Sonos, a maker of wireless smart speakers, came under fire recently for advocating that repeat buyers activate a “recycle mode” in their existing devices when upgrading to a new Sonos One, New, or Move. But unlike what the word "recycle" suggests, recycle mode is merely a means of permanently disabling the device, or "bricking" it. The company which is known for making high-quality speakers offers its s a 30-percent discount for a new speaker in exchange for bricking their older products through the recycle mode. Once recycle mode is activated, speakers will be made useless for anything aside from their parts after 21 days. Following which, Sonos suggests disposing of the device at a recycling center.
Sonos has been criticized for this practice because it removes all possibility of the devices ever being reused, donated, or sold. The company has said that future features will not be compatible with older products, and could present a with an old version of the Sonos experience if they buy an outdated second-hand device. This comes at an environmental cost, as many of the plastics the speakers are made of will end up in a landfill or incinerated instead of reused or donated.
Tech website Engadget reviewed the Sonos One as “The best-sounding smart speaker you can buy,” and the Sonos Move as “durable and portable,” albeit expensive. Their brand image and its value is likely the motivation for Sonos to want their s to dispose of their devices, as they often fetch up to $200 when resold. Sonos has stated that upwards of 92-percent of Sonos speakers ever sold continue to see use.
Sonos Refuses To Reuse Speakers
Sonos stated that the reason for its recycling mode is for the benefit of new customers. This seems to be little more than corporate speak to defend the questionable actions of the company. As second-hand market places like eBay, Facebook, and Amazon Marketplace continue to see growth, perhaps electronics makers like Sonos are fearing losing sales to resales. This has been a motivator for many companies to dissuade their customers from selling their items. Popular tactics are one-use activation codes or trade-in offers that often don’t match up to the item’s actual worth.
Sonos may include features in future products that aren’t compatible with previous iterations, but that’s not a good enough reason to ignore the benefits of reusing older products.
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Source: Engadget