[9] It's been reported that in D2 Steve Jobs told MacFarlane that the Sonos controller's scroll wheel might violate Apple patents related to the iPod.
[22] In January 2015, Sonos was rebranded by Bruce Mau Design,[23] with a new visual identity and improved logotype that was created over the span of four years, from 2011 to 2014.
[26] In March 2016, CEO John MacFarlane announced the company's shift to focus on streaming music services and voice control instead of local playback, and laid off some employees.
[30] In January 2017, MacFarlane announced via the company's blog that he would be stepping down from his role as CEO, and that he would be succeeded in this position by former COO Patrick Spence.
[4] In January 2020, Sonos sued Google over copyright infringement relating to several patents, including the ability to sync audio over multiple devices.
[40] In April 2020, Sonos revealed a new "sonic logo" composed by Philip Glass, featuring an ensemble of 21 musicians.
[41] In June 2020, Sonos announced plans to lay off 12% of its workforce, close its New York store and six of its offices, and cut its top executives' pay by 20% for three to six months, in response to the economic disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic.
Multiple Sonos devices in a single household are connected to each other wirelessly, through a wired Ethernet network, or a mixture of the two.
The first versions of SonosNet required a single ZonePlayer or ZoneBridge to be wired to a network for access to LAN and Internet audio sources[92] or when creating a 3.1/5.1 surround setup.
[102][103] Sonos later settled a class action lawsuit related to its decision to intentionally cause the CR100 to cease to function.
[104] Sonos was criticized by media outlets in December 2019 for its "Recycle Mode", which bricks devices that users register into the company's trade-in program.
[108] In March 2020, Sonos discontinued the Recycle Mode and no longer requires customers to dispose of products submitted for its trade-in program.
[109][110] On January 22, 2020, Sonos notified the end of support for speakers made before 2015, meaning that they eventually will lose functionality, something that sparked anger from their owners.
[112] On January 23, 2020, following a widespread backlash and criticism of this announcement, Sonos reversed and clarified it, stating that it would continue to support its older equipment.
[113] In May 2024, Sonos' update to its mobile app was panned for its visual design, poor accessibility support, and the removal of key features such as the alarm and sleep timer, [114] removal of local music library support, fast draining of batteries, and inability to edit upcoming song queues and playlists.
[115] Sonos CEO Patrick Spence apologized for the update, referring to "issues", in what has been called "hilarious tone of wry British understatement".
[117] In January 2025, Sonos announced the resignation of its CEO Patrick Spence over the app update debacle.
This change caused concern among users and privacy advocates, who interpreted it as a possible prelude to data sales.