Sonos, developer of some of the best soundbars, has been aware of the controversy and backlash against its apps since it began updating them in May

The updated apps removed long-standing features, introduced bugs, and made bizarre changes to how the remaining features actually work Sonos owners are still frustrated, with Sonos' official forums and Reddit as examples

As a result

The result has been delayed product releases, increased layoffs, and a tarnished reputation for a company known for making the best speakers

Sonos has been in repair mode for some time now On Tuesday, the company released a forward plan outlining how the speaker maker will reverse its current fortunes and repair relationships

“Since its release, our priority has been to fix the app,” Sonos CEO Patrick Spence said in a statement, “We first went deep to understand why we got into this mess, and then moved to put that learning into action We are committed to reinventing ourselves to return to being the brand people love by offering the best audio systems, both inside and outside the home” We must always do right by our customers

The company has put forth seven “commitments Some of them are standard business clichés, such as “unwavering focus on the customer experience” and “demonstrate humility when introducing change” The last one is in response to the surprisingly cheeky claim that it took “courage” to release an undesirable app update

The commitments also include concrete solutions to fix ongoing problems, such as “appoint a quality ombudsperson” and “extend the warranty on home speakers”

Sonos has made several references to adding customer input through a more robust beta testing program that would utilize “more types of customers and diverse setups” over a longer testing period, and a customer advisory board intended to provide insight based on customer feedback The company has repeatedly mentioned the establishment of

The largest viable item seems to be an ombudsperson “who is consulted by executive leadership throughout the development process They intend to introduce more transparency into product development, but it is unclear if they will interact with other customer advisory groups

Another solution, seemingly vague, is to “continually improve the app experience” However, the press release clearly states that Sonos will continue to provide updates every two to four weeks after “this issue is resolved”

The company claims that many initiatives are “already underway” and that it has suspended executive bonus payments from October 2024 through September 2025

Will Sonos be able to regain trust with its customers? That remains to be seen, but it appears that Sonos executives are eating crow and actively trying to right their wrongs This is unusual in this day and age