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Sonos App Redesign AMA

Sonos App Redesign AMA
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J
Userlevel 2

 

 

B
Userlevel 6
Badge +2

How about we DM the members of the board of directors? Would that help with this..situation?

Really, I don’t know anymore. 

Good suggestion, contact board members, CEO, Chief Product Officer and send them a link to this AMA session.  Used LinkedIn messages if you have an account.

Mod Edit: Removed links to personal linkedin profiles. We don’t condone barraging peoples private accounts.

T
Userlevel 4
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What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

What a terrible answer. Witty puns are less than helpful. Building an app from the ground up is great, but don’t dump it on users without a choice and without feature parity and call it an upgrade. 

D
Userlevel 3

I see someone said they posted the link, but I still can’t find it anywhere on this page. Could someone please just post the direct URL in case it is wrapped in inaccessible content?

I
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

 Nice to hang out with you all.. but I have had my fill of fun with these clowns.

J
Userlevel 3

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Oh for goodness sake, this answer alone makes me want to never buy another product from Sonos ever again.

veryblocky
Userlevel 6
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What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.


I appreciate that, but as I asked in the original question, why didn’t you wait until critical issues were resolved?

J
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

When alarms was able to be added back as soon as today, why was the app released when it was in such an incomplete state nearly a week ago? 
 

Today. Sonos APP has a new Update . I just upgraded the app,  but I dind´t seet the alarm I´m looking for it

 

That’s not my point at all 

U
Userlevel 4
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Will we see numbers re-added to the volume adjusters or is Sonos sticking with this UI decision?

@danull  Yes - volume numbers will be returning to this UI. We are continuing to refine our volume UI based on user feedback and will soon be providing an update to these controls.  Volume numbers should be visible now in the grouping menu.

 

 

 

“Refine volume UI”?  One of the most BASIC functions of music listening.  Turn it up….  Turn it down…  Doesn’t really need refining.

I
Userlevel 4

I had senior testing roles with EDS, HP & DXC for nigh on 20 years,  I've seen some shocking s/w in my time but this outweighs them all as you've released a non-working app to your historic  customer community for beta testing.  

Do you not cross check usability against requirements (did you actually have any)? Messages such as a random  "Something went wrong" or "Something is missing" (ellipsis menu) are just not helpful (without even a reference ID)!

Sadly you appear to have a very low opinion of your customers & will lose them if you do not fix this & ideally design a proper app. (not one designed by a technical  illiterate).

I am extremely  unlikely to purchase further SONOS products & will  not endorse your products to friends or family until you fix this mess.

D
Userlevel 1
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Guys, guys I've figured it out!

The AMA team and the software development and testing testing team are the same!

Clearly they have never attended an AMA to know how they work, and clearly they have never used the Sonos app to know how that worked. 

At least they are consistent 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

S
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.



Oof, sorry @tuckerseverson , this is not really an answer to the question posed...

U
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Do you still think you made the right decision?

J
Userlevel 4
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If Sonos is just using this to log complaints, here are a few:

  • TuneIn - lost custom URLs, which is a must
  • TuneIn - “Favorites” on new app is different than “My Stations” on old app.  Need all my stations.
  • TuneIn - on new app only shows the beginning of station name, with large pointless icon.  For custom URLs, icon blank and I can’t tell one station from the next because they start with the same word (and there is no way to change the name)
  • Qobuz - saved playlists button brings up nothing (playlists missing)
  • Sonos Favorites - shows only a 19 of my 36 Favorites, in a seemingly random order
I
Userlevel 1

Basic question getting app to recognize devices is a problem. Or why doesn’t the app work for new users with new equipment. I don’t care about features at this point.

 

F
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Really BAD decision

A
Userlevel 3

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

So we’re not gonna get anything of use here? No apology. No explanation. No accountability. What a joke. 

S
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Now that it is clear that the new app is not actually ready, what are you going to be doing differently going forward?

 

C
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Tucker -

Perhaps a better way to phrase the question is: What was the thought process behind releasing the app update when it still lacked parity with significant features that many users relied upon in the previous app? Certainly you have telemetry showing how the previous app was being used?

R
Userlevel 5
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knock knock… ah you do eventually plan to have dinosaurs on your, on your dinosaur tour right? Hello… knock knock…

G
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

But why start again? Why not fix problems in old app instead of creating more problems!?

S
Userlevel 2
Badge

Guys, guys I've figured it out!

The AMA team and the software development and testing testing team are the same!

Clearly they have never attended an AMA to know how they work, and clearly they have never used the Sonos app to know how that worked. 

At least they are consistent 😂🤦🏼‍♂️

Hahaha. Very true. This is terrible. 

P
Userlevel 2
Badge

As an Android user almost as long as I have been a Sonos user (seventeen years!), so many features were removed from the Android app:

  • The notification that let you quickly pause or resume playback was removed. When the phone is ringing, or someone wants to talk to me, those 10 seconds are agonizing. I now have to launch the app, wait for it to load, wait for the screen with the room I’m in to load, and only then can I pause.
  • The home screen widget that allowed quick pause or resume or to see what was playing was removed.
  • The lock screen notification of what was playing was removed.

When can we expect this regression to be addressed?

D
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

So you’re saying to willingly decided to give us an app with missing previous features that is broken? The complaint here is that there was regression, not progression. 

T
Userlevel 4
Badge

What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?

Thank you @veryblocky @YorkSteve @umiami91. Since you all had similar questions, I’d like to answer them together.

An app is never finished! 

It’s probably a good idea to give you some background. This is a new app - we started from an empty project file. As the project progressed, we stopped investing our time in the old app code. Over time we “cross-faded” our engineering attention into the new app. We need to make the new app be the app going forward so we stop splitting our attention.

We decided that now is the moment to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will be continually iterating going forward. As I said - an app is never finished.

Yes, but most are functional.  What a cop out of an answer, honestly.  I’ve rolled out software before and not admitting this was a total debacle is outrageous in its face.  
 

Your decisions have repercussions and those will probably be people abandoning your fragile ecosystem after having given you thousands of dollars.  If that’s how you want to deliver to your shareholders that’s your business, but I’m done co tributes to it.

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