News: 0180542731

  ARM Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

Bose Open-Sources Its SoundTouch Home Theater Smart Speakers Ahead of End-of-Life (arstechnica.com)

(Wednesday January 07, 2026 @05:40PM (BeauHD) from the community-over-salvage dept.)


Bose is end-of-lifing its SoundTouch smart speakers but softened the blow by [1]open-sourcing the SoundTouch API and preserving limited local features, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect. Ars Technica reports:

> In October, Bose announced that its SoundTouch Wi-Fi speakers and soundbars would become dumb speakers on February 18. At the time, Bose said that the speakers would only work if a device was connected via AUX, HDMI, or Bluetooth (which has higher latency than Wi-Fi). After that date, the speakers would stop receiving security and software updates and lose cloud connectivity and their companion app, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said. Without the app, users would no longer be able to integrate the device with music services, such as Spotify, have multiple SoundTouch devices play the same audio simultaneously, or use or edit saved presets.

>

> The announcement [2]frustrated some of Bose's [3]long-time customers , some of whom own multiple SoundTouch devices that still function properly. Many questioned companies' increasingly common practice of bricking expensive products to focus on new devices or to minimize costs, or because they've gone through acquisitions or bankruptcy. SoundTouch speakers released in 2013 and 2015 with prices ranging from $399 to $1,500.

>

> Today, Bose had better news. In [4]an email to customers, Bose announced that AirPlay and Spotify Connect will still work with SoundTouch speakers after EoL, expanding the wireless capabilities that people will still be able to access. Additionally, SoundTouch devices that support AirPlay 2 can play the same audio simultaneously. The SoundTouch app will also live on, albeit stripped of some functionality. "On May 6, 2026, the app will update to a version that supports the functions that can operate locally without the cloud. No action will be required on your part. Opening the app will apply the update automatically," Bose said. Bose also provided [5]instructions (PDF) for a workaround for saving presets that uses the favorites options in music service apps.



[1] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/01/bose-open-sources-its-soundtouch-home-theater-smart-speakers-ahead-of-eol/

[2] https://www.reddit.com/r/bose/comments/1o2cnhw/bose_ending_cloud_support_for_soundtouch/

[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/audio/comments/1o2db0f/comment/niqj66d/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[4] https://www.bose.com/soundtouch-end-of-life?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&utm_source=Commission+Junction&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=5370367&Publisher=Skimlinks&cjevent=68aba1d6ec0f11f082da00550a1eba22&utm_id=5370367

[5] https://assets.bosecreative.com/m/3429b5c624f9f6e5/original/SoundTouch_End_of_Service_Walkthrough_Step_By_Step_Guidance.pdf


No highs (Score:1)

by Anonymous Coward

No lows...

That's BOSE.

"Smart" (Score:2)

by ANonyMouser ( 2641869 )

This is why, as far as is reasonably possible, I buy dumb things.

I have old phones that are past end of life, the hardware still works, but the software never will again.

My old video games work fine, so long as I can connect them to something. I'm painfully aware that my newer ones will one day not have servers to connect to and may not work anymore.

This is how you do it (Score:3)

by ebunga ( 95613 )

I know a lot of people don't like Bose for the price-versus-sound thing, but this is how you EoL something cloudy that doesn't really need cloud connectivity to function most of the time.

Free Upgrade (Score:1)

by james_marsh ( 147079 )

Totally local, cloud-free seems like a massive improvement!

I'm still happily using a house full of discontinued original SlimDevices/Squeezebox hardware players from 2006-2010 thanks to them having open source local server support from the start and absolute stars like Michael Herger, CDrummond and many other contributors not just keeping them working but fully containerized and using modern web UIs and an enormous range of plugins.

"Smart" Devices are Computers (Score:2)

by iamhigh ( 1252742 )

And computers rarely have a life longer than 10-12 years. Unfortunately this is what people need to expect.

My wired Bose speakers will still be blasting in another 10 years however!

Well done BOSE ! (Score:1)

by greytree ( 7124971 )

I have never been interested in BOSE hardware before. But I am now !

THIS is the way to EOL - looking at you Sonos, Philips, Nvidia et al.

Increased Electricity Consumption Blamed on Linux

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The US Department of Energy claims Linux is partially
responsible for the increased demand for electricity during the past year.
Electricity use was up 2.5% from January to September of 1998 compared with
the same period in 1997. "While some of the increase can be attributed to
higher temperatures over the summer," one Department bureaucrat explained,
"Linux is certainly a contributor to the increased demand for power."

When asked for clarification, the bureaucrat responded, "In the past, most
PCs have been turned off when not in use. Linux users, on the other hand,
usually don't turn off their computers. They leave them on, hoping to
increase their uptime to impress their friends. And since Linux rarely
crashes the entire system, those computers stay on for weeks, months, even
years at a time. With Linux use continuing to grow, we expect demand for
electricity to increase steadily over the next several years."

In response to the news, several utility companies have announced plans to
give away free Linux CDs to paying customers who request them. One anonymous
executive said, "The more people who use Linux, the more power they consume.
The more electricity they use, the more money we make. It's a win-win
combination." Yesterday Linus Torvalds was nominated as a candidate for the
Assocation of American Utility Companies Person of the Year.