Not making excuses for this issue, but it seems to me that keeping a company like Sonos (upscale audio hardware) alive & prosperous with the crazy megalithic competitive forces that lurk on all sides must be a nightmare.
On the one hand you have Apple and their half-hearted (for now) entry, and at the low end you have Alexa/"Talk to it" speakers. These alternatives seem destined to encroach on the Sonos turf come hell or high water.
I will say that for their intended purpose--streaming music to a network connected speaker, Sonos speakers just work great! Their app interface, while not a great experience, functions. When I click "Play," stuff immediately comes out of my speakers. NOW. There is never a delay, never a spinning pizza, never, never NEVER! (anecdata, of course)
So I (me, not you) can't blame them for wildly thrashing a bit on the data collection side. I get it. They are terrified they are going to get squeezed eventually.
Do I wish they would reconsider advertising and related marketing shenanigans as business models? Yes, I do. For now they meet my needs and they just work. It's a trade off I'm (me, not you) are willing to make for now.
On the one hand you have Apple and their half-hearted (for now) entry, and at the low end you have Alexa/"Talk to it" speakers. These alternatives seem destined to encroach on the Sonos turf come hell or high water.
I will say that for their intended purpose--streaming music to a network connected speaker, Sonos speakers just work great! Their app interface, while not a great experience, functions. When I click "Play," stuff immediately comes out of my speakers. NOW. There is never a delay, never a spinning pizza, never, never NEVER! (anecdata, of course)
So I (me, not you) can't blame them for wildly thrashing a bit on the data collection side. I get it. They are terrified they are going to get squeezed eventually.
Do I wish they would reconsider advertising and related marketing shenanigans as business models? Yes, I do. For now they meet my needs and they just work. It's a trade off I'm (me, not you) are willing to make for now.