Sonos CEO Apologizes for New App, Details Timeline to Fix It

Sonos launched a completely new version of its app in May, which quickly drew backlash. The company listened to the feedback and made improvements in the weeks and months that followed. But now, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has sent an email to customers to apologize and provide a detailed timeline of what they can expect as the company prioritizes fixing the app.

Here’s the opening of the email Spence sent to Sonos customers today:

We built the new app to create a better experience, with the potential to drive more innovation in the future and the knowledge that it would improve over time. However, since launch, we have discovered a number of issues. Fixing these issues has delayed our previous plan to quickly integrate the missing features.

Since May 7, we have released new software updates approximately every two weeks, each bringing significant and meaningful improvements, added features, and bug fixes. Please see the Sonos Software Update Release Notes for detailed information on the updates released to date.

He goes on to explain that Sonos has been providing updates to the new app roughly every two weeks since May 7, which has helped address some of the issues customers have raised. But he notes that there is still work to be done, as the company has set a timeline for restoring upcoming features through October.

Sonos App Update Schedule

July and August:

• Improve stability when adding new products
• Implemented music library configuration, navigation, search and playback

August and September:

• Improve volume responsiveness
• User interface improvements based on customer feedback
• Improve overall system stability and error handling

September:

• Improved reliability of alarm consistency and reliability

September and October:

• Restored edit mode for playlists and queue
• Improved functionality in settings

Spence concluded by saying that he and Sonos “deeply appreciate” customers’ patience and that “we have work to do to earn back your trust and we are working hard to do that.”

Updates will continue to be released every two weeks with detailed release notes. What do you think about these priorities and timeline? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Here is the full email sent to Sonos customers:

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To our listeners,

We know many of you have experienced significant issues with our new app that launched on May 7th, and I want to start by apologizing for the disappointment. There isn’t a single employee at Sonos who isn’t saddened to have 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.

We built the new app to create a better experience, with the potential to drive more innovation in the future and the knowledge that it would improve over time. However, since launch, we have discovered a number of issues. Fixing these issues has delayed our previous plan to quickly integrate the missing features.

Since May 7, we have released new software updates approximately every two weeks, each bringing significant and meaningful improvements, added features, and bug fixes. Please see the Sonos Software Update Release Notes for detailed information on the updates released to date.

While these software updates have helped the majority of our customers enjoy an optimal experience with the Sonos app, there is still work to be done. We have prioritized the following improvements in our next phase of software updates:

July and August:
Improve stability when adding new products
Implemented music library configuration, navigation, search and playback
August and September:
Improve volume responsiveness
User interface improvements based on customer feedback
Improve overall system stability and error handling
September:
Improved reliability of alarm consistency and reliability
September and October:
Restored edit mode for playlists and queue
Improved functionality in settings

We plan to continue releasing new software updates on a bi-monthly basis. With each release, we will share detailed notes on issues we have fixed and are currently working on in our community.

We appreciate your patience as we address these issues. We know we have work to do to earn back your trust and we are working hard to do so. I am always open to your feedback, you can contact me by email at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Patrick Spence