Sonos is Killing Support for Older Smart Speakers and Devices
Today, Sonos revealed that it will stop providing software updates for its oldest speakers and accessories, some of which date back 15 years.
“The first Sonos products were introduced before the first iPhone was announced and when Myspace still ruled social media,” the company notes in a blog post. “Every Sonos product has a microprocessor, flash memory, and other hardware components typically found in computers and smartphones … we’ve now come to a point where some of the oldest products have been stretched to their technical limits in terms of memory and processing power.”
Sonos said that certain legacy products—including its original ZonePlayers (2005), Connect (2008), Connect:Amp (2006, but includes versions sold until 2015), first-generation Play:5 (2009), CR200 (2009), and Bridge (2007) will no longer be supported with software updates after May 2020.
Because so many of its customers are still using its equipment—92 percent of the products its sold are still in use, it says—Sonos will offer owners of these legacy offerings a few options. They can continue using them, of course, though they will no longer receive software updates or new features. Or, they can trade-up to a new Sonos product and receive 30 percent off.
Sonos products that are used as part of the trade-up program will be put in Recycle Mode, Sonos says, “a state that deletes personally identifiable information and prepares these products for e-recycling. Recycle Mode also protects unsuspecting people from buying legacy products that are approaching the end of their useful life and won’t provide the Sonos experience customers expect today.”
Sonos recycle these products for you, if you’d like, and will let you ship them to it for free. But the company recommends that you take these legacy products to a nearby certified e-recycling facility instead if possible.
“Ideally all our products would last forever, but for now we’re limited by the existing technology,” Sonos explains. “We’ve always believed in freedom of choice … [and] we hope the choices provided here—continuing to use these products without new software updates or trading up to our modern products—enable you to make the choice that’s right for you.”