Sonos is readying Sonos S2, its new OS for connected speakers, which will be released in June and power all new hardware from the company from that point on. As you might have guessed, the arrival of Sonos S2 is also the reason why the company began encouraging owners of some of its earliest hardware to consider upgrading over the past few months.
Philips has begun notifying users of its first-generation Hue bridge that it's time for an upgrade, after warning owners that it would be discontinuing support and new features for the smart lighting hub. Users of the Hue Bridge V1 started receiving alerts in the app this week that their cloud support was nearing the end, and the reception hasn't been entirely positive.
![Sonos Trade Up program ends controversial Recycle Mode requirement [Update]](https://scdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/snoos_main-1280x720.jpg)
In December, audio company Sonos faced criticism over the 'Recycle Mode' mode it introduced to brick perfectly good, but obsolete, speakers. The mode was a requirement for customers who wanted to use the company's Trade Up program, which offers a discount on new products that are still supported. Going forward, Sonos no longer requires users to brick their devices, but the speakers will still soon be obsolete.
Sonos is at the center of a crisis, bleeding goodwill from some of its most loyal users, and all because of a situation as inevitable as it is frustrating. CEO Patrick Spence shifted into damage control this week, after reports that come May 2020 some of the company's oldest products would no longer be eligible for software support.
Sonos has tried to stem the tide of bad press around its controversial plan to leave behind old hardware, after news that it would be ceasing support for some of its earlier connected speakers left the company's loyalest fans fuming. Legacy Sonos products - including the original Play:5 - would no longer get updates from May, the company had warned earlier in the week. Now, the company's CEO says, the plan has evolved a little.
Sonos announced today that it will be ending support for some legacy hardware later on this year. The phase out won't happen for a few months yet, and Sonos says that it will only impact its "oldest products." Those products can still be used once support ends too, but they'll no longer receive software updates and new features from Sonos.
Sonos is suing Google, alleging that the search giant stole its multi-room speaker tech and then used its market heft to undercut it with cheap Echo models. Sonos also accused Amazon of similar abuses, but has apparently opted to only take one such case to court. The allegations - which Google and Amazon deny - come as Sonos admits it was "naive" in how it worked with the industry heavyweights.
As much as we'd love to keep holding to consumers electronics as much as we could, there are times when they just can't move forward any longer. Usually, that takes years of regular use but some manufacturers often give people reasons to upgrade to a new model sooner rather than later. And what better way to do that than by rendering a device completely useless the way Sonos is doing now with its so-called Recycle Mode.
Sonos is raising the prices of two of its multi-room music products, as the company shifts some of its production out of China. The Sonos Amp and Sonos Port will both be seeing a $50 increase, Sonos confirmed today, though it's not blaming tariffs for the change.
Spotify Free users will now be able to stream to Sonos speakers, removing the previous requirement that listeners have a premium account. The update means that Sonos owners can now dip into Spotify's catalog without having a monthly fee to consider, as well as getting access to the streaming service's personalized playlists.
Sonos has launched a trade-in program for some of its earliest products, offering a discount on new connected speakers for those willing to recycle their older models. Initially three of Sonos' devices are eligible for the new Sonos Trade Up program, in some cases dating back all the way to 2004.
If you're one of the many who have been waiting for Sonos to make a Bluetooth speaker, then here's some good news: the Sonos Move is available to purchase beginning today. The Move bucks some of the trends established by many Bluetooth speakers out there. For starters, this is no sub-$100 Bluetooth speaker that's meant to be more of an impulse purchase, but rather a wireless speaker with a premium price of $399.