Sonos CEO Steps Down Following Disastrous App Redesign

[skiguy45]

I've had a pair of Sonos one speakers for years.

Frankly, I don't get the Sonos hype. They are fine speakers, but it's insane to me that they have to be connected to wifi and you have to use the App to use them. Why do I want to lock something as simple as speakers into a particular ecosystem. At this point, all I use them for is to connect to my Apple TV and there's better, more flexible options out there. This app redesign took them from barely useful to barely working. Sonos is circling the drain as a company.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Believe it or not, I don't always want to go for a full fledged computer to tweak my music settings. Sitting at the dinner table, on the porch, etc, sometimes you just want to change the music or tweak the volume.

Me too. I fully believe it. So if I want to play a different song from Apple Music playing through Sonos speakers, I choose a different song in the Apple Music app. If I want to manage some Spotify or Pandora music on my Sonos speakers, I do it in the Spotify or Pandora apps. If I want to change songs in either, I do it in their apps, not the Sonos app. If I want to adjust volume on music streaming from my iDevice with me on that porch, I adjust volume on that iDevice or in a slider in whatever music app I'm using.

In fact, the ONLY reason I have to use the Sonos app at all is if I want to listen to the Sonos radio stations. And yes, I do that at times (no problem at all by the way). Otherwise, I could leave the Sonos app closed or just delete it entirely and not miss it.

And, yes, new sonos products generally support AirPlay. But, when you make products like the amp (powering ceiling speakers in homes), the expectation is that they continue to function. Should I spend $2800 to get new sonos amps with airplay, because sonos ruined the app?

No. And to that, I fully appreciate the frustration. If it is an older Amp, I'd run S1 since it is the same as it has always been and all of the former Amp products work with S1.

If it's the latest AMP(s), it does support Airplay, so I don't need to use the new S2 app at all for the reasons shared above.

I think not, their app ruination is having the opposite effect-- I don't intend to ever buy another sonos product. They burned me, hard.

And that's fine and fully your choice. I just suspect that it doesn't have to be as you are framing it. And if I have $2800 in a setup, I'd try some workaround options such as I just described vs. apparently only being able to use them through only one means... even if that means I do have to walk to a Mac to use the Mac Sonos app which is the same as it has been for years.

But that's up to you. There's plenty of speakers in the sea. I hope you find replacement options you like better.

 

[tranceme]

Not sure I'm really following closely enough to know if this guy messed the company up. I read a lot about the app debacle. Although, I guess I don't use the app enough to notice this. I used it to update firmware and make a few sound tweaks. Seems to work fine for that.

I assume the fuss was about the roll out being buggy and could have been handled better. But, again, working for me now.

My issue is how expensive it is. And, they are luxury. I think many luxuries will take a hit this year. Seems strange the app alone is driving down their sales. Instead, I feel like people don't upgrade their home theater equipment often and their price point is saturated with people that already own Sonos. And, there are so many cheap options on Amazon now. Most people don't really appreciate sound quality as much anymore. Hence, are fine with cheap options over Sonos.

 

[Belisama]

I've had a pair of Sonos one speakers for years.

Frankly, I don't get the Sonos hype. They are fine speakers, but it's insane to me that they have to be connected to wifi and you have to use the App to use them. Why do I want to lock something as simple as speakers into a particular ecosystem. At this point, all I use them for is to connect to my Apple TV and there's better, more flexible options out there. This app redesign took them from barely useful to barely working. Sonos is circling the drain as a company.

Interesting.
I have 3 Sonos speakers and I never use the Sonos app 🤔. And they work well.
I guess I should read the manual again.

 

[obezcinnet]

I mean ffs, this is the right move, but seriously WHAT TOOK SO LONG??? If I screwed up on my job as bad at Spence did, then I wouldve been kicked to the curb ASAP, no questions asked.

I am pretty sure you would have also waited until your stocks vested and/or your bonus is deposited into your account before you left.

 

[arc of the universe]

If by "elsewhere" you mean "the same place" and by "a couple of weeks" you meant "already" then, yeah. https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/13/24342179/sonos-ceo-patrick-spence-resignation-reason-app $45000 in pay, plus $1.875 million in severance.

thanks for the pickup on this info. interesting.
for a few months longer he will get his base salary of $7,500 / month. plus that $1.875 million in severance.

these numbers hint that at least several of the board members did not think he should resign, but, when push comes to shove, one of more of the more influential members of the board could not accept that he stay with the company, and wanted him out at any cost to the company.

i had never seen him or heard him before he gave his "apology" speech a few months ago.
releasing that video was the worst public relations disaster i have ever seen in any corporate PR strategy.
he was arrogant and condescending and non-apologetic all at the same time.

 

[Belisama]

I assume the fuss was about the roll out being buggy and could have been handled better. But, again, working for me now.

Right, but we live in a world of never-ending whining and propaganda.
Facts do not matter anymore.

Working for me, too.

 

[flexwithmarius]

Incorrect. They could not go back to the old system as they forced firmware updates on the devices.

They 100% have the ability to revert firmware updates on their end. If you’re in the beta program and choose to leave, upon withdrawal your system will automatically revert to production within 24 hours.

 

[Obioban]

Me too. I fully believe it. So if I want to play a different song from Apple Music playing through Sonos speakers, I choose a different song in the Apple Music app. If I want to manage some Spotify or Pandora music on my Sonos speakers, I do it in the Spotify or Pandora apps. If I want to change songs in either, I do it in their apps, not the Sonos app. If I want to adjust volume on music streaming from my iDevice with me on that porch, I adjust volume on that iDevice or in a slider in whatever music app I'm using.

In fact, the ONLY reason I have to use the Sonos app at all is if I want to listen to the Sonos radio stations. And yes, I do that at times (no problem at all by the way). Otherwise, I could leave the Sonos app closed or just delete it entirely and not miss it.



No. And to that, I fully appreciate the frustration. If it is an older Amp, I'd run S1 since it is the same as it has always been and all of the former Amp products work with S1.

If it's the latest AMP(s), it does support Airplay, so I don't need to use the new S2 app at all for the reasons shared above.



And that's fine and fully your choice. I just suspect that it doesn't have to be as you are framing it. And if I have $2800 in a setup, I'd try some workaround options such as I just described vs. apparently only being able to use them through only one means... even if that means I do have to walk to a Mac to use the Mac Sonos app which is the same as it has been for years.

But that's up to you. There's plenty of speakers in the sea. I hope you find replacement options you like better.

Running the S1 app sounds good, but doesn't work out in practice often. As in, on the first floor we have 4 sonos zones-- living room (arc, sub, 2x era 300s), kitchen (one sonos amp), dining room (another sonos amp), outside (another sonos amp). If you want them synchronized (pretty common use case), the ONLY way to do it is the S2 app. And, really, that synchronization was the primary reason we got sonos in the first place.

... and the idea of using 2 different sonos apps, and sometimes needing to run to the a computer (often on a different floor of the house) depending on the situation, is pretty unlikely to pass the wife test.

I've been trying to wait out sonos fixing the app, but I think we're rapidly nearing the point where I just put them on their own VLAN, deny them any sort of internet connection, and set them up solely as Music Assistant speakers within Home Assistant. We use them almost every night, and it's been months since we've had a bug free experience doing so. Last night, randomly, no volume control whatsoever.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Sorry for your experience. I have a fair amount of Sonos too. I almost never play them all "whole home" as you are describing. Instead, different people in different rooms want to listen to their own stuff. And thus, if S1 applied, they could use S1 if it was a want that required them to use a Sonos app. I'm not sure anyone beyond me at my home EVER opens a Sonos app. Everyone just plays what they want in whatever Music app they want to use... or by turning on an AppleTV and watching whatever they want and the AppleTV remote controls volume... or music apps on AppleTV plays through Sonos speakers.

It sounds like there's some "wife test" inconvenience. Explain the situation to the wife. If she demands immediate functionality, sell your Sonos stuff and replace it with something else. Else, much like waiting for Apple to work out bugs such as all of the AI sold in Apple commercials since before iPhone launched still not available on iDevices, be patient.

Sonos should be thoroughly motivated to get app issues fixed. It's their ONLY business. I've noticed steady progress in various parts of the app since it debuted. I'm sure more is coming. They resolve their issues or die if issues are as widespread as implied in threads like this.

 

[MacD]

Incorrect. They could not go back to the old system as they forced firmware updates on the devices.

Incorrect. They could update the firmware to support the old system again.

 

[Kottu]

That was released a full year after the removal of the headphone jack.

Airpods were released along with iPhone 7 in 2016.

 

[darthbane2k]

Are Apple buying Sonos yet? They need to just do it.

 

[attila]

I found Sonos to be unstable and cheap before they released the new app. Failing software updates, speakers forgetting their settings, an API that's practically useless compared to 3rd party solutions. Could have been the fault of the current CEO as well, I suppose.

 

[Kottu]

I had Sonos for few years (Play 5 gen 2). It was one of the best speakers I had. The only times I used Sonos app was when I set it up and upgraded. I do understand that app did get much better in time and people with few systems at home were using it a lot. If a CEO had to resign because of an App, how bad it has become? I was interested in buying Sonos to add to my TV but when I read reviews, all were complaining about the app. So, I bought something else. I can imagine that a lot of people didn’t buy a Sonos product because of the app.

 

[Kottu]

Are Apple buying Sonos yet? They need to just do it.

I agree.

 

[CarpalMac]

No mention of the $1.9m golden goodbye that has been reported.

At that level even utter failure is still met with reward.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

Incorrect. They could not go back to the old system as they forced firmware updates on the devices.

They could have just updated the old app to be compatible with the new hardware while they figure out the new design and work out the kinks.

 

[michsu]

He ran with your money or monies...

 

[klasma]

This should be happening more often.
glances at iOS’ Photos app, Microsoft’s “New Outlook”, and Windows 11

 

[dwsolberg]

I am still using the old app. I hope they rerelease the old one and patches to restore the old firmware. Or even ask customers to bring their speakers to sonos service to get patched.

I accidentally deleted the old app, but my movie surround system works perfectly right now, so I’m not going to use the new app until I hear it’s okay. I was interested in the new Arc, but there’s no way I’m going to risk breaking a working system.

 

[Adysubman]

no doubt as part of stepping down he was given some form of utterly scandalous severance.

 

[AF_APPLETALK]

Listen to your customers. If few are complaining, it doesn't matter for a while. But when thousands are pointing out the same issues, you should listen at once.
Sonos could solve this issue at once. They could release the older version of app and correct the issues with the new one. Instead, they made it look like they have deleted all backups and now customers should live with it. It's something like Apple did with headphone jack. But Apple did release wireless headsets which works far better than any other headsets with iPhone and you could use a wired lightning headset or use a damn good DAC from Apple.

It actually probably is best to roll forward in this scenario, rather than roll back. There could be all sorts of issues you're not thinking about - accounts could get put into weird states, newer speaker hardware may have to have entirely new software/updates added to it to work with the older app, etc.

It's a failure of software engineering, but it sounds like management was tone-deaf probably with both their internal staff and their customers, and thought they could just shrug it off.

 

[grandM]

Sorry for your experience. I have a fair amount of Sonos too. I almost never play them all "whole home" as you are describing. Instead, different people in different rooms want to listen to their own stuff. And thus, if S1 applied, they could use S1 if it was a want that required them to use a Sonos app. I'm not sure anyone beyond me at my home EVER opens a Sonos app. Everyone just plays what they want in whatever Music app they want to use... or by turning on an AppleTV and watching whatever they want and the AppleTV remote controls volume... or music apps on AppleTV plays through Sonos speakers.

It sounds like there's some "wife test" inconvenience. Explain the situation to the wife. If she demands immediate functionality, sell your Sonos stuff and replace it with something else. Else, much like waiting for Apple to work out bugs such as all of the AI sold in Apple commercials since before iPhone launched still not available on iDevices, be patient.

Sonos should be thoroughly motivated to get app issues fixed. It's their ONLY business. I've noticed steady progress in various parts of the app since it debuted. I'm sure more is coming. They resolve their issues or die if issues are as widespread as implied in threads like this.

No. I made the MISTAKE of buying several Sonos era 300 devices.
Let me start with the good news: awesome speakers.

Now the bad news: you should not buy them.

The ugly news: Sonos era 300 is sold as a surround speaker or Spatial Audio (Dolby Atmos). Thing is Sonos isn’t playing it unless you use their app. If you use the Apple Music app you get lossless audio not spatial. The Apple Music app does play Spatial Audio on your iPad eg but Sonos refuses to stream it to their speakers unless you use their app.

So you have an awesome Apple Music app with working audio slider on iPad but all this must be left behind if you want to listen to Spatial Audio sound (the reason why you bought Sonos era 300). Favoritizing a song? That happens with Sonos not with Apple Music influencing play lists.

Sonos could simply stream spatial from Apple Music but wants to build its own ecosystem. They are also working at a videoplayer. Same goes for Amazon Music. No Spatial unless you use the truly bad Sonos app.

Buy HomePod when you are into Apple.

 

[michsu]

No. I made the MISTAKE of buying several Sonos era 300 devices.
Let me start with the good news: awesome speakers.

Now the bad news: you should not buy them.

The ugly news: Sonos era 300 is sold as a surround speaker or Spatial Audio (Dolby Atmos). Thing is Sonos isn’t playing it unless you use their app. If you use the Apple Music app you get lossless audio not spatial. The Apple Music app does play Spatial Audio on your iPad eg but Sonos refuses to stream it to their speakers unless you use their app.

So you have an awesome Apple Music app with working audio slider on iPad but all this must be left behind if you want to listen to Spatial Audio sound (the reason why you bought Sonos era 300). Favoritizing a song? That happens with Sonos not with Apple Music influencing play lists.

Sonos could simply stream spatial from Apple Music but wants to build its own ecosystem. They are also working at a videoplayer. Same goes for Amazon Music. No Spatial unless you use the truly bad Sonos app.

Buy HomePod when you are into Apple.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/110bek4/to_get_dolby_atmos_from_apple_tv_4k_to_sonos_arc

I use the Apple TV 4K (2022) and the Sonos Arc, and Dolby Atmos in Apple Music works fine. Maybe you can buy one and try it that way?