Sonos CEO apologizes for disastrous rollout of new app

Jul 26, 2024 01:00 AM - 4 months ago 99958

The large Sonos app redesign was intended to make nan company’s package much modern, customizable, and easier to use. But 2 months aft its May release, it’s difficult to look astatine this business arsenic thing but a colossal unforced error. Sonos has been steadily adding backmost missing features and functionality pinch predominant app updates, but nan chorus of customer vexation isn’t going away.

To that end, CEO Patrick Spence coming published a letter that covers nan advancement Sonos has made pinch nan caller app — and what customers tin expect successful nan adjacent future. It besides contains Sonos’ first nonstop apology for nan unsmooth spot that “too many” users person gone through. Some customers person been waiting for that aft nan company’s first responses (like saying nan app overhaul took “courage”) came crossed arsenic tone-deaf, fixed each nan bugs and method difficulties.

“I want to statesman by personally apologizing for disappointing you,” Spence writes. “There isn’t an worker astatine Sonos who isn’t pained by having fto you down, and I guarantee you that fixing nan app for each of our customers and partners has been and continues to beryllium our number 1 priority.”

He goes connected to laic retired nan company’s package roadmap from now done October. Sonos is presently updating and improving nan app each 2 weeks and has astir precocious addressed issues pinch local room playback. But immoderate much-requested features — for illustration nan expertise to edit nan opus queue from wrong nan Sonos app — aren’t expected to beryllium disposable until nan fall.

In hindsight, it’s painfully evident that Sonos should person released nan rebuilt app arsenic a beta for early adopters of the Sonos Ace headphones, which aren’t compatible pinch nan erstwhile version, and kept nan existing package successful spot while bringing nan 2 to parity. But apparently there’s nary putting nan ghost backmost successful nan bottle, truthful now nan institution is moving arsenic accelerated arsenic it tin to make nan caller app present connected everything it was designed to do.

We cognize that excessively galore of you person knowledgeable important problems pinch our caller app which rolled retired connected May 7, and I want to statesman by personally apologizing for disappointing you. There isn’t an worker astatine Sonos who isn’t pained by having fto you down, and I guarantee you that fixing nan app for each of our customers and partners has been and continues to beryllium our number 1 priority.

We developed nan caller app to create a amended experience, pinch nan expertise to thrust much invention successful nan future, and pinch nan knowledge that it would get amended complete time. However, since motorboat we person recovered a number of issues. Fixing these issues has delayed our anterior scheme to quickly incorporated missing features and functionality.

Since May 7, we person released caller package updates astir each 2 weeks, each making important and meaningful improvements, adding features and fixing bugs. Please spot the release notes for Sonos package updates for elaborate accusation connected what has been released to date.

While these package updates person enabled nan mostly of our customers to person a robust acquisition utilizing nan Sonos app, location is much activity to beryllium done. We person prioritized nan pursuing improvements successful our adjacent shape of package updates:

July and August:

Improving nan stableness erstwhile adding caller products

Implementing Music Library configuration, browse, search, and play

August and September:

Improving Volume responsiveness

User interface improvements based connected customer feedback

Improving wide strategy stableness and correction handling

September:

Improving Alarm consistency and reliability

September and October:

Restoring edit mode for Playlists and nan Queue

Improving functionality successful settings

We scheme to proceed releasing caller package updates connected a bi-weekly cadence. With each release, we will share detailed notes connected what we’ve addressed and what we’re moving connected adjacent successful our community.

We profoundly admit your patience arsenic we reside these issues. We cognize we person activity to do to gain backmost your spot and are moving difficult to do conscionable that. I americium ever unfastened to your feedback, you tin find maine via email at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Patrick Spence

CEO