Sonos explains how old and new speakers will work together

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 18 March 2020

Back in January, Sonos ruffled a few feathers by announcing that it would end support for a few older products, such as the original Play:5. As part of this decision, Sonos owners with a mix of new and "legacy" hardware were given an option: upgrade your speakers, or miss out on future software updates and new features.

At the time Sonos insisted that customers with legacy devices will still be able to keep using them as is, but the company has now provided additional details on exactly how this will work.

For reference, the Sonos hardware referred to as legacy includes the first generation Play:5, the first generation Connect, the first generation Connect:Amp, the Bridge, the CR200, and all Zone Players.

In June, the company will launch "Sonos S2", a new app and operating system that will power its next generation of speakers. The majority of existing Sonos speakers will be able to upgrade to S2, other than the devices Sonos is ending support for.

These legacy devices, also known as "S1" speakers, will still continue to function. They'll receive security updates, compatibility patches, and bug fixes, but they won't receive new features.

If you have a mix of older Sonos speakers and newer devices, you have a few different options:

You can keep all of your speakers running S1, which means you'll miss out on newer features.
You can upgrade your S2 compatible speakers, and run these as a separate speaker group to your S1 speakers. S2 speakers and S1 speakers can't interact at all, however.
You can trade-up your S1 speakers. Sonos will offer you a 30% discount on newer models if you have hardware that is effectively discontinued. While you previously had to brick your older speakers to get the discount, this is no longer the case.

All Sonos products released from April onward will only be compatible with the S2 system, however. This means there will be no way to use them in a group with older Sonos speakers that can't be upgraded to S2 .

At present, Sonos has no plans to discontinue any other further speaker. It has also promised to support every speaker in its range for at least five years after it leaves shelves. For example, this means the original Play:1 has at least another three-and-a-half years of support left.

Sonos has only provided a few details about the functionality the S2 app and operating system will enable. All we know so far is that it will allow for more personalisation (with no further elaboration on what this means), support higher resolution audio, and facilitate new features. The first S2 exclusive feature is Room Groups; the app will remember frequently grouped speakers to make it faster to get your music playing throughout your home.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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