What was the thought process behind releasing the app update in an obviously unfinished state, instead of waiting for critical issues to be resolved?
Why was the upgrade released when it was clearly not ready, with so many features planned for later this month & June?
Hello, thank you for hosting this AMA today.
As a blind person who owns 15 Sonos devices and has respected the company for its commitment to accessibility over the years, I am appalled by the way it has shown such disregard for accessibility.
I and many other blind people reached out to Sonos ahead of the app’s launch, and received the response that basic accessibility was in the initial release.
Fortunately, a blind tester saved access to many of our Sonos systems when he blew the whistle and spread the word that the app was not accessible at all, and that it was impossible to perform essential and basic functions. Sonos misled us, either deliberately or because they did not have actual blind people advising them on accessibility at critical stages. It is accessibility 101 that it is a non-negotiable part of an initial app’s spec, and you build it in as a foundational component of any new app.
Sonos now claims that some of the most serious defects will be corrected in the 21 May release, but hopefully the panel can understand that there are a lot of blind people who can’t trust Sonos anymore. Given that Sonos got it so horribly wrong with this current release, why should we expect anything better in the next?
Will Sonos offer an apology to its blind users and accept that it got this wrong, and will Sonos commit to creating a Chief Accessibility Officer as a tangible commitment to ensuring this never happens again?
Why release the app so early when so many things were incomplete? What was the driver there? My system is now broken most of the time and even the old app isn’t working properly.
Why did you not warm users of missing functionality before pushing the upgrade? Being feature-poor, why not make it an opt-in?
Please upvote this post: Can you please provide an immediate easy way to rollback the mobile app to the prior version for those who can’t make the current version meet their needs.
It has been reported that beta testers questioned many of the features that were left out and also reported many issues and that these were not addressed in the beta testing.
And that the missing features would be added in the future.
And that there was feedback from the testers that this was not acceptable.
Why were the beta testers ignored in their honest feedback?
And they were never given a reason as to why the PUSH to get the halfbaked app published.
Also WHY was the new app NOT released as a BETA to any user and the S2 app continued for those (especially iOS users) to continue to use if they chose?
Please bring back 2 version 16.1 as an option on the download apps.
Will My Library be added back to Global search?
Will we see numbers re-added to the volume adjusters or is Sonos sticking with this UI decision?
What was the thought launching the update in the state it was in. Missing features, etc.
Are you really proud of this release?
setting aside all the “why did you do this release like this”, can you tell us how you will ensure it wont happen in the future, and what the plan is to address customer input in a more coherent way
Haha - is this the AMA “event”?
A simple forum thread devoid of answers…?
Nice way to drive the nail in the customer confidence coffin.
Be patient, Sonos folks overslept because they couldn't set an alarm clock 
why have you release something that clearly isn’t finished, full of bugs and gives a terrible user experience?
After investing almost $4000 in Sonos products - I am extremely disappointed that issues stemming from engineers dilemma were placed at a higher priority than maintaining usability and functionality for existing customers. Who made, and who is holding accountability for (from a senior leadership level), these decisions? What is being done to prevent this from happening again? What is being done to change the perspective on how you respond to frustrated customers? Calling the app update “brave” is a ridiculously out-of-touch position to take when you are removing functionality in favor of app “beautification”.
Why wasn’t the recent app offered as a “S3”, giving people the option to have a new interface & new features, but also allowing those that needed existing features to keep them?
A list that gave the pros & cons of staying on S2 or moving to S3 would have given the community choice, and allowed the developers to ask the S2 holdouts “What features do you need us to have in S3 to get you to move to it?”
The appropriate way forward here seems pretty clear and obvious:
- Say that you are sorry.
- Roll back the app.
- Have an open preview for the new app, until it's ready for general release.
- Shut down the web player until the security risks are addressed.
Honestly, everybody wins. Every customer anyway. Why won't you do this? @tuckerseverson @DianeRoberts @KateW
Three hours in and we're at the end of the advertised window for the AMA.
Final numbers then, though of course people will probably continue posting in the thread (numbers in brackets are the count at 2 hours and 1 hour)
@DianeRoberts - 9 (4, 0)
@KateW - 6 (5, 3)
@tuckerseverson - 4 (3, 2)
Total Sonos Responses - 19
Total Comments - 742
Average time between replies: 10.47
Looks like tucker got a little tuckered out at the 2 hour mark.
EDIT: Looks like Tucker woke up from his nap!
And some stats of my own counting:
Respect shown to customers - 0
Horrific discoveries - 2
- Data corruption issue in alarms didn’t stop a release.
- All speakers now available on the public internet protected only by a users password.
Feedback/suggestions actually taken by Sonos - 0
Awkward questions Sonos didn't want to address ignored - All of them
Commitments to do anything other than they'd already announced - None
Time wasted - 3 hours of my life anyway and I'm sure plenty of other customers
Also a piece of advice for anyone who side-loaded the 16.1 APK on Android, remember to turn off auto-updates in both the play store AND for the speaker firmware in the app. The first will stop the new app overwriting 16.1 and the second will stop your speakers downloading new firmware, you never know when Sonos will break compatibility with the 16.1 version.
Well, I was really interested in the romoured Sonos headphones, but I won't be buying them and I'll probably be looking elsewhere for hardware in the future.
Is the executive leadership team joining?
Can we have a rollback right now?
I noticed that the re-introduction of alarms actually required an update to Sonos devices as well as the app today. Does this mean that the new UI revamp was in fact much more than just a revamp to the UI? Are there currently bigger changes happening on the device side as well?
Can you please explain to me how I am supposed to trust the leadership of this company?
the last week has seen:
-an app marketed as “better” remove core functionality without telling us.
-a chance to receive and review feedback and still sending out promo emails saying the app is better when the consumer base is saying it does jot fulfill user needs.
-a statement praising the company for the release and gaslighting the users who do not like it.
-a statement outlining the dates at which features will be reimplemented meaning you were aware you were marketing a less functionally capable app as “better”
-a timeline of “months” to restore core functionality meaning that from the first promo emails on April 23 you knew that the the app would be functionally inferior to what we already had.
-an announcement of an AMA seemingly in response to the overwhelming negative feedback
-a failure to host the AMA on a host actually capable of facilitating the conversation
-a stunning lack of participation from the admins
-PR speak in response to the most committed customers voicing legitimate complaints.
frankly, the Sonos app launch was a failure. the response has been condescending, patronizing and flat out insulting.
Two hours in and here we are (numbers in brackets are the count at 1 hour)
@DianeRobertsApps - 4 (0)
@KateW - 5 (3)
@tuckerseverson - 3 (2)
One has to wonder if they have to run every response past corporate laywers given the amount of time it seems to take them.
And some stats of my own counting:
Respect shown to customers - 0
Horrific discoveries - 2
- Data corruption issue in alarms didn’t stop a release.
- All speakers now available on the public internet protected only by a users password.
Feedback/suggestions actually taken by Sonos - 0
