Sonos Should Give Up Hardware-Only Business Model
There’s a reason so many companies are practically giving hardware away.
They sell hardware, but they should sell software.
Photographer: Bloomberg
How long should a manufacturer be responsible for maintaining support for legacy products? Consumer devices have increasingly become smart and connected, only to later be abandoned by the manufacturer. Smart suitcases have turned dumb, talking toys gone mute, and wireless security cameras bricked into paperweights. Most recently, Sonos got a lot of grief for announcing that older versions of their smart home speakers would soon lose access to services and functionality. Customers complained that they had spent thousands on their audio systems, with some products still on the market as recently as 2015.
A hardware device is a one-time purchase, while software updates require continuous labor. As technology improves and devices last longer, the initial manufacturing cost may end up being a small proportion of the total lifetime cost of production. Many manufacturers have shifted to business models that treat the device sale as a loss leader for future revenue streams. Amazon can afford to underprice the Echo because it enables consumers to buy more stuff from Amazon, Google and Spotify teamed up to give away Google Home Minis, and even Apple recently lowered prices on its iPhones to grow a user base for its subscription services.