There have been rising worries that the Sonos app may eventually transition to a subscription model, particularly as the company has reported a decline in revenue for the second consecutive year – further fueled by comments from a former employee.
One major concern is that all app interactions are now routed through a Sonos server, moving away from local execution and granting the company full oversight of user activities …
Wired kicks off its speculative report by outlining the company’s tough financial landscape.
This marks the second year that Sonos has seen a decline in year-over-year revenue—down 5.5 percent in 2023, despite two rounds of layoffs. CEO Patrick Spence labeled the year as “challenging,” and although retaining momentum after two strong pandemic years was always going to be tough, a pattern might be emerging […]
During its FY24 earnings call, investors noted that Sonos added only 1 million new users this year, which, while it may seem impressive, is the lowest figure in the last “five to 10 years.” Furthermore, while speaker ownership per household has risen from 3.05 to 3.08, with a dwindling influx of new users, one has to wonder how Sonos can sustain profitability in this seemingly saturated market?
There has been a noticeable shift towards subscription patterns across the tech industry, spanning apps and smart home products, creating unease among Sonos users about potential upcoming changes.
Casual browsing through community discussions on Reddit or even Sonos’ official forums reveals widespread anxiety among users regarding a potential subscription model. Their concerns are not unfounded, as the recent shifts in app functionality suggest a technical feasibility for such a change.
Highlighted in a technical breakdown by developer and self-identified “Sonos fanboy/hacker” Andy Pennell, the app has transformed from one that operated on your local network to one reliant on cloud control. By routing all actions through Sonos’ servers, the company gains significant leverage over the capabilities available to users. This major transition caught many by surprise.
A former Sonos developer, recently laid off, has added to the speculation by questioning the substantial investments in an app that currently generates no revenue, hinting that a subscription may be on the horizon.
According to WIRED, a former Sonos developer who was part of the latest layoffs requested anonymity to avoid jeopardizing future job prospects. Although not directly involved in app development, he contributed to testing when issues arose. He expressed skepticism regarding the resources being allocated to an app with no current monetization.
“I was surprised by the amount of investment going into an app that isn’t generating revenue. The only justification I heard was that it provided flexibility and opened doors to new capabilities we were previously unable to explore,” he noted. “It wouldn’t shock me if some subscription elements were incorporated into the plans.”
The report indicates that while Sonos has denied any immediate intentions for a subscription, they have not completely dismissed the possibility for the future.
Sonos firmly denied to WIRED that a subscription model is currently being developed.
Customers have expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the complications stemming from the recent app changes, leading to a general lack of trust in the company’s assurances thus far.
Photo by Lukas Hellebrand on Unsplash
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