Sonos says its controversial app redesign took “courage”

Sonos has responded to the avalanche of feedback — some good, plenty bad — about the company’s redesigned mobile app that was released on May 7th. In the days since, customers have complained about missing features like sleep timers, broken local music library management, and no longer having the ability to edit playlists or the upcoming song queue. More alarmingly, the Sonos app’s accessibility has also taken a hit, something the company says it’s aiming to resolve by next month.

In a statement provided to The Verge, Sonos confirms that it’s keenly aware of the gripes that customers have expressed about the new app. It’s hearing their response and is working to address the functionality that has (for now) gone missing. But the company is also standing behind its decision to roll out the app this week, basically describing it as a rough patch that will, in theory, lead to a much better experience for everyone down the line.

“Redesigning the Sonos app is an ambitious undertaking that represents just how seriously we are committed to invention and re-invention,” said chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin. “It takes courage to rebuild a brand’s core product from the ground up, and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future.”

According to Bouvat-Merlin, the new app lays the groundwork for “exciting innovations to come from Sonos in the years ahead.” As for all the missing features, Bouvat-Merlin says the company is “working diligently to reintroduce them in the coming months, alongside additional enhancements that will make for an even better app experience.”

It’s reassuring that Sonos has a roadmap in place for improvements, but a lot of people have been wondering why the app had to be rolled out now — seemingly before it was ready for prime time. The company’s next products are rumored to be arriving in June, so… couldn’t it have used that extra time to polish this ambitious overhaul a little more?

When Sonos says “in the coming months,” it means months. It’s going to be a while before there’s true parity between the new app and what was there before. There’s no going back to the prior S2 release for iPhone owners, though I guess Android users can downgrade if they can track down a past build of the app.

Here’s Sonos’ statement in full:

Redesigning the Sonos app is an ambitious undertaking that represents just how seriously we are committed to invention and re-invention. It takes courage to rebuild a brand’s core product from the ground up, and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future.

The app’s revitalization not only aims to address what customers have been asking us for in the short-term, but is also critical for supporting the exciting innovations to come from Sonos in the years ahead.

We realize there are beloved features our listeners are eager to continue enjoying now. We are working diligently to reintroduce them in the coming months, alongside additional enhancements that will make for an even better app experience.

This is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Sonos as we continue to expand the way listeners can access and enjoy all the content they love in a more personalized and seamless way. We have always and will continue to listen to customer feedback so we can create sound experiences that well exceed both our standards and the standards of our listeners.

I can vouch that the company is closely monitoring its own customer forums and the Sonos subreddit. It’s also planning an AMA discussion about the app with customers for May 14th. So hopefully those software updates will come at a frequent cadence as Sonos works to make its new app not only more customizable and easier to use but also equally functional as before.