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Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

arstechnica.com

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Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#371

Post by duskdozer »

bornfreddy wrote: post #163
stewarts wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bose's QC/QC Ultra lines continue to receive praise for comfort, durability, sound quality, noise cancellation, etc. They make pretty great consumer quality headphones. Until quite recently, they were widely one of if not the most recommended wireless headphones. The new Sennheiser's that come with a USB-C dongle might have finally stepped past what Bose has been delivering, but at a higher price.

I had the new QC Ultra and gave it away. The sound was mediocre at best and you can't turn NC off - a dealbreaker for me (no, passthru is not the same as off). Hope it helps someone make my mistake aa they are quite pricey. Now if I could change the firmware to turn NC off, that would be something entirely different...

Is it auto-adjusted NC? I'm thinking of the Sony equivalents that reduce or increase the strength of the NC depending on the environment, but do not allow you to just choose the strength.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#372

Post by rswail »

thayne wrote: post #347
rswail wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No functrionality is lost when a phone no longer receives iOS updates. All of the existing functionality continues. Access to new features is not available, and app developers may no longer support updates to their applications. But AFAIK, Apple apps (maps, music, phone, iMessage etc) on iPhones no longer receiving iOS updates continue to work.

Apps that connect to a service over the Internet (maps, music iMessage) could stop working if Apple changes the APIs that those apps use. This is even more likely to happen to third party apps. You won't get updates to the trusted root CAs, which means you won't be able to visit sites with certificates signed by CAs created or renewed after support is dropped. And your browser will continue trusting CAs that have had…

The original post was about Apple not giving proper support to after-EOL phones.

Saying "could stop working" and "won't get updates to the trusted root CAs" is all future issues.

How long should Apple be required to provide updates, both security/vulnerability and future API support?

Currently, iPhone 6S, released in 2014, can run iOS 15, which received its latest update in 2025. The iOS 15 apps work with Apple's services, some with reduced functionality because it was never in iOS 15.

So that's a 10 year old phone.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#373

Post by ubermonkey »

ktg0215 wrote: post #8

This is how "end of support" should be handled. Instead of turning devices into e-waste, open-source them and let the community extend their life. Kudos to Bose for setting a good example. More companies should follow this approach - especially as right-to-repair becomes a bigger issue.

Yes, precisely.

I am no fan of Bose for a lot of reasons, but this is seriously standup behavior for sure.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#374

Post by micheloosterhof »

All they did was republish their old developer API, here you can find an old copy, version 1.1.0: https://www.power-home.com/uploads/smarty/2017-02-13_123201_...

Now there used to be a way to play music (notifications, if I remember correctly) directly to the speaker, but that required an App_Key. Bose stopped handing out App_key's quite a while ago when they shutdown down their developer forums, see also: https://www.reddit.com/r/bose/comments/102ptjg/is_there_any_...

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#376

Post by hnlmorg »

dear-leader wrote: post #355
hnlmorg wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And before that it was the “recycle mode” that actually bricked the hardware thus contributing to e-waste: https://www.whathifi.com/news/sonos-explains-why-recycle-mod... Sonos did revert that decision after mounting public pressure too. However they keep pull these kinds of stunts and then later apologising for it. My point is: are you actually changing if you keep making the same mistakes and then only saying “sorr…

I don’t understand what you mean when you say the whole smart speaker industry is crooked. Every company that makes smart speakers is crooked? Or, the making and selling of smart speakers is inherently unethical?

A little of both.

speakers used to be something that would last a lifetime. I still have the same active monitors that I bought quarter of a century ago when I was producing techno. And I still used those speakers daily for listening to the radio. I used them for a NYE house party. They’re used often and still perform as well today as they do when they were new.

smart speakers is just a way of introducing forced obsolescence into the market.

So these EOL guarantees are nice, but EOL for speaker used to mean 50+ years later or when someone idiot inflicted physical damage onto the hardware. And even then, it was often still repairable.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#377

Post by damion6 »

Wafje wrote: post #225
ktg0215 wrote: post #8

This is how "end of support" should be handled. Instead of turning devices into e-waste, open-source them and let the community extend their life. Kudos to Bose for setting a good example. More companies should follow this approach - especially as right-to-repair becomes a bigger issue.

Bose should not receive praise for this move. Bose only took this action after community backlash. In an older version of their end-of-life announcement, most functionality of the speaker systems would have removed and transformed the devices into dumb-speakers/amps. Good that they changed their statement and took the right action. Even better for the community for stepping up and 'forcing' Bose to do so. Sources: ht…

Well maybe they should receive praise for changing their mind. I get your point but they could have doubled down.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#378

Post by fridder »

ktg0215 wrote: post #8

This is how "end of support" should be handled. Instead of turning devices into e-waste, open-source them and let the community extend their life. Kudos to Bose for setting a good example. More companies should follow this approach - especially as right-to-repair becomes a bigger issue.

Ideally this would be a legal requirement

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#379

Post by croon »

Thorrez wrote: post #365
neilv wrote: post #337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. When someone does something, hears the complaints, and changes, it's charitable to bin them as someone who made a mistake and wants to improve. Not every company deserves this charity, but the social media default nowadays is to deny that charity to everyone, and to go scorched-earth.

Even if they don't want to improve, and just do it reluctantly, it's best to reward them for doing something good, because otherwise they'll have no incentive to do something good in the future.

There's the whole citizens united ruling stating companies are people, but they're not toddlers. They (the grown adults working there) should not need positive reinforcement to figure out that consumer hostile actions sour said consumers on their product in future purchase decisions. If they want an incentive to be better, start there.

Re: Bose has released API docs and opened the API for its EoL SoundTouch speakers

#380

Post by thayne »

rswail wrote: post #372
thayne wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apps that connect to a service over the Internet (maps, music iMessage) could stop working if Apple changes the APIs that those apps use. This is even more likely to happen to third party apps. You won't get updates to the trusted root CAs, which means you won't be able to visit sites with certificates signed by CAs created or renewed after support is dropped. And your browser will continue trusting CAs that have had…

The original post was about Apple not giving proper support to after-EOL phones. Saying "could stop working" and "won't get updates to the trusted root CAs" is all future issues. How long should Apple be required to provide updates, both security/vulnerability and future API support? Currently, iPhone 6S, released in 2014 , can run iOS 15, which received its latest update in 2025. The iOS 15 apps work with Apple's se…

> How long should Apple be required to provide updates, both security/vulnerability and future API support?

If they want to drop support for still functional hardware, they should make it possible to install your own software on it.

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