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A comment on Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them. Parent comment

Re:Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of b... by fainpul on Thursday January 08, 2026 @02:17PM (#46545187)
> transformed the devices into dumb-speakers/amps

Isn't that still gonna happen now?

From [1]:

What will no longer work:

• Presets (preset buttons on the product and in the app)

Of course Bluetooth and AirPlay continues to work, but isn't that what a "dumb speaker" is?

[1] https://www.bose.com/soundtouch-end-of-life

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of b... by JonathonW on Thursday January 08, 2026 @02:41PM (#46545468)
Bose's original plan was to remove all WiFi-dependent functionality (no AirPlay and no Spotify Connect)-- while they wouldn't quite be "dumb speakers" at that point (since Bluetooth would've still worked), it would've turned them into pretty much just overcomplicated Bluetooth speakers.
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Re:Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of b... by thaumasiotes on Friday January 09, 2026 @06:08AM (#46552585)
> Isn't that still gonna happen now?

No, if you read farther down the announcement, they also say this:

> Open-source options for the community

> We’re making our technical specifications available so that independent developers can create their own SoundTouch-compatible tools and features. The documentation is available here: https://assets.bosecreative.com/m/496577402d128874/original/...

So, they're going to strip the "smart" functionality from the app that Bose provides, but they're letting people continue to use it if they want to.

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Re:Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of b... by fainpul on Friday January 09, 2026 @07:30AM (#46553175)
I've read that document. As I understand, the "smart" capabilities are exactly the presets. Those need their server to function. Do you see anything saying otherwise?
[ Parent | on HN ]