Sonos speakers

What hackers pick instead

• Bose SoundTouch smart speakersPraised for solid build and sound, and for Bose's open API docs and keeping old speakers usable after end-of-life. Critics say the app is sluggish and the docs are incomplete.37recommend
• HomePod miniPeople like its sound for the size, its reliable timers and its smart home control through Apple Home, but critics say it is weak for music and unreliable on connections.15recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 55 comments. Each links to the original.

1. the software is just staggeringly, aggressively, and proactively terrible

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “UniFi 5G”

2. When it works, it is great, but when it doesn't - super frustrating.

   Mixed · Dec 2025 · in “What tech purchase did you regret even though reviews were great?”

3. BluOS / Sonos / Heos on the more expensive end all do a great job

   Recommends · Feb 2026 · in “Decentralizing my smartphone with single purpose devices”

4. offering multi-room synced audio with a good UX since 2006

   Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Asahi Linux Progress Linux 7.0”

5. I can tell you lots of people stopped buying their products because of how bad their code quality became with the big app change debacle.

   Criticizes · Mar 2026

6. Sonos had an absolutely massive backlash recently in regards to deprecating software support for their older speakers

   Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

7. They had originally promised to add AirPlay support later said, "Just kidding. Why don't you brick it instead."

   Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

8. Companies that lock or otherwise brick viable hardware as part of the business model are really terrible.

   Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “Unlocking a locked/deactivated e-waste Cricut Maker”

9. Which degraded their hardware usability so much, that it's literally much worse than a decade ago.

   Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Bambu Lab is abusing the open source social contract”

10. Sonos wanted to brick all those older speakers, and only backed away from that because of bad PR.

    Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “There's no reason for software to be slow anymore”

11. I still remember Sonos implementing "Recycle Mode" that they thankfully backtracked on.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

12. I couldn't even get the damn thing to work reliably when it was new.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

13. I've seen them actively respond to issues on BlueSky with honest responses and not corporate fluff

    Mixed · Apr 2026 · in “Ghostty is leaving GitHub”

14. it's pretty annoying that all the new stuff is S2 (and that app is better supported)

    Mixed · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

15. Their app isn't great, but the underlying technology is.

    Mixed · Oct 2026 · in “New Apple TV 4K”

16. Would replace it with brand new Sonos gear if I could.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Why the Smart Home Bubble Popped”

17. a brand like Sonos could make a killing in this market

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “LG TV's new software update installed MS Copilot, which cannot be deleted”

18. Imagine trying to smoothly fade volume with a WAN hop.

    Mixed · Aug 2026 · in “There's no reason for software to be slow anymore”

19. I tolerate sonos' middling quality for day to day use

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “Box of Secrets: Discreetly modding an apartment intercom to work with Apple Home”

20. the iOS app contains TruePlay to tune your speakers

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android”

21. Same story as Sonos; there was a push to go all cloud instead of our local network implementation that worked great.

    Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “There's no reason for software to be slow anymore”

22. they changed their API and broke a lot of existing hardware that took a long time to get working right again

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Plex's price hikes prove I was right to switch to Jellyfin”

23. The people who get in early enjoy something with little drama vs the late adopters.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “I'm OK being left behind, thanks”

24. they were once kinda cool but squandered it with questionable product decisions

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “UniFi 5G”

25. Sonos updated its policies a.coupme years back to allow selling customer data.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Why the Smart Home Bubble Popped”

26. I've previously owned a Sonos but honestly it's just not a polished product.

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Amazon, Google Unwittingly Reveal the Severity of the U.S. Surveillance State”

27. they keep pull these kinds of stunts and then later apologising for it.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

28. They took a nearly universally loved product, broke it, doubled down

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “Sauron, home security startup, plucks CEO out of Sonos”

29. Sonos is a software company with a history of pushing bad updates.

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “LG TV's new software update installed MS Copilot, which cannot be deleted”

30. Afaik, it didn't lead to Sonos doing the right thing in the end

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

31. I inherited a Sonos system and by the gods is that app pitiful!

    Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Fastpotify”

32. the clunky app was laggy and had also signed her out of Spotify

    Criticizes · Sep 2026 · in “Owners mourn spoiled food after firmware update bricks Samsung smart fridges”

33. I feel a bit like Sonos and iOS/Android and Spotify are a trap.

    Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “Winamp clone in Swift for macOS”

34. I wouldn't expect anything from Sonos at this point in time.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

35. this is why most of us wont touch your hardware ever again

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

36. Sonos gets backlash every few years and they don’t change.

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them”

37. permanently turned me off anything but OSS/DIY IoT stuff

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Plex's price hikes prove I was right to switch to Jellyfin”

38. no way am I investing in Sonos after all their bullshit

    Criticizes · Jan 2026 · in “Doing gigabit Ethernet over my British phone wires”

39. Better than the "real" thing as far as I can tell.

    Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (July 2026)”

40. which I'm growing less fond of as each day passes

    Criticizes · Nov 2025 · in “Beets: The music geek’s media organizer”