Sonos Apologizes for Widely Criticized App Redesign, Provides Progress Update

[MacRumors]

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence today penned a blog post on the Sonos website apologizing for the controversial Sonos app redesign and promising ongoing updates throughout the year.

Spence said that improving the app for customers is the company's number one priority, and he explained that addressing bugs that came up in the new app delayed the introduction of additional features.

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. There isn't an employee at Sonos who isn't pained by having let you down, and I assure you that fixing the app for all of our customers and partners has been and continues to be our number one priority.

Spence shared an outline of future feature plans, with Sonos planning to push updates on a bi-weekly basis. Alarms are set to be addressed in September, with edit mode for playlists and the queue coming in September or October.

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

Spence says that Sonos is working hard to earn back customer trust through the continual app improvements.

Sonos in May released its redesigned app with customizable home screen and a more personalized listening service. Sonos customers quickly found that the app lacked several key features, and suffered from multiple bugs. Complaints across social media called the app a "step back" for removing playlist management, alarms, and other features.

Article Link: Sonos Apologizes for Widely Criticized App Redesign, Provides Progress Update

 

[GIZBUG]

Almost 3 months before CEO decides to issue an apology? Oy Vey.... 🥲

 

[coffeemilktea]

You think a company that makes as much money as Sonos could afford to hire competent app designers and a better quality-control team, but I guess that was one expense too far.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

I feel like apps are changed these days for the sake of change. Maybe keep them the same until there is an actual, pragmatic reason for them to change, and you won't have these issues.

 

[jz0309]

I wanna say “better late than never”, but you got to ask about the why these changes were done in the first place and why it took 3 or so months…

 

[Harry Haller]

I wanna say “better late than never”, but you got to ask about the why these changes were done in the first place and why it took 3 or so months…

Corporate inertia is a powerful force.
Butterfly keyboard has entered the chat.

 

[rictus007]

So we should expect a release candidate around Oct (2024?). Happy to unofficially beta test the app and in my opinion it’s not that bad (had seen worse).

 

[squawk7000]

A pledge for a two week update cycle, hope they test it before updating.

the release a couple of days ago has background activity battery issues on iOS. On both iPhone and iPad I am seeing 4 or 5 minutes screen time and 24hours background sucking the charge out of the battery. grrr . Lots of complaints on the Sonos forum.

 

[dannyyankou]

Slightly unrelated, but I don't like how Sonos puts their logo on sideways on most of their speakers now. It looks weird.

 

[CheesePuff]

Almost 3 months before CEO decides to issue an apology? Oy Vey.... 🥲

and another 3 months (6 months after the release) before you can properly adjust the volume and edit a playlist?!

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

I know that since this is a NOT-Apple product, the piling-on will be thick... as it is in all threads with somebody else's offerings and a big picture of somebody else's brand or product... but I'm neither an Apple hater nor fan who owns LOTS of Apple stuff and some Sonos speakers. My own opinion: the app was a wholesale overhaul... like Apple has done many times before too (iWork, FCP, etc) and "big change" always begets big complaints.

However, after working with it a bit, I came to realize that the bulk of the things I used to use the app to do was now on the Home Screen and I could even put that where I want it. Unlike before, now I don't have to drill down very often with 2 or 3 or 4 clicks to get to "main" functionality. It was all brought up so it is one click to enjoy.

After adapting, I like it at least as good as the former app in all the ways I use it... and more than the old app for cutting down on the click volume. Learning curve? YES. Worth it? YES.

So carry on with the "Not-Apple" bash-fest fellas but I'm a mostly Apple guy who hasn't experienced the doom & disaster with it... certainly nowhere near as much as it seemed for those couple of YEARS of waiting for iWork apps to resurrect some pretty important features available in the '09 version and FCPX becoming overall as capable as much of the old FCP.

Nice that the CEO didn't blame the user ("you're holding it wrong"), ignore it altogether, and/or spin the "only a small number of users are affected" line. It's a niche app used by only a subset of us Apple people that is getting some attention and evolving to be better and better. Based on the S1 vs. S2 timetable, it will probably get perfected soon and then remain "THE" app for the next 6-8 years.

Last week, I just helped a relative add the Sonos 300s and Sub to an Arc using this app and all went just fine. No issues. They had already adapted to using the new app and found their new setup no challenge at all. They also added a Move 2 and it too set up as easy as ever and they understood without any training from me how to select home theater vs. Move or play them all together.

I like my Sonos set up just fine and enjoy it every day. It "just works" great with my Apple tech.

 

[bowersan]

Part of the reason why I never recommend Sonos to anyone is their app. The old version was already bad, but the new version is much worse. I’ve considered going to Bose because of how poor the user experience is on the app.

 

[zorinlynx]

I feel like apps are changed these days for the sake of change. Maybe keep them the same until there is an actual, pragmatic reason for them to change, and you won't have these issues.

The Photos app in iOS 18 is a huge example of this. Confusing redesign for no good reason.

 

[Cirillo Gherardo]

The old app wasn't that great. The new app isn't that great.

My biggest issue with it is responsiveness when interacting with remotely-loaded sources. It just seems slow to respond.

 

[macpro2000]

The Photos app in iOS 18 is a huge example of this. Confusing redesign for no good reason.

Agree 1,000,000%

 

[CloneBB]

It was a happy day when I got rid of Sonos for HomePods.

 

[macpro2000]

Wish they would just make the previous app available again in the meantime.

 

[fmillion]

Speaks to a larger issue in the entire tech industry.

People get an app. People learn to use the app. People like the app. Maybe the app has minor bugs but it's generally at least usable.

Then company decides to redesign app, usually for no obvious good reason. I suspect it's either someone did some (likely highly biased) UX testing, or designers just needed to ensure their job security (or maybe both). Or they needed to add a new feature or fix a bug and used it as an excuse to push some new design language that the company paid way too much to have made for them.

New app sucks, people complain. Company issues empty apology and promises to fix it "soon". In the meantime paid customers still have a crappy app for no good reason.

Now, combine that with app store models that forbid downgrades, mix in the idea that security updates come with design changes whether you like it or not, and wrap it up in an agile software dev strategy that insists on frequent updates and thus discourages really conscientious and thoroughly tested software development.

Sadly I don't see this getting better, since basically every big player in the tech industry has adopted this model, so it isn't like you can just "vote with your wallet" anymore. (On traditional PCs you might be able to use Linux to reduce your dependence on this nonsense, but even that has its own host of issues.)

 

[arthurdentxxxxii]

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence today penned a blog post on the Sonos website apologizing for the controversial Sonos app redesign and promising ongoing updates throughout the year.

Spence said that improving the app for customers is the company's number one priority, and he explained that addressing bugs that came up in the new app delayed the introduction of additional features.Spence shared an outline of future feature plans, with Sonos planning to push updates on a bi-weekly basis. Alarms are set to be addressed in September, with edit mode for playlists and the queue coming in September or October.

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

Spence says that Sonos is working hard to earn back customer trust through the continual app improvements.

Sonos in May released its redesigned app with customizable home screen and a more personalized listening service. Sonos customers quickly found that the app lacked several key features, and suffered from multiple bugs. Complaints across social media called the app a "step back" for removing playlist management, alarms, and other features.

Article Link: Sonos Apologizes for Widely Criticized App Redesign, Provides Progress Update

I have always hated Sonos. As an Office Manager at company that uses Sonos as a speaker system in the office, every single app update is a headache and it never pushes well to play on all of our speakers.

It is stupid to have to do everything but configure everything since the Sonos app. They hardly keep it updated for the most recent streaming, and when people want to play something through our system they have to go through the Sonos app rather than the app for Spotify or Apple Music.

I strong feel Sonos is a garbage system. In my opinion, almost every other app is better at doing what they claim they can do well. Their customer support is actually okay though considering the horrible mess of an app this was to begin with.

By the way, these are all notes from before the new app.

 

[tothemoonsands]

Sonos has well designed hardware, and this is a huge learning lesson for them on the software side. They must not get behind on maintaining their code base, and surely this will not happen again. I think there’s a bright future ahead for Sonos as they rebuild the trust and eventually the software will not only be up to par but presumably will be much easier for them to maintain.

 

[highdefjunkie]

The Photos app in iOS 18 is a huge example of this. Confusing redesign for no good reason.

Couldn't agree more. It's driving me mad!

 

[lkrupp]

Almost 3 months before CEO decides to issue an apology? Oy Vey.... 🥲

At least Jobs gave us free cases.

 

[flexwithmarius]

I know that since this is a NOT-Apple product, the piling-on will be thick... as it is in all threads with somebody else's offerings and a big picture of somebody else's brand or product... but I'm neither an Apple hater nor fan who owns LOTS of Apple stuff and some Sonos speakers. My own opinion: the app was a wholesale overhaul... like Apple has done many times before too (iWorks, FCP, etc) and "big change" always begets big complaints.

However, after working with it a bit, I came to realize that the bulk of the things I used to use the app to do was now on the Home Screen and I could even put that where I want it. Unlike before, now I don't have to drill down very often with 2 or 3 or 4 clicks to get to "main" functionality. It was all brought up so it is one click to enjoy.

After adapting, I like it at least as good as the former app in all the ways I use it... and more than the old app for cutting down on the click volume. Learning curve? YES. Worth it? YES.

So carry on with the "Not-Apple" bash-fest fellas but I'm a mostly Apple guy who hasn't experienced the doom & disaster with it... certainly nowhere near as much as it seemed for those couple of YEARS of waiting for iWorks to resurrect some pretty important features available in the '09 version and FCPX becoming overall as capable as much of the old FCP.

Nice that the CEO didn't blame the user ("you're holding it wrong"), ignore it altogether, and/or spin the "only a small number of users are affected" line. It's a niche app used by only a subset of us Apple people that is getting some attention and evolving to be better and better. Based on the S1 vs. S2 timetable, it will probably get perfected soon and then remain "THE" app for the next 6-8 years.

Last week, I just helped a relative add the Sonos 300s and Sub to an Arc using this app and all went just fine. No issues. They had already adapted to using the new app and found their new setup no challenge at all. They also added a Move 2 and it too set up as easy as ever and they understood without any training from me how to select the home theater vs. the Move or play them all together.

I like my Sonos setup just fine and enjoy it every day. It "just works" great with my Apple tech.

The app redesign really isn’t that bad from a UI perspective.

It’s definitely more streamlined which I suspect is to complement the headphone addition as well as Sonos Pro (business) admin functionality like locking down volume controls per location.

We live in an age of social media where the loudest and most irritated voices get heard the most. Willing to bet my house that 99% of people who had a temper tantrum and threatened to sell their equipment did no such thing.

 

[MrTemple]

I truly don't understand what companies think they gain by keeping major changes like this secret until release.

Why not just show a sneak peek at the upcoming interface changes? If you get mild interest great, if you get horrible flaming... also great that you got it in the design phase and not after implementation. 🤷‍♂️

I get the secrecy with Apple, the surprise and excitement drives news cycles and ultimately sales. But for the small utility apps (Audible/Sonos/Hue/etc) they've never once had an app interface change drive sales. So wouldn't the most important metric for a new design be how much the actual users like it?

 

[knappeduivel]

So many friends seem to fight their modern sound equipment. Connection issues, updates going wrong, dropouts. Music is too important so I stick to my last century Technics amplifier and speakers. Sounds way better than anything Sonos.