Sonos sues Google

Amazon responds to Sonos allegations andsays they didn't infringe on Sonos parents.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/8/21056851/amazon-dave-limp-interview-sonos-google-response

From the article:

"I’m confident that we did not infringe on their IP. We built our solutions from a clean sheet of paper. We were the first person out with a connected, voice-enabled speaker. And that was done from a clean sheet of paper. So I’m as confident as I can be."

That bit makes sense. But there may be something in the grouped play of Echo speakers that has issues. 

What I also discount in the article is the Amazon claim of customer choice being holy to them and that they would therefore be ok to see multiple voice assistants on Sonos speakers.

As to voice control, I started off thinking this is a gimmick, but now find myself using it as an additional way of getting music from the speakers. There are times when this is more convenient than laying hands on the physical device to access the app to do so. But there are also times when voice commands are not appropriate, I agree.

Over the last decade I have come to realise, one step at a time, that there is no difference in sound quality from CDs/SACDs to wireless play of lossless rips on a NAS to lossy 256 kbps iTunes purchases stored on the NAS, to Apple Music streamed via the net. Part of the reason for that may be the simultaneous aging of the ears, but I suspect that is a small part. Sound quality really gets down to source mastering and speaker quality for the most part.

On the other hand there are still those that do not think that Sonos sound quality is good enough, in a similar manner that you refer to Amazon products; and that sound quality worth listening to demands better products, and from better sources than lossless CDs rips on a NAS.

Sonos runs the risk of being squeezed between these two sides at a time when Echo devices have made progress on the sound quality front in the last 4-5 years, while Sonos has not. Nothing against Sonos for that, I happen to think that at each price point, Sonos sound quality does not leave much to be desired, but the gap between Amazon and Sonos has been closing steadily over the years. And if one were to see just the voice control feature set, I have a feeling that the pioneer in this, Amazon, still has a lead over Sonos.

The clean sheet of paper is disingenuous, not copying someone has nothing to do with violating their patents.

A design process should at some point include a patent survey to insure nothing you are using infringes. Think of patents as landmines, you may waltz through a field of them if you are lucky, but to pass safely you’ll be on your knees probing every inch of the ground ahead of you looking for buried trouble.

More than one patent holder has noticed an infringement and not said a word until the infringer has gotten to the point of selling their infringing gear. Then they pop up and want paid or they will stop you from selling and demand punitive damages on any gear you do sell.

Yes, I sort of agree with the whole sound quality argument. My (nearly) 50 year old ears wouldn’t benefit from hi-res or so-called audiophile equipment but they can tell the difference between my FLAC CD rips on my NAS vs Spotify (can’t speak for Apple, not heard it). It’s not much but it’s there (some more noticeable than others) and I’d rather have my own library anyway but that probably says more about my generation and music ownership.

Sonos are no doubt caught between a rock and a hard place. Let’s just hope there’s still room for them in the market in the coming years.

Sonos CEO to testify at anti trust hearing on January 17.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/8/21057151/sonos-ceo-spence-testify-lawmakers-antitrust-google-lawsuit-speaker-patent

"Only a day after Sonos officially sued Google for stealing its tech designs, House antitrust leaders have invited the speaker company to air its grievances in an open hearing." (From the article)

+1 to that. Spence came to Sonos from Blackberry, and he was there when smartphones made those seen everywhere devices obsolete in a very short time, so this is a kind of deja vu for him, I suppose.

I don’t think we have stats on the sale of Amazon and Google’s more high end speakers, but I don’t hear a ton of buzz about it.  I wouldn’t guess that Sonos is terribly concerned about those themselves.  However, more traditional companies like Polk, Bose, etc are licensing Alexa access and using MRM, for example that would be more of a threat.  And of course, the lower end Echo and Google devices are pulling away some of those that are willing to settle for slightly lower sound quality.

The way I see it, it’s quite clear that Google and Amazon have had great success in the smart speaker market by leveraging there brand, tie ins with other products and services, large amounts of cash, and apparently not having to be too concerned about patent laws.  Whether these practices are fair to competitors and good for consumers is the debate.  The lawsuit is focusing on the patent issues, but there seems to be a larger anti-trust question also going on as well.

As a consumer, I know I’ve benefitted greatly from all the tech infrastrucure these companies have created, that couldn’t have been done without the perhaps questionable business practices.  At the same time, it’s not hard to imagine there would be a lot of additional successful companies doing a lot of great work that we are not seeing because of the dominance of big tech.

The only real winner in this will be the lawyers.

As a user of Sonos, Google, Amazon and Apple products, among many others, I hope the parties come to a quick resolution that has minimal impact on consumers who have already invested time and money on a myriad of ecosystems to be entertained in the best and sometimes easiest way possible.

Anything else would be considered a loss.

@vansmack : I agree, well said. I am in the same boat because no one company has the ability to meet all my needs.