Sonos’ $30M App Failure Is a Cautionary Tale Against Rushing Unnecessary Updates

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said that dealing with the backlash from the widely unpopular app redesign will cost the company between $20 million and $30 million “in the short term.”

In May, Sonos released an updated app that exacerbated the problem. Many users Due to the removal of common functions, such as Accessibility features and The ability to edit playlists and song lists, use sleep timers, and access local music libraries. Sonos said it wanted to update the app’s interface and make it easier to navigate. While the app initially succeeded in making some things faster, like adjusting the volume, the changes have caused anger Among Sonos’ typically loyal customers are User baseIn July, Spence apologized for the clunky redesign and said Sonos would fix the app. Bi-monthly updates.

During Sonos’ fiscal third-quarter 2024 earnings call yesterday, Spence said it would cost Sonos millions of dollars to fix the app and manage the associated fallout for customers. Spence said the costs come from three main areas — app updates, customer support, and customer and partner recovery — and are “essential to getting the course right in the long run.”

“We have identified key bugs, have a plan to fix them, and are working to improve our processes and people to ensure we successfully execute our business plan,” Spence told investors.

Sonos has brought in the original software architect, Nick Millington, to fix the app. Spence said the updated app’s “modular developer platform based on modern programming languages” enables faster updates and will eventually enable features the previous app couldn’t support. The executive declined to elaborate.

Because of the app, Sonos will have to spend more on customer and partner support. The company also appears to be planning to offer financial rebates to try to win back customers and partners. Spence said Sonos will launch “programs” this quarter and next “to support and thank our customers and partners for sticking with us during this time and turning their frustrations into joy.”

Additionally, Sonos lowered its guidance for fiscal 2024 due to issues caused by the redesign.

Software issues delay hardware launches

The app issues have had a ripple effect inside Sonos. In addition to the fix, which will cost Sonos up to $30 million, the company is also delaying two hardware releases.

Spence said:

The app experience has become a drag on sales of existing products, and we believe our focus should be on addressing the app before anything else. This means delaying the launch of our two major new products planned for Q4 until our app experience is at the quality level we, our customers, and our partners expect from Sonos.

Sonos has not specified which devices are affected, but Sonos has It has been rumored to plan something new Pioneer Sound Bar For the success of the bow.

Taking these delays into account, Sonos expects revenue of $240 million to $260 million in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared to $397.1 million in the fiscal third quarter of 2024 and $305.1 million in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023.