So it has been about two days since the launch of the new Sonos app. Judging by the number of negative posts on this community forum and on the Sonos subreddit, I think it is pretty safe to say that the app launch has been a pretty massive failure.
This is a very critical moment for Sonos. The Sonos app is the core of their ecosystem. I can imagine tensions are running high at the Sonos headquarters as they try to figure out what went wrong and how they need to respond. A moment like this can sometimes be the beginning of the end for a company and Sonos knows this.
Consumer trust is the most important thing a company needs to remain successful and to grow. Sonos dropped the ball with the new app and has lost the trust of many new and loyal customers. And the timing cannot be any worse with the upcoming release of their new headphones.
So what does Sonos need to do next? What kind of response would ease your anger and frustrations? How much time are you willing to give Sonos to bring back the many missing app features? How will this bungled app launch affect the launch of the new headphones? Will it be delayed until the app situation has been resolved? Has the new app launch changed your mind about purchasing new Sonos products? What does Sonos need to do to earn back your trust?
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I’ve long believed Sonos is THE BEST MUSIC app of any kind. Their customer service and tech support is awesome. This update is a CLUSTER. hard, if not impossible, to figure out muting and speaker volumes. The solve?? Change it back today. How many meetings does that take to figure out. This is now a pain vs simple.
So it has been about two days since the launch of the new Sonos app. Judging by the number of negative posts on this community forum and on the Sonos subreddit, I think it is pretty safe to say that the app launch has been a pretty massive failure.
This is a very critical moment for Sonos. The Sonos app is the core of their ecosystem. I can imagine tensions are running high at the Sonos headquarters as they try to figure out what went wrong and how they need to respond. A moment like this can sometimes be the beginning of the end for a company and Sonos knows this.
Consumer trust is the most important thing a company needs to remain successful and to grow. Sonos dropped the ball with the new app and has lost the trust of many new and loyal customers. And the timing cannot be any worse with the upcoming release of their new headphones.
So what does Sonos need to do next? What kind of response would ease your anger and frustrations? How much time are you willing to give Sonos to bring back the many missing app features? How will this bungled app launch affect the launch of the new headphones? Will it be delayed until the app situation has been resolved? Has the new app launch changed your mind about purchasing new Sonos products? What does Sonos need to do to earn back your trust?
Sales of the forthcoming 500 usd ACE headphones look particularly shaky with this app fiasco providing the mood music at launch
The new UI often just makes no sense in what happens (or doesn't happen) when you press a button. Will it take you back a screen? No, probably close it. Some things look like buttons but aren't!
I think this fiasco will became a case study in years to come.
Pure speculation: Ace probably requires the new app. Can’t imagine they would ship, and then not pull the new app in the state it’s in otherwise.
To start rebuilding trust they need to communicate with owners wtf is going on.
They have essentially 2 choices:
1. Roll-back (with significant loss of face)
2. Forge on, possibly over months, and take the flak and the desertion of users (where they going to go? Replacement systems come at a hefty cost for those with multiple devices, and many lack the wide library of services which Sonos offered)
Here is an official response Sonos sent to The Verge:
I don't even buy the need a new App for the headphones thing.
We are told time and time again the App is simply a remote control for the system, it isn't ‘the’ system.
There has been no speaker/system firmware upgrade yet so no reason for the App. We've had many products introduced by a simple ‘point’ firmware update.
Apparently they're being ‘brave’. *.
Apparently you sometimes need to take a few steps back before moving forward. Try telling that to the blind community. Again, *.
My system is quite literally junk since the update. None of it works. When I reinstall the speakers, the app then says they are not there/not recognised. The amount of ‘something went wrong’ in the app is beyond belief. I’ve now given up and unplugged my speaker system and chucked it all in the cupbard as there appears to be no resolution to this fiasco.
Unless they go back to the app from 48hrs ago I am not sure whether Sonos will be a viable option in my household.
We are told time and time again the App is simply a remote control for the system, it isn't ‘the’ system.
Exactly. And if I were to stick to home audio, that is music listening, I don’t see what is all the hoopla being bandied about of a transformation in how we listen to music in the home for which the new app is the gateway. How and from what hardware? Sonos seems to have reverted to type, type being the HiFi maker that announces a revolution in music listening every couple of years.
Sonos promised the same thing in 2020 for S2 and that was all hot air at the end of the day.
This is either a masterstroke or lunacy and I am not seeing how it can be the former.
Sonos vision for your audio future:
"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."
Gobbledegook.
CEO Spence was in Blackberry top management when it went down the tubes once iPhones took off so he either brings baggage from that experience or useful learning from it.
But I do not see the iPhone equivalent threat for Sonos, an existential threat that needs these kind of radical measures. Am I missing something?
Sonos is now a me too solution, but it can still grow in that mode, I would think.
It would be very, very hard for them to earn back my trust and loyalty. First and foremost, they need to allow us (including iOS users) to rollback to the prior app version. And then they need to commit to not releasing any future apps without thorough testing and without deprecating valuable functions. They just seem to care a lot more about possible future sales than they do about current customers, even though those current customers continue to buy new items and are a powerful sales tool through their recommendation of Sonos. I don’t think that I could recommend Sonos to anyone now or post anything good about the company.
I now have Sonos for mote than 10 years and I have always loved the products and the app. But since the latest update (sorry, downgrade) I lost this love.
I lost my music library plus all the album pictures and beside that all the functionality mentioned earlier on this forum.
And for all the plans they have in the future? Which plans then? And are the users waiting for that? I only want to listen to my music and want to decide if an "upgrade" is something I want and not if it is something Sonos want.
Very bad thinking of Sonos.
It would be very, very hard for them to earn back my trust and loyalty. First and foremost, they need to allow us (including iOS users) to rollback to the prior app version. And then they need to commit to not releasing any future apps without thorough testing and without deprecating valuable functions.
I am in no way defending what they did but the point is, if they are going to remove functionality, especially key, core functionality, then it needs to be declared front and centre. You have a few ‘Are you sure?’s too.
Sonos did the exact opposite and specifically said FOR THIS APP UPDATE:
“We've taken great care to ensure that this update only enhances your Sonos experience. Your products, features and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved.”
That is outrageous. They still have a Web page up showing the new App with things like ‘Play now’ and ‘Play next’. This is misrepresentation of their product, deliberately misleading their customers and should be removed until the App is able to what the App it replaced could do!
So it has been about two days since the launch of the new Sonos app. Judging by the number of negative posts on this community forum and on the Sonos subreddit, I think it is pretty safe to say that the app launch has been a pretty massive failure.
I think it’s a failure in the sense that many people are vocal about their disappointment, but that was expected. I don’t think the launch is really much different that what Sonos expected. They knew features were going to be missing, so in that regard, it went ‘as planned’.
So what does Sonos need to do next?
I think we are seeing it. Sonos staff has responded here and there but it is usually getting lost in the midst of the other complaints. Sonos is going to be rolling out much more rapid changes to replace missing features in the next few weeks, likely prioritizing features that are complained about the most. I’m sure they would really like this issue to have died down before the next product release, at least to the point where there is some level of confidence.
What kind of response would ease your anger and frustrations? How much time are you willing to give Sonos to bring back the many missing app features? How will this bungled app launch affect the launch of the new headphones?
I’m not personally angry or frustrated, but I don’t know that there really is going to be too much to appease those that are. This is not the first time that a group of customers have expressed high levels of frustration with Sonos. Some will buy elsewhere, and some will just cool down with time. I don’t see Sonos rolling back to S2 as I think that likely creates a lot of other problems we just aren’t aware of.
It won’t have a positive impact on the new headphones, that’s for sure, but I don’t think it will hurt sales in the long term. Ultimately, the success or failure of the headphones is going to depend the features of the product itself, rather than app. Sound quality, noise cancellation, atmos, bluetooth connectivity, battery life, etc.
And to be clear, I am not personally frustrated with the app because I don’t really use the features that are missing on a regular basis. I don’t use local libraries, alarms, or the queue. I do basic playback, a lot of shuffling of radio stations, TV audio, basic grouping. I like the new web app more than the desktop for my needs. I am NOT saying that others have no reason to be frustrated. I’m just not really going to join in the chorus of complaints as nobody really needs that from me.
Will it be delayed until the app situation has been resolved? Has the new app launch changed your mind about purchasing new Sonos products? What does Sonos need to do to earn back your trust?
I really doubt the headphones will be delayed...again. It’s been rumored for a very long time and surely they want to get it out. I suspect that the setup of the headphones works well, as Sonos has stated in the past that they see that it’s very important to make that first impression. I do also believe that Ace requires the new app. I haven’t changed my mind about purchasing new products. That does not mean I’m definitely purchasing any new product as that will depend on features and what I ‘need’.
I have not lost trust in Sonos personally. I completely understand why others have lost trust, but I just honestly haven’t. I’ve been following the company for years and have seen other issues pop up that they have moved past. This is a UI, and while it looks bad, it’s something that they can fix. This is not like other cases where apple/google changed their OSs, old device hardware can’t handle new features of the system, or a protocol is out dated an no longer secure. I don’t expect others to agree with that.
All Sonos need to do is fix the alarms, given (amazingly) the majority of moans and groans seem to be about alarms
Who the hell buys a 300 usd device to use as a musical alarm clock ?
Good grief, talk about 1st world problems...
If I’m not mistaken, the alarms are already back. At least I saw them yesterday.
I don’t see Sonos rolling back to S2 as I think that likely creates a lot of other problems we just aren’t aware of.
There are a lot of people on this forum which have rolled back to the previous version of the app (Android) or who have stopped updating their devices after the first one has been updated (iOS), and they do not seem to have problems.
Go figure, they even seem to have less problems than the people who updated.
I don’t see Sonos rolling back to S2 as I think that likely creates a lot of other problems we just aren’t aware of.
There are a lot of people on this forum which have rolled back to the previous version of the app (Android) or who have stopped updating their devices after the first one have been updated (iOS), and they do not seem to have problems.
Go figure, they even seem to have less problems than the people who updated.
@melvimbe.
Are those problems like Rumsfeld's 'known unknowns' or 'unknown unknowns'? That some posters sort of hint that they 'know' what's going on, and all will be relieved in due time and place, is infuriating for the bewildered users left with broken systems.
Sonos sent an email hyping the app on April 23. I don’t think the app roll out is going as planned. Unless they intentionally mislead/lied.
How will this affect my system?
We've taken great care to ensure that this update only enhances your Sonos experience. Your products, features, and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved.
Regarding the Verve article, to self-label this stupid move as "courageous" is just ridiculous and sounds like chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin is just trying to spin this colossal mistake. And to say that it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future also seems like trying to spin the fact that they did not understand just how far back in time they were pushing the application. This gives the competition a 10 year headstart. And why couldn't they just keep supporting all existing features in parallel with developing the new technology that will have us all "leaping into the future" together? This feels more like tripping and falling into the past.
So it has been about two days since the launch of the new Sonos app. Judging by the number of negative posts on this community forum and on the Sonos subreddit, I think it is pretty safe to say that the app launch has been a pretty massive failure.
I think it’s a failure in the sense that many people are vocal about their disappointment, but that was expected. I don’t think the launch is really much different that what Sonos expected. They knew features were going to be missing, so in that regard, it went ‘as planned’.
So what does Sonos need to do next?
I think we are seeing it. Sonos staff has responded here and there but it is usually getting lost in the midst of the other complaints. Sonos is going to be rolling out much more rapid changes to replace missing features in the next few weeks, likely prioritizing features that are complained about the most. I’m sure they would really like this issue to have died down before the next product release, at least to the point where there is some level of confidence.
What kind of response would ease your anger and frustrations? How much time are you willing to give Sonos to bring back the many missing app features? How will this bungled app launch affect the launch of the new headphones?
The timer is missing and needs to be put back
I’m not personally angry or frustrated, but I don’t know that there really is going to be too much to appease those that are. This is not the first time that a group of customers have expressed high levels of frustration with Sonos. Some will buy elsewhere, and some will just cool down with time. I don’t see Sonos rolling back to S2 as I think that likely creates a lot of other problems we just aren’t aware of.
It won’t have a positive impact on the new headphones, that’s for sure, but I don’t think it will hurt sales in the long term. Ultimately, the success or failure of the headphones is going to depend the features of the product itself, rather than app. Sound quality, noise cancellation, atmos, bluetooth connectivity, battery life, etc.
And to be clear, I am not personally frustrated with the app because I don’t really use the features that are missing on a regular basis. I don’t use local libraries, alarms, or the queue. I do basic playback, a lot of shuffling of radio stations, TV audio, basic grouping. I like the new web app more than the desktop for my needs. I am NOT saying that others have no reason to be frustrated. I’m just not really going to join in the chorus of complaints as nobody really needs that from me.
Will it be delayed until the app situation has been resolved? Has the new app launch changed your mind about purchasing new Sonos products? What does Sonos need to do to earn back your trust?
I really doubt the headphones will be delayed...again. It’s been rumored for a very long time and surely they want to get it out. I suspect that the setup of the headphones works well, as Sonos has stated in the past that they see that it’s very important to make that first impression. I do also believe that Ace requires the new app. I haven’t changed my mind about purchasing new products. That does not mean I’m definitely purchasing any new product as that will depend on features and what I ‘need’.
I have not lost trust in Sonos personally. I completely understand why others have lost trust, but I just honestly haven’t. I’ve been following the company for years and have seen other issues pop up that they have moved past. This is a UI, and while it looks bad, it’s something that they can fix. This is not like other cases where apple/google changed their OSs, old device hardware can’t handle new features of the system, or a protocol is out dated an no longer secure. I don’t expect others to agree with that.
Unless they go back to the app from 48hrs ago I am not sure whether Sonos will be a viable option in my household.
Exactly right. I will definitely leave. Been a loyal customer with 4 devices. But this app is deeply, deeply flawed and needs to be fixed immediately or withdrawn until it is. If not, see ya.
