Several Sonos users recently expressed their displeasure concerning the company’s overhauled mobile app in a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) session. Their issues rose from the removal of several key functionalities, including local music search and sleep timers.
The company acknowledged the concerns and assured customers of its plans to reinstate the missing features. However, despite this assurance, a sense of dissatisfaction persists among its users, underscoring a growing unease amid the company’s proposed improvement plans.
Interestingly, before the software’s public release, users had raised some of these issues during beta testing. However, the updated software still lacks these features, further fueling user dissatisfaction. Many users consider missing features a significant drawback, prompting a preference for the older software version.
Sonos’ Director of Product Management, Tucker Severson, stated that the overhaul was strategic, intending to move away from the old version.
Sonos vows to restore missing app functionalities
He divulged that future updates won’t be extensive but will be judiciously selected for implementation.
Diane Roberts, the Senior Director of Software Development, explained the visual overhauling of the new version was designed to enhance navigation while addressing user grievances linked to the older version. She stated that the new software’s appeal lies in its intuitive and user-friendly design. Alongside, her team placed significant emphasis on improving the application’s speed to ensure smoother navigation for users. She also reassured her team’s commitment to addressing existing issues.
However, due to the sudden roll-out of the revamped app, consumer trust in Sonos took a hit, mainly among users who regularly used the now missing features. The abrupt transition and scanty communication about the major changes in the app’s structure created difficulties for users in adjusting, undermining Sonos’ market standing. Therefore, handling the fallout while trying to rectify issues rapidly became a high-priority task, highlighting the gravity of user-centric strategies, adequate testing before releasing updates, and transparent communication about impending changes.
