That is the new news today. The previous news was they would eventually no longer continue to function, todays announcement reaffirms no new features but now says they are working on a plan to make sure they continue to function with other legacy hardware as they do today.
At least from the screenshots of emails I read, it stated that old devices won’t get software updates, but will continue to work. Additionally, any newer devices will not get software updates _while they’re on the same Sonos network as the old one_, because they all have to run the same version.
Buts that’s “continue to work as is” but if the whole world moves on, then features will stop working. E.g. they’re not gonna get updates to deal with breaking API changes from music providers.
Which presumably means when you buy a very new device and hook it up to your network with a very old device, there will be no software version that runs on both...
Imagine buying a product from a store, taking it home, and having to wonder whether it will one day stop functioning for reasons other than manufacturing defects or normal wear and tear! The fact that it is even possible for a manufacturer to decide to remotely disable or degrade the function of a product after the sale was unthinkable 25 years ago but is now a risk consumers have to seriously consider.
People do that every day. Ever bought a mobile phone? You only get software updates for a few years at most, and I don’t think any phones from 25 years ago are usable today due to old networks being shut down. Some of the devices being deprecated pre-date the iPhone!
