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Practical Electronics | March | 2020
Volume 49. No. 3
March 2020
ISSN 2632 573X
Editorial
Not-so-smart speakers
One of the big tech news stories the week I’m writing this Editorial is
the howls of outrage that greeted the announcement by smart speaker
manufacturer Sonos that they were no longer supporting some of
their older products – and in some cases not-so-old – with software
updates. Customers who had spent small fortunes on whole-house
installations were furious that their investment was compromised and
that at best they would need to run two incompatible systems to pipe
music though their home. This came just eight months after Google
announced it was to cease supporting its Works programme, which
allowed third-party vendors to integrate products such as smart light
bulbs with its Nest ecosystem of home automation. There are (at least)
five conclusions one could draw from these examples.
First, no matter how big or well established the company, don’t
assume it’s got your back for product support. Companies exist to
make money, fight off rivals and survive in a fast-moving market.
Being innovative or a market leader does not guarantee a future – just
ask Nokia or Motorola. This makes them ruthless and paranoid. If it
is no longer in a company’s interest to write software for old products
then they will simply stop. You may have a perfectly good scanner,
but if your new PC OS upgrade doesn’t have a driver for it then you’re
out of luck – that problem has bitten me twice.
Second, companies can be arrogant and stupid. I have no idea
whether the decision by Sonos was technologically pragmatic and
justified, or a truly cynical attempt to ‘force’ their loyal customer base
to upgrade to the latest expensive hardware by deliberately rendering
their existing products obsolete. I’m not inclined to give them the
benefit of the doubt since one of the products involved is not even
five years old. Either way, it seems like a spectacular own goal.
Would you invest hundreds, even thousands with a company whose
products might not work properly after a few years? No, me neither.
Third, as always, it’s a case of buyer beware. Remember, if you are
buying something with software then there will always be questions
around updates and maintenance. If you are buying something with
software and it needs to talk to other systems then you should really
ask yourself will every software subsystem from communication via
Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to its rudimentary ‘operating system’ continue
to be maintained, patched and supported in the years ahead, or at
least as long as the hardware works. In truth, this is pretty much a
rhetorical question because the answer is almost always ‘no’. All
software has an expiration date, and all too often it will expire before
the hardware gives up the ghost.
Fourth, ‘all-in-one’ systems like smart speakers are especially
vulnerable to these problems, because it means that you could have
a high-quality piece of expensive Hi-Fi that is effectively rendered
useless because just one part no longer works.
Last, my music system runs off a PC via a DAC and then into a 20-yearold Naim pre-amp/power amp combo. It doesn’t understand voice
commands, but the audio parts will carry on working for another 20
years. How many smart speakers could make the same claim?
Matt Pulzer
Publisher
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