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Well, well, well. Internet-of-Things speaker biz Sonos to continue some software support for legacy kit after all

Punters can still run old and new gear on same network, for now

Sonos has said it will continue to support legacy products in an apparent reversal of a statement made earlier this week.

The smart-speaker biz said on Tuesday it planned to drop support for some legacy gear, starting in May. The decision would not have immediately bricked old kit, but it did mean that customers with a mix of legacy and new equipment would not be able to run them together once the modern gear was updated with a new version of the Sonos software.

The decision outraged many of the company's long-time customers, who responded with fire and fury on the manufacturer's forums.

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence apologised for the misstep in an open letter published on the speaker maker's website today. "We heard you. We did not get this right from the start," he wrote.

According to Spence, old Sonos gear will continue to function as usual, but won't receive any new features from now on. He pledges to keep old gear "updated with bug fixes and security patches for as long as possible" and said the company was working on a way to enable new and legacy gear to continue to work on the same network.

"Many of you have invested heavily in your Sonos systems, and we intend to honor that investment for as long as possible," he said in the statement.

Although Spence does not give any hard timelines for its future support, he does say that if the company runs into "something core to the experience that can't be addressed, we'll work to offer an alternative solution and let you know about any changes you'll see in your experience". ®

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