What you need to know
- Sonos recently announced that it would be ending support for some of its older speakers in May 2020.
- Following a lot of backlash, Sonos reassures that legacy speakers won't be bricked in any way.
- It's also working on a way to split your system between old and current devices.
Sonos found itself in the middle of the spotlight this week, and not for the right reasons. The company issued a press release announcing that it would be ending support for some of its legacy speakers come May 2020, and this got a lot of people worked up. Following a few hours of relentless backlash, Sonos has issued a follow-up statement to clear the air on a few things.
For starters, Sonos wants to make sure you know that its legacy speakers won't be bricked in any way. Big software updates will no longer be sent out once May rolls around, but you can still use them as you are right now.
Per Sonos CEO Patrick Spence:
We are not bricking them, we are not forcing them into obsolescence, and we are not taking anything away. Many of you have invested heavily in your Sonos systems, and we intend to honor that investment for as long as possible. While legacy Sonos products won't get new software features, we pledge to keep them updated with bug fixes and security patches for as long as possible.
Similarly, Sonos says that it will "work to offer an alternative solution" if it "runs into something core to the experience that can't be addressed."
On top of that, Spence says that the company is working to let users split their system between old and new speakers and use them without any issues.
Secondly, we heard you on the issue of legacy products and modern products not being able to coexist in your home. We are working on a way to split your system so that modern products work together and get the latest features, while legacy products work together and remain in their current state. We're finalizing details on this plan and will share more in the coming weeks.
Speakers like the Sonos One, Beam, Move, etc. aren't being affected at all by this policy change. This only refers to Sonos' original Play:5, CR 200, Bridge, Connect/Connect:Amp, and Zone Players. The devices were all released between 2006 and 2009, making them 11 years old at the youngest.
If you do have one of the legacy speakers mentioned above, Sonos is offering a 30% credit for each one you replace for a new model. I'd argue the company has handled the situation as best as it can, but that's obviously not the general sentiment among users. Here's to hoping the new statement can settle things down a bit.
