Two months after initial release and a statement later, Sonos’ CEO apologizes to users over its messy app redesign
Two months ago, Sonos completely refreshed its app, with a new look, and… fewer features? The update introduced more bugs than it did excitement, and users were less than pleased when their Sonos systems struggled to function like they once had.
For a company that relies so much on an interconnected system of devices where the app acts as the central guiding force, getting the redesign right was critical. When it wasn’t, users took to the internet to voice their displeasure. Interestingly, (and perhaps anecdotally) while many times these issues can seem overblown by a vocal minority on the internet, in this case, it feels like a unanimous issue — one shared by thousands of Sonos users.
An apology
Now, to put users’ minds at ease, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, has apologized for the redesign and its issues. In a blog update on the Sonos site, Spence says “We know that too many of you have experienced significant problems with our new app which rolled out on May 7, and I want to begin by personally apologizing for disappointing you.” A far cry from previous statements that saw him stand by the app redesign, and that users just couldn’t see what the firm had planned.
Here’s the thing now — Sonos has to actually do something. There have been updates to the app since its woeful rollout, but there are still significant issues with devices dropping out, not appearing at all, and some missing features. Spence has given us a release schedule to put our minds at ease, and it looks like this:
July and August:
- Improving the stability when adding new products
- Implementing Music Library configuration, browse, search, and play
August and September:
- Improving Volume responsiveness
- User interface improvements based on customer feedback
- Improving overall system stability and error handling
September:
- Improving Alarm consistency and reliability
September and October:
- Restoring edit mode for Playlists and the Queue
- Improving functionality in settings
He closes his apology with a ‘deep appreciation’ of users’ patience and admits that Sonos now has to work hard to regain users’ trust. Is it too little too late? If the updates come when he says they will, likely not. No one is going to go out and rebuy their entire system again — but new customers might still be put off by other users talking about a rough app.
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