This means that in the future, these speakers will no longer be receiving software updates which will sometimes contain new features. According to Sonos, the speakers that will be affected by this decision include the original Zone Players, the Connect and Connect:Amp, the first-generation Play:5, the CR200, and Bridge.
While some might see this as a ploy by Sonos to get users to upgrade, the company argues otherwise. “Since launching our first products, technology has advanced at an exponential rate. However, we’ve now come to a point where some of the oldest products have been stretched to their technical limits in terms of memory and processing power.”
That being said, it shouldn’t be surprising that companies end support for their products. We’ve seen this happen many times in the past, although it does highlight some of the downsides of a smart speaker, instead of a regular speaker where software/firmware updates aren’t necessary.
Customers who will be affected by this will be pleased to learn that they can trade up to a newer Sonos product where the company will be giving them 30% credit for each product they replace.