In April, Sonos unveiled a new version of its mobile app, promising greater flexibility, greater customizability, and ease of use.
But when the app was actually released to customers on May 7, the results were quite different, with customers experiencing numerous issues and many unhappy that certain features (some pretty obvious ones, like “play next”) had been removed. For Sonos users, this was a big problem, because the Sonos app is the primary way they control their home audio systems and music libraries.
Sonos was initially defensive, claiming that overhauling the app took “courage,” but now, in an open letter posted to the company’s website, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence admits that the overhaul was a mistake.
Mashable Lightspeed
“I know many of you experienced significant issues with our new app, which launched on May 7. First, I want to personally apologize for any disappointment we may have caused you,” he wrote. “I can assure you that fixing the app for all of our customers and partners has been and will continue to be our number one priority.”
Spence said the company has released a number of fixes since May that “make the Sonos app better for the vast majority of our customers.”
He then lists several updates scheduled to be released between July and October, and frankly, one look at the items on that list makes it easy to see what a flop this app update is. Updates include “improved stability when adding new products,” “improved volume responsiveness,” “user interface improvements based on customer feedback,” and “improved overall system stability and error handling.” See the full list here.
Sonos Ace headphones review: hands-on experience from the audio giant’s first headphones
Sonos plans to release software updates every two weeks and asks for patience as they continue to rebuild the app.
