If you own a Bose SoundTouch speaker, we have some bad news. The US firm will discontinue support for its SoundTouch wireless tech from February 2026, effectively turning models in the range into very expensive Bluetooth speakers.
SoundTouch enables certain Bose speakers to work in multi-room setups and to stream music from streaming services – a bit like Sonos. Models include the SoundTouch 10 and 20, the 300 soundbar, and the Series III devices.
Once the big switch-off has happened on 18th February, the speakers will lose all multi-room support as well as the ability to stream music from the likes of Spotify and TuneIn.
But they won't be completely bricked.
"[I]f your SoundTouch product supports Bluetooth, Aux, or HDMI, you’ll still be able to enjoy high-quality audio playback from connected devices," Bose writes on its support page.
The devices will also no longer receive security updates. Bose has no plans to support SoundTouch products through any other app.
SoundTouch launched in 2013. Bose says it's "no longer able to sustain the development and support of the cloud infrastructure that powers this older generation of products."
It adds: "We remain committed to creating new listening experiences for our customers built on modern technologies."
That's all well and good, but with no mention of a trade-in scheme or compensation of any kind, customers could be excused for feeling more than a little bit cheesed off at the move.
In fact, we have been contacted by a reader who is exceptionally upset, having spent around £2000 on SoundTouch products specifically for their multi-room abilities. He is now looking at having to replace his entire system.
This has echoes of what Sonos did in 2020, when it decided to leave some legacy products behind when it moved to its newer 'S2' platform.
However, those products continue to work as they always did via the older Sonos S1 app. They were left behind, but not hobbled, which is what Bose has essentially announced it's doing to its SoundTouch devices.
Sonos also offered a trade-in scheme.
Nevertheless, there was a huge furore around the Sonos decision in 2020, and what Bose is doing seems significantly more egregious.
We've contacted Bose for comment.
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