Sonos laying off 100 people amid expensive app problems
Sonos execs considering bringing back the old app, report claims.
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Scharon Harding
Senior Product Reviewer
[email protected]
Scharon is Ars Technica’s Senior Product Reviewer writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer technology, including laptops, mechanical keyboards, and monitors. Before joining Ars Technica, she managed computer peripherals coverage and reviewed laptops and gadgets for Tom’s Hardware. Previous roles also include covering news and writing research reports about the IT channel with bylines at Channelnomics and CRN UK.
Recent stories by
Scharon Harding
Redbox app axed, dashing people’s hopes of keeping purchased content
Customers uncertain as app remains downloadable after company's Chapter 7 filing.
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Sonos’ $30M app fail is cautionary tale against rushing unnecessary updates
Sonos is delaying two hardware releases because of the app's problems.
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143
People are returning Humane AI Pins faster than Humane can sell them, report says
Returned devices are currently e-waste that can't be reassigned, per The Verge.
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120
Disney has “earned” latest streaming price hike, CFO says
Disney is "not concerned" about blowback from higher prices, per CEO.
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198
Reddit considers search ads, paywalled content for the future
Current ad load is relatively "light," COO says.
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151
“So tired”: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ prices increase by up to 25 percent in October
Not even ad tiers are safe as Disney looks to coax people into bundle packages.
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236
Return-to-office mandates hurt employee retention, productivity, survey says
Survey of 4,400 US employees who are at least 18 years old.
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NZXT wants you to pay up to $169/month to rent a gaming PC
NZXT Flex subscription has "new or like-new" PCs, one-time $50 shipping fee.
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228
Testing shows “significant durability” problems with edge-lit LCD TVs
"Brand agnostic" design flaws cause uniformity problems, RTINGs torture test finds.
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Blocking AI bots from Microsoft, others has been “pain in the a**”: Reddit CEO
Steve Huffman says companies must pay to scrape Reddit data.
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“AI toothbrushes” are coming for your teeth—and your data
App-connected toothbrushes bring new privacy concerns to the bathroom.
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Logitech has an idea for a “forever mouse” that requires a subscription
Exec says mouse that requires a regular fee for software updates is possible.
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Non-Google search engines blocked from showing recent Reddit results
Updated robots.txt file hits Bing and others without a Reddit deal.
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Alexa had “no profit timeline,” cost Amazon $25 billion in 4 years
WSJ report highlights vague metrics, internal struggles of Amazon Devices.
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Imperfect Linux-powered DIY smart TV is the embodiment of ad fatigue
DIYer picks a "little insane"-looking setup for less tracking, more control.
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Samsung delays Galaxy Buds3 Pro release over quality concerns
"It tore from the inside instantly."
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Netflix is kicking US subscribers off its cheapest ad-free plan soon
Subscribers will have to pay $15.49 for commercial-free Netflix.
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184
“Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit
Users seek alternatives as Google is intent on app-centric focus.
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195
Streaming’s bundling obsession ignores the real problem with subscription costs
Opinion: Subscribers keep paying more and getting the same.
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219
German Navy still uses 8-inch floppy disks, working on emulating a replacement
Four Brandenburg-class F123 warships employ floppies for data-acquisition systems.
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DVDs are dying right as streaming has made them appealing again
You don't know what you've got till it's gone.
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“Immensely disappointing”: Nike killing app for $350 self-tying sneakers
Without updates or ability to download after August, app will become useless.
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Amazon is bricking $2,350 Astro robots 10 months after release
Amazon giving refunds for business bot, will focus on home version instead.
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Japan wins 2-year “war on floppy disks,” kills regulations requiring old tech
But what about fax machines?
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Apple Vision Pro, new cameras fail user-repairability analysis
Meta Quest 3, PS5 Slim also received failing grades despite new right-to-repair laws.
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Bleeding subscribers, cable companies force their way into streaming
Companies like Charter brought about the streaming industry they now want to join.
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167
Some company heads hoped return-to-office mandates would make people quit, survey says
1,504 workers, including 504 HR managers, questioned.
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232
VMware customers may stay, but Broadcom could face backlash “for years to come”
300 director-level IT workers making VMware decisions were questioned.
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Oral-B bricking Alexa toothbrush is cautionary tale against buzzy tech
Oral-B discontinued Alexa toothbrush in 2022, now sells $400 "AI" toothbrush.
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165
“Definitely cancel”: Max subs advise churn after 2nd price hike in 17 months
Monthly ad-free subscriptions cost $1 more.
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Spotify raising prices by up to $3 as frustrated subs beg it to “just do music”
Spotify last raised prices in July 2023.
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Micro LED monitors connect like puzzle pieces in HP multi-monitor concept
Concept "can be applied to any panel type technology without a backlight."
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Spotify won’t open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process
Spotify to brick hardware it released to general public in 2022 this December.
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136
8BitDo M Edition mechanical keyboard is a modern take on IBM’s Model M
Numpad sold separately.
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“Unacceptable”: Spotify bricking Car Thing devices in Dec. without refunds
Spotify stopped making Car Things in July 2022 but kept selling them.
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