Sonos has been feeling the ire of customers for months over its controversial app update: what was meant to be an improved user experience left some users unable to use their favorite features. It didn’t help that the company’s response to those customers was less than emollient, with the company praising its own “courage” instead of saying “oops. We messed up.”
That has now changed, with Sonos CEO Patrick Spence apologizing to customers for the first time in a recently published letterAnd more importantly, he promises an aggressive update program to fix all the problems and hopefully restore customer confidence.
Sonos: We’re sorry and we’re working on it
“I want to start by personally apologizing for letting you down,” Spence wrote. “There is not a single employee at Sonos who is not pained by having let you down, and I assure you that fixing the app for all of our customers and partners is and remains our highest priority.”
As he explains, since May, app updates have been coming out roughly every two weeks. From now on, Sonos will commit to a biweekly update schedule that will run through October, with the following improvements and fixes.
Sonos updates in July and August 2024
- Improved stability when adding new products
- Implementation of music library configuration, browsing, searching and playing
Sonos updates in August and September 2024
- Improved volume response
- User interface improvements based on customer feedback
- Improving overall system stability and error handling
Sonos updates in September 2024
- Improving the consistency and reliability of alarms
Sonos updates in September and October 2024
- Restore playlist and queue editing mode
- Improved functionality in settings
Spence concludes by saying, “We know we have a lot of work to do to earn back your trust, and we’re working hard to do that.” He also says he welcomes feedback, which you can email to him at ceo@sonos.com.
While some people had no issues with the new app, it did turn some away from the best Sonos speakers they had invested in, either because of missing features, unreliable operation, or both.
Sonos’ status as one of the best wireless speakers depends in large part on its app, which makes its products as user-friendly as possible. Let’s hope the new app finally delivers on that promise by the end of the year.