Owners of older Sonos products might need to start looking into potential upgrades, as Sonos announces it will no longer push software updates for a number of "legacy" products starting from May 2020.
Sonos has already ended support for a couple of older devices, such as the Sonos Dock and CR100. As for products to not receive updates in the near future, the company lists the original Zone Players, the Connect and Connect:Amp, the first generation Play:5 and the Bridge. Of course, customers will ask why Sonos will no longer support these products, and the company simply says these old products are "stretched to their technical limits" in terms of memory and processing power.
In a way this is understandable. After all, networking technology has advanced at an exponential rate since the times of the first Sonos product were launched, and while the speakers are built to last (around 92% of Sonos products shipped are still in use) older versions cannot handle the processing demands brought about by support for multiple streaming services, voice assistants and Apple AirPlay 2.
Sonos gives customers two options-- either keep on using the legacy products without receiving software updates or trade up to a new product. The company offers 30% credit for each replacement and puts it in Recycle Mode to delete all personal data. However this option is controversial since it bricks the device in the process, turning it into little more than electronic waste.
Customers can check whether they can trade up their Sonos devices on the Account section on the Sonos website.