Sonos has delayed products to focus on fixing its app "crisis"

Sonos Ray Soundbar
(Image credit: iMore / Stephen Warwick)

If you missed it, Sonos is facing considerable backlash regarding its new app. Released earlier this year, the redesign was dubbed by some as "unusable", and caused the company's otherwise excellent speakers to become pretty useless.

With accusations the app was "unfinished", and the potential for a dramatic U-turn that would lead users back to the prior version, Sonos is in a tricky spot.

According to a new report, the software issues are having a knock-on effect with new hardware releases. That comes via Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, where he reports "Sonos is still in the middle of a crisis. Though the company has made headway in repairing the damage, the fallout will be felt for months."

Sonos facing hardware delays following app issues

According to Gurman, the company has had to "delay two products so that it can focus on the software problem," with one of them being a "Roku-like offering codenamed Pinewood" which would mark Sonos' first TV set-top box. Gurman didn't say what the other project was.

Sonos' Ace headphones are reportedly "underperforming", too, with Gurman suggesting the numbers show that 250 units are being built a day - drastically less than the target of 2,500 units. Reduced demand means the company will build between 90,000 and 100,000 units annually, instead of ten times that number.

Stock is down 32% this year, Gurman notes, which is a huge disappointment given the year was intended to see a variety of new products launch.

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Lloyd Coombes
Contributor

Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom. Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more. He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.

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