The new Sonos app is such a disaster, the old version may just return (Update: Not happening)

As layoffs and crisis management unfold, Sonos debates returning to its previous app.

The new Sonos app is such a disaster, the old version may just return (Update: Not happening)
  • Sonos has faced a challenging year, primarily due to the poorly received redesign of its mobile app, which rolled out in May.
  • The redesigned app, plagued with bugs and missing features, has frustrated users, leading Sonos to consider re-releasing the previous version as a temporary fix.
  • The previous version of the app might help buy time for Sonos while the company continues working on the new app.

Update, August 22, 2024 (05:06 PM ET): Despite user fondness for the old Sonos app, not to mention all the problems that have cropped up with the new edition, the company has no plans to abandon its current software. CEO Patrick Spence created a new Threads account for himself just this week, and the first thing he’s doing is shooting down some of this speculation (via The Verge).

Spence clarifies that while he was considering bringing back S2 (the old Sonos app), it just really doesn’t make practical sense. The biggest issue, he suggests, is that Sonos hardware and the company’s cloud infrastructure have slowly been receiving updates that are targeted at the current app. And while S2 used to work great before all these changes, if the company were to roll back now it would likely break a lot of things. While the devs seem to have considered both paths forward, working to improve the current app ultimately made the most sense to them.