If you’re a Sonos user hoping for a rollback to the company’s more reliable, less bug-riddled app, we’re afraid we have some bad news.
Sonos' CEO Patrick Spence has confirmed that the company's old S2 app cannot be rereleased, despite customer demand for its return following issues with the new app launched in May.
In a Reddit AMA session (via The Verge), Spence explained that while he was hopeful "until very recently" about bringing back the old app, extensive testing revealed that doing so would "make the problems worse, not better".
The reason behind the disappointing news lies in the interconnected nature of Sonos' ecosystem. As Spence elaborates: "Sonos is not just the mobile app, but software that runs on your speakers and in the cloud too."
Since the new app's launch, updates to the firm's speaker firmware and cloud infrastructure have progressed to a point where the old S2 app would now be "less reliable & less stable" than users remember.
This news comes as a blow to Sonos users who have been clamouring for the return of the familiar S2 interface since the rocky rollout of the new app on the 7th of May. The updated app has faced criticism for issues ranging from speaker recognition problems, to difficulties in setting up new devices.
The app debacle has had far-reaching consequences for Sonos. Earlier this month, Spence issued a formal apology and announced the delay of two new product launches, stating they would be postponed "until our app experience meets the level of quality that we, our customers, and our partners expect from Sonos."
While the old app's return is off the table, Sonos users can expect continued efforts to improve the current app experience. For now though, plans to invest between $20 to $30 million in fixing the app, bolstering customer support, and implementing other initiatives to regain customer trust, are all underway at Sonos HQ, in a bid to return to its former glory.
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