy features,” says Spence, via FlatPanelsHD. “We’ve now reached a level of quality that gives us the confidence to release our exciting new products. As outlined in our commitments, we will continue to improve the software regularly and are determined to make the Sonos experience better than ever.”
The following was originally published October 7, 2024:
Sonos is still feeling the effects of its ill-fated app makeover earlier this year. “This is obviously a failure of Sonos, but it starts with me in terms of where it started,” CEO Patrick Spence told Reuters in an interview. Spence confided that the company fell short by trying to rush the app’s release, leading to a shortage of proper testing, as well as trying to cram in as many features as possible without sufficient time.
“We underestimated the complexity of the system and so our testing didn’t capture all of the things that it should,” Spence told Reuters. “We released it too soon.”
As a result, the CEO says that seven company leaders, as well as himself, will be giving up their bonus for the most recent fiscal year, “unless certain benchmarks are met.” There are currently no plans for any additional job cuts, Spence says. Additionally, Sonos recently revealed that it will be extending warranties for its speakers by one year as part of a mea culpa to its consumers, as well as forming a customer advisory board to help advise executives on company improvements, and delaying several products to focus on fixing the app.
The following was originally published August 26, 2024:
Those remaining hopeful that Sonos would re-release its old app as a temporary solution for its ongoing app crisis will be disappointed to hear that it won’t be happening. We previously reported that The Verge had revealed information that higher-ups in the audio company were considering going back to the old app. In a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), Sonos CEO Patrick Spence confirms that he was “hopeful” that the idea would work “until very recently,” but it could not be done:
“The trick of course is that Sonos is not just the mobile app, but software that runs on your speakers and in the cloud too. In the months since the new mobile app launched we’ve been updating the software that runs on our speakers and in the cloud to the point where today S2 is less reliable & less stable then [sic] what you remember. After doing extensive testing we’ve reluctantly concluded that re-releasing S2 would make the problems worse, not better. I’m sure this is disappointing. It was disappointing to me.”
The following was originally posted August 19, 2024:
Sonos’ app woes continue, as reports are emerging that the buggy update has caused layoffs at the audio company, and even indecision if it should just revert back to its old app. Early last week, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence announced that the company would be delaying two Q3 2024 product launches to focus on its app, and it seems like the company has been scrambling.
The Verge reports that leaders in the company have considered relaunching its old app (S2) as its team continues to work on improving its newer version. Additionally, sources close with the company told the publication that Sonos laid off around 100 employees last week across multiple departments. The following statement from Spence was provided to The Verge:
“We made the difficult decision to say goodbye to approximately 100 team members representing 6 percent of the company. This action was a difficult, but necessary, measure to ensure continued, meaningful investment in Sonos’ product roadmap while setting Sonos up for long term success.”
The following was originally published August 12, 2024:
Just a few weeks after Sonos CEO Patrick Spence made a public apology for the company’s problematic app relaunch, it is being reported that Sonos now delaying two product launches originally scheduled for Q4 of 2024 to focus on fixing the app, according to a recent earnings call. ““I will not rest until we’re in a position where we’ve addressed the issues and have customers raving about Sonos again,” Spence is quoted as saying during the call.
“Thanks to Ace, our long-awaited entry into headphones, we reported year over year revenue growth and delivered results that slightly exceeded our expectations in our third quarter,” wrote Spence in the Sonos’ Third Quarter Fiscal 2024 Results press release . “This was overshadowed by the problems that our customers and partners experienced as a result of the rollout of our new app, which in turn has required us to reduce our Fiscal 2024 guidance. We have a clear action plan to address the issues caused by our app as quickly as possible. While our app setback is regrettable, it is one chapter in our over twenty years of delighting customers. I speak for everyone at Sonos when I say that our #1 priority is to make this right and ensure that the next chapter is even better than the previous ones.”
Exactly which products are being delayed have as of yet not been revealed. Spence reportedly commented during the earnings call that fixing the app will cost the company somewhere between $20-30 milion.
WATCH: Eiffel Tower is given the projection mapping treatment to start the Olympic Games
The following was originally published on July 29, 2024:
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has finally addressed the backlash it has faced for the past few months after releasing a new version of its first-party app. The product overhaul was unable to deliver on its promise of making the app easier to use with new features and a more modern UI. Upon release, users began complaining that the app didn’t function properly, with some Sonos devices becoming difficult or even impossible to pair with, local music libraries ceasing to function, and missing standard features such as timers and alarms.
Since releasing the new app, Sonos has slowly been adding back features that were missing over time, but user consensus is that the company’s response to the fiasco has been insufficient and tone deaf, with the company’s Chief Product Officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin telling The Verge, “It takes courage to rebuild a brand’s core product from the ground up, and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future.”
Details and images of Sonos’ upcoming ultrapremium soundbar emerge
Late last week Spence published a blog post addressing the Sonos app concerns and laying out a roadmap for the near future.
“We know that too many of you have experienced significant problems with our new app which rolled out on May 7, and I want to begin by personally apologizing for disappointing you,” wrote Spence. “There isn’t an employee at Sonos who isn’t pained by having let you down, and I assure you that fixing the app for all of our customers and partners has been and continues to be our number one priority.”
Spence’s roadmap goes through August, each month improving features such as volume response, alarm consistency, and the interface, as well as adding back features like Music Library configuration options and playlist edits.
“We deeply appreciate your patience as we address these issues,” concludes Spence. “We know we have work to do to earn back your trust and are working hard to do just that.”
