Smart Home series - seriously, seriously Bose!?

[grath]

With the release of the Smart Home (SH) series and Bose Music app it looks like existing SoundTouch (ST) products will be rendered completely useless. Why would Bose prioritise development of the existing ST products through releases of new firmware and apps when the new SH series is basically replacing ST products? And there seems to be no plans what-so-ever (ref. "this has never been a discussion") to provide a firmware update to existing ST products to support the new Bose Music app.

E.g. SH 700 soundbar appears to be "copy-and-paste" of the ST 300 product line except for inbuilt Alexa-support, probably updated CPU/memory capacity, Bluetooth-based remote control, removal of a few ports (e.g. HDMI IN) and an heftier price tag (100 USD more than ST300). SH is not a new product line that serves as an alternative to ST; it is basically a complete replacement of the entire ST series without providing backward compability to customers who have invested in ST products with an expecation of loyality due to the fact that ST is completely dependent on software services to function properly.

Over the last two years I have expanded my setup with a wide range of different ST products (ST 300, multiple ST 10-30 etc.). Mainly driven by the promise of releasing Apple AirPlay 2 support ("we are commited to bring Airplay 2 support to existing ST products"), and the historically long lifecycle of Bose products. 

Now it looks like I am left with three options:

1) Replace my hardware-wise identitical ST products with SH products, mainly just to get access to new functionality through updated software. A really costly alternative without any pros to me as a customer.

2) Continue using my ST products, but with the expecation of no software updates what-so-ever. The functionality available 5 years ahead (including existing bugs..) for ST products is realistically no different from today.

3) Sell all my Bose products to someone who has no clue that Bose is fooling existing customers, which is far from a sympathetic option.

I am hugely disappointed about the "clean start" direction Bose has chosen, and as a loyal customer who have spent way to much on Bose ST products I am at least expecting some answers or indications to the questions below to allow me to take a decision:

1) Did I get it all wrong, or are there really no plans of releasing SH firmware to existing ST products?

2) Is "we are commited to bring Airplay 2 support to existing ST products" still a commitment?

3) Any concrete plans for releasing new functionality (besides AP2) in the ST platform in the near future, e.g. sticky grouping?

[superwdy]

agree. bose can you give answers to the 3 questions above? I bet these are common questions from all ST users.

[Joel_D]

Hello grath,

Thank you for the questions.

1) Did I get it all wrong, or are there really no plans of releasing SH firmware to existing ST products?

The new Smart Home Speakers will not be integrated with SoundTouch products. This is based on an entirely new platform

2) Is "we are commited to bring Airplay 2 support to existing ST products" still a commitment?

Yes, Airplay 2 will be coming to SoundTouch products that have Bluetooth capabilities sometime in 2019.

3) Any concrete plans for releasing new functionality (besides AP2) in the ST platform in the near future, e.g. sticky grouping?

There has not been any communication on upcoming additional features for SoundTouch, but we will let the community know if anything develops.

If you have any other questions, let us know.

Regards,

Joel - Community Support

[sanmigueelbeer]

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@Joel_D wrote:

The new Smart Home Speakers will not be integrated with SoundTouch products. This is based on an entirely new platform 

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Joel (and Bose),

This "new platform", will wireless mDNS (read:  multi-room wired/wireless streaming) be fixed or is it a copy-and-paste from the "old platform"?

Next tricky question:  Testing (or lack of).  How much "testing" has this been done?  Has this "new platform" been tested in the wild or just in a sandpit over at Bose?

Best Regards/Mark

[Joel_D]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for the questions. 

The new app and system have been built brand new from the ground up. 

As for testing, there has been rigorous testing completed before this product series was launched.

Regards,

Joel 

[sanmigueelbeer]

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@Joel_D wrote:

The new app and system have been built brand new from the ground up. 

As for testing, there has been rigorous testing completed before this product series was launched.

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These are very vague response(s).  A little bit of technical details would be nice like Deployment Guide or Configuration Guide, perhaps?  

So, if there was "rigorous testing" done, any independent third-party can vouch for this claim (and not a guy in a white truck)?

(I don't know how marketing or PR would react but would Bose want to see these new platforms work or would they want to see platforms being RETURNED by customers?)

[Joel_D]

Hello sanmigueelbeer,

Thank you for the reply and questions.

Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss our internal processes and procedures.

We are very confident in our new Smart Home products series, and we hope you will enjoy them.

Regards,

Joel 

[sanmigueelbeer]

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@Joel_D wrote:

Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss our internal processes and procedures.

We are very confident in our new Smart Home products series, and we hope you will enjoy them.

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Hi Joel_D, 

Please note that a response like this does not instil confidence to me as a buyer.  

[SquigglyData]

Hi Joel,

I see on your product pages that the SoundTouch and Smart Home products are listed and compared.

https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/products/speakers/smart_home.html

From the questions from other people here, I think maybe they (like me) are a little confused as to why the product lines are branching when they have so much in common. The concern of course is that Bose may abandon the ST line for a new SH product line leaving us with redundant hardware.

To be clear, I love my SoundTouch speakers but if there are doubts in my mind that this will be a lasting and supported product then I am unlikely to invest in further Bose hardware (ST or SH).

Is there anything reassuring you can share with the community here?  Or perhaps a reason why SH exists alongside ST?

Thanks

[Joel_D]

Hello SquigglyData,

Thank you for the post and questions.

We plan to continue to support SoundTouch for the foreseeable future. There will still be updates and new features coming.

The reason why the two different product series are on the same page is that they are both Wi-Fi-based products.

If you think you would benefit from Alexa enabled Smart Home speakers, then they will be the correct products for you. As well as an entirely new speaker design and sound in the Soundbars and Home Speaker. 

Regards,

Joel