I don't know if the new app was rushed out the door because the Sonos Ace (headset) is about to be launched. But my gut feeling days yes. Why else release an app in this state.....
With this context. Where you interested in buying the Sonos Ace before the new app release? And has the new app release changed your interest in buying the Sonos Ace?
The app was launched in the state it’s in because of the headphones, there is no doubt. Possible June 5 launch by the way.
I was interested in the headphones, was looking forward to reviews on how they would work in the system as well as on the go. Still am interested, maybe more want to see if it’s a crap show though due to the app.
I’m not buying any Sonos products until the app is fixed anyways and it won’t be by June 5.
Hopefully these headphones come with a subscription that unscrews the app, cause many won't be able to add them to their accounts or will encounter errors or endless update loops.
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Good money after bad 
?
I’m interested in buying high end quality headphones this year and the Sonos Ace are on my list as potential ones.
The app issues are relevant but not a defining factor for me to decide to buy the Ace or not.
I’m not fully invested in the Sonos ecosystem yet. I might be in the future.
Right now, my priority is to get the best sounding all-purpose headphones. Hopefully with an audiophile sound signature.
And I’ve been waiting for a number of technologies to advance. Namely lossless audio with low latency across devices and wider support for spatial audio.
Features (high to low priority) :
I have big demands that most likely won’t be met so the app issue is really a low priority for me.
I want to use my headphones with few compromises everywhere and for everything. Watching movies, listening to music, playing games and producing content on the go, at home on my PC or connected to my TV.
IF Sonos Ace come close to being the headphones to rule them all, I’ll get it.
If not I’ll wait to see what others have to offer this year.
Apple might also release the AirPods Max 2 later this year. So it might be my compromise option.
Likely they’ll use wifi for lossless audio, low latency audio across Apple devices. But for PC and Android I’m sure they’ll use some old BT implementation with high latency.
All academic if your hearing is shot 
Features (high to low priority) :
I’m not sure if you’re looking for “best in class” or decent. 
I get your point though. I don’t think Sonos will have much in the way of EQ for WiFi audio, as they haven’t really before, however this could be an exception. There’s no tuning with headphones, so perhaps it makes sense to allow for more EQ in this case? For bluetooth audio, I think the EQ would be up to the source device, wouldn’t it?
I don’t think these headphones will be too good for gaming, and I don’t think Sonos will try and market it as such. It may pass for casual gaming, but I don’t think they will have the low latency you’re looking for. As well, Sonos bluetooth speakers can’t even take a phone call currently, so I think that’s going to be the first ask for using the mics for something other than voice control and noise cancellation, much less communication over gaming. The focus is likely going to be for ‘serious’ music listening and TV watching.
This is rumored to be the case. I would not be surprised if it has limited use cases as you suggested. Since Sonos is primarily a WiFi audio system, I would not be surprised if it’s only available through WiFi and not through bluetooth at all. At least at first. Again, while I’m sure it will have bluetooth and function away from the home, it’s primary goal is likely home audio over WiFi.
Rumored to be 30 hours.
It should have Alexa (with the same limits as other Sonos products) and SVC, possibly with some additional features specific to the headphones, like turning noise cancellation on/off.
I have big demands that most likely won’t be met so the app issue is really a low priority for me.
I want to use my headphones with few compromises everywhere and for everything. Watching movies, listening to music, playing games and producing content on the go, at home on my PC or connected to my TV.
IF Sonos Ace come close to being the headphones to rule them all, I’ll get it.
If not I’ll wait to see what others have to offer this year.
Apple might also release the AirPods Max 2 later this year. So it might be my compromise option.
Likely they’ll use wifi for lossless audio, low latency audio across Apple devices. But for PC and Android I’m sure they’ll use some old BT implementation with high latency.
I’m really doubtful that these headphones are going to meet all your requirements. Maybe in the next generation or so, but not right out of the gate. Sonos is introducing new features they haven’t done before for headphones, because they are headphones, but they will still cater to the same market demographics they always have. It’s for consumers who want a balance of quality and ease of use. It’s not going to meet the needs of content producers and gamers. It’s not going to be a business telelcommunications device. It’s not going to cater to audiophiles.
I personally have not decided whether I’ll get the headphones or not. I need to see the official features at first. I’m not sure playing audio over WiFi is enough for me, and I don’t know that the TV audio feature is that useful to me personally, or how easy to use it will be. Honestly, I think the killer feature(s) for me would be how well it switches between WiFi and bluetooth, maybe multiple bluetooth devices, and take phone calls. Again, I don’t think this is Sonos priority, but I don’t really want to take thee headphones off in order to put in a different pair of headphones just to take a phone call.
Although I am not really effected by the issues with the new app, I am concerned that Ace has been rushed to production as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if some things are not quite ready for primetime. I’m also concerned that support/dev won’t prepared to handle any issues as they currently have their hands full.
The question is if Sonos wants to enter the headphones market with a bang or just repeat what others have done in the past.
I’m hopeful that the reason why they are entering this market now, is due to the latest audio chipset advances that are supposed to arrive in headphones and earbuds throughout 2024.
These new versions of audio chipsets, aim to solve all these different issues we’ve had over the years such as the seamless transition from wifi to bluetooth that you mention in your post multipoint, lossless audio, low latency (sub 20ms). And they are backwards compatible.
If Sonos Ace launches with Qualcomm S7 Gen Pro they would be the first to do so.
That’s a really big way to enter the market. This chip literally does everything and it’s meant to compete with whatever other audio companies are preparing for the market.
https://www.qualcomm.com/products/internet-of-things/consumer/audio/qualcomm-s7-sound-platforms
https://www.soundguys.com/qualcomm-xpan-wifi-earbuds-102360/
No matter what Sonos launches tomorrow, I think this will be a big year for the headphones audio market. I mention Qualcomm but other audio chipset companies are launching new products with similar features.
What puzzles me is whether Sonos is alive to the possibility that people that buy these will not be able to get them to work because the app is broken. The juxtaposed timing of the two events seems to be all wrong.
What puzzles me is whether Sonos is alive to the possibility that people that buy these will not be able to get them to work because the app is broken. The juxtaposed timing of the two events seems to be all wrong.
Yep. With such a badly botched “update” to its primary app, what is the likelihood an entirely new product released days later from the same company will go smoothly? But I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder, right? Sonos believed its broken app was good enough to be released, and even after the many valid criticisms were raised from a large number of users, Sonos decided it would be wise to issue a statement explaining how courageous they were for releasing it as is. So we are now all better educated. Got it, thanks for all your courage Sonos. And, if upon release there are basic functional problems with their new headphones that might somehow, well, disappoint us, I suppose it would really be our fault for having unrealistic expectations…because, you know…its an entirely new product (Okay, end of sarcasm…)
The past few years I have been very interested in the prospect of a new headphone offering from Sonos. Right now, I am lukewarm at best. Even if the specs and proposed functionality interest me enough, there is no way I spend $500+ on hardware that I no longer can assume will actually work out of the box. I need to see the app fully repaired before there is any real interest from me about new product offerings from Sonos.
Right now it looks like people have to choose between:
1- Sonos Ace and a disfunctional home audio system.
2- (if you lucky) A 16.1 app and functional home audio system, but now way to control or use the Sonos Ace.
Choices, choices....
Right now it looks like people have to choose between:
1- Sonos Ace and a disfunctional home audio system.
2- (if you lucky) A 16.1 app and functional home audio system, but now way to control or use the Sonos Ace.
Choices, choices....
Or Sonos could be “courageous” and give us the option of an S2 app based on 16.1 and an S3 app for those who want to get the headphones, and use a pig-ugly, unfriendly interface with reduced functionality.
I wont buy any sonos products again.
Lost faith
Not me.
Don’t trust Sonos.
Don't own an Arc.
Don't watch TV that often on my own.
Lack of innovation.
Headphone, huh?
This is a company that is has turned their back on their core product and is grasping at straws to remain in business. I reckon most of their customers like me have saturated their homes and don’t need any more product. They forced us to churn our older components into S2 while trimming their workforce. Now what? Headphones? Leaving stock analysts scratching their heads.
Even if the cans are innovative, if that market matters, someone with deeper pockets like Apple or Sony or Harman or whoever will simply catch up. By the time the app debacle dust clears, there will be more choices. I’m already sorry I’m so neck deep in Sonos. They’ve jumped the shark.
This is a company that is has turned their back on their core product and is grasping at straws to remain in business. I reckon most of their customers like me have saturated their homes and don’t need any more product. They forced us to churn our older components into S2 while trimming their workforce. Now what? Headphones? Leaving stock analysts scratching their heads.
Even if the cans are innovative, if that market matters, someone with deeper pockets like Apple or Sony or Harman or whoever will simply catch up. By the time the app debacle dust clears, there will be more choices. I’m already sorry I’m so neck deep in Sonos. They’ve jumped the shark.
100% AGREE
Fixing the broken app is one thing, fixing the broken trust is another thing. I don’t feel mad over all this, I feel betrayed. Anger goes away but the sense of betrayal stays. So I have to pass on the headphones or any Sonos products until there is a new CEO. The app isn’t the problem it’s a symptom, the CEO is the problem.
Fixing the broken app is one thing, fixing the broken trust is another thing. I don’t feel mad over all this, I feel betrayed. Anger goes away but the sense of betrayal stays. So I have to pass on the headphones or any Sonos products until there is a new CEO. The app isn’t the problem it’s a symptom, the CEO is the problem.
Yup. Untrustworthy
Will I buy the Sonos Ace? Not under the current state of things. I'm not angry, I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that I can now only play my local library, the thing I listen to the most, via an external service (Roon). I'm a minimal streamer, yet that is the entire emphasis of the "improved" app. Changing is coming RSN; sure.
To speak directly to the Ace, no, I'm not interested. As described, it offers nothing over my Sennheiser Momentum 4. It's nothing more than an expensive BT headset, and if I'm going to spend premium money, maybe I'll look at a Focal. My hope for the Ace was wifi connectivity, just like Sonos speakers, and that would mean lossless 24-bit/48khz. Alas, no, just another BT headphone. Yawn, no thank you.
Rumor is Sonos rebuilt the app to concentrate on streaming because they want to morph in to a paid subscription streaming service in addition to a hardware company. Every business strives to have a subscription component because it is steady revenue. Sonos sales were down considerably last quarter. They are trying to address that with a new product, the headphones and possibly down the road a paid subscription streaming service.
Rumor is Sonos rebuilt the app to concentrate on streaming because they want to morph in to a paid subscription streaming service in addition to a hardware company. Every business strives to have a subscription component because it is steady revenue. Sonos sales were down considerably last quarter. They are trying to address that with a new product, the headphones and possibly down the road a paid subscription streaming service.
I don’t think you can call that a rumor, Sonos has had a paid streaming subscription service for years now, and it didn’t need a rewrite of the app to do it.
https://www.sonos.com/en-us/sonos-radio
So why would you need to build a new app from the ground up? Something in it has to be considerably different or they would just add on to the existing app. If not streaming, maybe the headphones or charging for playing our playlists?
So why would you need to build a new app from the ground up? Something in it has to be considerably different or they would just add on to the existing app. If not streaming, maybe the headphones or charging for playing our playlists?
I don’t know. But I also don’t attribute malice or greed to something I don’t know everything about, especially when it comes to corporate decisions. I sit back and wait for the story to unfold (and far more often than not the reason turns out to be something quite benign).
I wouldn’t call a company wanting to make or increase profits as greedy or malicious, but rather their basic fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. Therefore I would expect making money to be the basis of their decisions, which as a capitalist I’m fine with. Just do it competently.
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