Sonos CEO Acknowledges App Update Missteps, Vows to Rebuild Customer Trust
Sonos, the popular multi-room audio system, has faced a rocky year following a disastrous app update that left many customers frustrated. Interim CEO Tom Conrad recently spoke out, acknowledging the company's mistakes and outlining a path toward rebuilding customer trust. The core issue? A failure to understand how Sonos products are used in real-world home environments.
In an interview with Wired, Conrad admitted that two key decisions were deliberate, but ultimately flawed. First, the company knowingly launched the updated app with missing features, intending to add them later. Second, they radically changed the user interface, underestimating how unpopular it would be. Conrad stated, "There was a set of lesser-used features that weren’t implemented on the new software platform. The company made a decision to launch with the intention of doing fast-follow releases that would bring that functionality under the fold."
However, the biggest misstep, according to Conrad, was mistaking lab conditions for the unpredictable reality of home networks. "We just have a much more profound understanding of the complex networking environments of our customers’ homes. They live in apartments with literally a hundred access points competing for Wi-Fi signal strength on the same channel. They have surprising and esoteric network configurations that you wouldn’t imagine," Conrad explained.
The updated app was launched to support the new Sonos Ace headphones and offered what was meant to be a ground-up rebuild of the software experience. Unfortunately, the redesigned app removed much-loved features, caused connection problems for older Sonos speakers, and even broke accessibility features. This led to significant customer backlash. "To be clear, if we’d known, we never would’ve shipped the software. No reasonable person would’ve shipped the software if we had understood the reliability and performance characteristics of the product in our customers’ homes," Conrad confessed.
The fallout from the app launch led to then-CEO Patrick Spence apologizing to customers and outlining a timeline for fixes. Tom Conrad, a board member since 2017 and interim CEO following Spence's departure, emphasized that the company is customer-centric. "It is really tough, I think, to be in any environment where you've let your customers down when you're customer-centric," he said. He also noted the emotional connection many users have with Sonos, saying, "It's not an exaggeration to say that we're literally there for birth, for death. I mean, let's be honest, for conception."
Looking ahead, Conrad hopes to stay on as the permanent CEO and continue the company's turnaround. A key focus will be improving the software platform and ensuring a stable and reliable experience for all users. Conrad's vision involves delivering high-value, differentiated products, citing the Era 100 as an example: "I’m focused on is delivering high value, differentiated products. And so you take something like the Era 100, which is just like, clearly the best in class sort of speaker that you can buy in that price category."
The company also recently announced the end of its Symfonisk partnership with Ikea. Conrad said the wind down was easy to contemplate because "while on paper the price points that you’re talking about and so forth make a lot of sense, in practice, the scale of that business was quite small."
Despite the challenges, Conrad remains optimistic about Sonos' future. The company is working on addressing lingering issues, particularly those related to older devices like the Play:1 and Play:3. They’re actively working towards resolving esoteric network issues commonly reported by users on platforms like Reddit.
Can Sonos regain its reputation for seamless audio experiences? Only time will tell. The next steps for Sonos will be crucial in rebuilding faith with its loyal customer base and proving they've learned from their recent mistakes. Will these confessions and implemented changes lead to a more positive outcome for Sonos users? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Can you Like
