Sonos, please stop obsoleting my iPhone controllers!

In fact it is Apple's practice of planned obsolescence that means the iPhones cannot cope with essential Sonos developments.

Try the sonophone app to keep your iOS controller alive:-
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sonophone/id815251931?mt=8

I'd rather Sonos crack on with new developments and features than worry about 7 year old Apple or Android products. You could equally have a pop at those companies for not giving their old phones the new OS.

Also there are alternatives such as the sonophone suggested above. Or get an Amazon Fire tablet for £50 to retain full functionality as well as giving potential for Alexa VC in the future.

Sonos only makes money from selling new hardware.
Would this deter new sales.............probably not.

Sonos only makes money from selling new hardware.
Would this deter new sales.............probably not.

Actually, this has been discussed. Apple only allows older versions of an app to be released as is, you cannot release multiple new versions of an app targeted for a particular range of iOS versions. This means if Sonos were to try to support older versions of iOS, they would need to freeze the users system to that version of the app. This would mean:


1) Any changes to streaming protocols, security, features, etc. would not be possible on the old app. Through mere attrition, eventually the majority of streaming services would not continue to operate, as the BBC, Spotify, and others ceased working for the few users who insisted on not upgrading to version 5.0. Since streaming services comprise 92% of Sonos usage as of the last published data, the impact of those very few who would prefer using a unsupported iOS controller over having no streaming services would be minimal on sales.

2) Since the hardware would be frozen at a legacy firmware version, no new Sonos hardware could ever be added. This most definitely would effect sales, eliminating those who choose the above course (no matter how few) from any future sales of new Sonos products.

So as you can see, allowing users to continue to use legacy app versions is difficult, would never add to sales, and would eventually eliminate one of Sonos best selling points, the ability to stream from dozens of services. Not a very good ROI if your company cares about those things.

Amazon Fire 7 on sale on prime day for £29! That's a small round of drinks in A London pub

Consistency? The Sonos System Requirements Page https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/127/kw/ios%20version says iOS 9. The App page says iOS 8. Like OP I recycle my phones and am disappointed that they should stop working. Why not publish a Legacy Sonos App that works on much older devices but only performs the basic functions - add/start/stop of songs, radio, line-in. The protocol hasn't changed in these areas so there is no reason why it should ever die. SonoPhone no longer has the edge for features but at least it works down to iOS 6.

As explained above, Apple rules prohbit legacy type apps targeted at older iOS versions. They only allow the actual older versions of an app to be released, and since Sonos is a system, eventually older versions will not work with newer hardware. Also, streaming protocols, security, features, etc., will eventually render an old version useless even if the hardware is not updated. This was seen by folks who refused to upgrade to 5.0, and eventually changes to the BBC, Spotify, and AWS security measures rendered their systems useless except for local music.

Consistency? The Sonos System Requirements Page https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/127/kw/ios%20version says iOS 9. The App page says iOS 8. Like OP I recycle my phones and am disappointed that they should stop working. Why not publish a Legacy Sonos App that works on much older devices but only performs the basic functions - add/start/stop of songs, radio, line-in. The protocol hasn't changed in these areas so there is no reason why it should ever die. SonoPhone no longer has the edge for features but at least it works down to iOS 6.
I'm confused about how someone seeks out a month-old thread, but doesn't actually read the posts in it.

I don't accept the argument. I can see two solutions - code in the app that detects the iOS version and only offers the advanced functions to those versions that can handle it. Alternatively issue apps with the version number - Sonos6, Sonos7, Sonos8 etc. The older ones don't need to be updated just continue to work with the function they were designed for. After all the protocol doesn't change so there is no reason why they should stop. SonoPhone can do it.