- SoundTouch speakers will lose cloud services in May 2026
- Bose has published an API for third party app developers
- Spotify Connect and AirPlay will continue to work
Bose’s SoundTouch speakers are positively ancient in tech terms: they were introduced in 2013, and after a successful 13-year-run Bose has decided to turn off the cloud services: “we’re no longer able to sustain the development and support of the cloud infrastructure that powers this older generation of products.”
Rather than “brick” existing customers’ speakers, which is what tends to happen when the cloud stuff gets turned off, Bose has provided extensive information on how to keep using them with Bluetooth and AirPlay – and they’ve published an API so third party app developers can add SoundTouch features to their apps.
Just take a look at the Bose SoundTouch 20 above. Now imagine it obsolete and unworkable. Isn’t it great that if you bought one of these multi-room wireless speakers (for around $399 / £350 / AU$549, upon their release at least) that doesn’t have to happen?
A smarter way to work with smart speaker obsolescence
As Bose explains, the speakers themselves will remain perfectly functional – so standalone SoundTouch speakers with Bluetooth and Aux connections will continue to work, and home theater products will continue to connect over HDMI or optical connections. Features such as SoundTouch streaming will be going away, but “AirPlay and Spotify Connect should continue to function.”
Bose is giving customers lots of notice here. It first announced the server shutdown in October 2025, and in this new January update it’s pushed the changes back to May 2026. From then, the app will update “to a version that supports key functions without relying on the cloud.”
What does that mean in practice? Bose says:
“With this version of the app, you will be able to control any system that is on the same Wi-Fi network as your phone. You will still be able to set up, configure, remotely control, and group systems through the app. Browsing music services and initiating content from within the SoundTouch app will no longer function. Instead, you may download your favorite music service apps (TuneIn, Pandora, etc.) and send audio to the SoundTouch systems via AirPlay, Bluetooth, or AUX. If you are a Spotify user, stream content to your SoundTouch system using Spotify Connect from within the Spotify app.”
I’m really impressed by this. All tech should probably come with a memento mori on it to remind you that connected services won’t be available forever, but it’s how shutdowns and recommended upgrading is handled that sends a message to customers – so for example Sonos upset a lot of people in 2019 when it initially required customers to “brick” their existing speakers in order to qualify for an upgrade discount, and the complete shutdown of Spotify’s Car Thing in 2024 ruffled some feathers too.
As I wrote at the time, “be very wary of buying devices that are tied to a single service or a proprietary platform. As Car Thing demonstrates, some devices are here for a good time, not a long time.” But what Bose is saying is the opposite.
What Bose is doing here isn’t just sending a message to existing SoundTouch owners. It’s sending a wider message about its values to would-be smart speaker buyers. And that’s very smart indeed.
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