Is Sonos bringing back the old app?

Sonos is apparently considering temporarily offering its old app again. This is reported by the US technology magazine The Verge. The so-called "S2" app was removed from the stores at the launch of the new app version in May. However, the new app has been so poorly received by customers that Sonos could offer the old version again as an option.

The Verge's report does not reveal how far plans for a possible revival of the app are or were advanced. There have been discussions at management level about this possible step, The Verge merely writes. So far, Sonos has not publicly announced any plans to offer the old application for Android and iOS again. The Verge also reports that Sonos laid off 100 employees on Wednesday.

The new Sonos app was released on May 7 with many missing features. The sleep timer and the search for local music are missing from the app, for example, and alarm clocks did not work at launch either. In mid-May, a team of Sonos developers faced feedback from the community for the first time.

"An app is never finished"

"An app is never finished," said Sonos product manager Tucker Severson in a forum Q&A session in response to a post from the community. "We've decided that now is the right time to bring you the new app. This is the beginning, and we will continue to develop it in the future."

Sonos has indeed continued to develop the new app since its launch and added missing functions. This was also emphasized by Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, who personally apologized for the botched launch in July. "We know that too many of you have had significant issues with our new app," wrote Spence. "There isn't an employee at Sonos who isn't sorry for letting you down."

At the time, Spence advised against manually switching to the old version of the app. While the new app is being improved, Sonos advises against downgrading to the older version. "Reverting to the previous version of the Sonos app will likely cause problems," Severson writes.

(dahe)