More and more of our devices connect to the internet. But this has one major disadvantage: devices come with limited manufacturer support and can no longer be used, or only to a very limited extent, once their warranty expires. Among other things, this is due to closed ecosystems that prevent developers and hobbyists from maintaining the devices themselves.
This makes a decision taken by audio manufacturer Bose at the beginning of the year particularly interesting. After Bose discontinued support for its Wi-Fi-enabled ‘SoundTouch’ speaker series, users attempted to keep the devices alive using programmes they wrote themselves.
Bose then made the necessary system interfaces—APIs for short—available via open source. And in doing so, it demonstrated that open source code extends the service life of our technology.
Why is support for the speakers ending at all?
Bose first introduced its SoundTouch series in 2013. Over the next two years, several speakers, soundbars and compact speakers were released. All of them allowed music to be streamed via the Internet using a mobile phone app run by the manufacturer. Unlike Bluetooth speakers, however, the data did not need to pass through a mobile phone. The SoundTouch speakers were able to directly stream content from providers such as Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music via a Wi-Fi network.
The huge environmental problem of electronic waste
Smartphones, speakers and outdated data centres: even though we constantly hear about ‘sustainable’ electronics, the amount of electronic waste we produce each year is growing.
Although a large proportion of this waste, which is particularly rich in raw materials, is recycled, the industry behind this process is environmentally damaging and exploitative.
You can find out more in our special article on electronic waste and in our special on e-waste and AI models.
This is convenient for users and saves mobile phone battery life, but it means more work for manufacturers such as Bose. Wi-Fi-enabled products must receive security updates after sale and be adapted to changes in streaming providers and new smartphone operating systems. Accordingly, manufacturer support for Internet-enabled devices will eventually come to an end. Or as Bose put it to Golem: “We can no longer offer development and support for the outdated cloud infrastructure.”
The situation was similar when support for Windows 10 ended last year. Although Windows 10 is an operating system, it was discontinued by the manufacturer for similar reasons. And as with Bose, the end of support for Windows drew a lot of criticism from customers. There are many initiatives aimed at keeping the product alive.
Community initiative prompts Bose to reconsider
As reported by the website Golem, Bose initially postponed the end of support by several months to 6 May 2026. From this date onwards, Bose will no longer discontinue security updates and connectivity to most streaming services.
In addition, Bose published the documentation for the system interface that other services can use to communicate with the speakers. This will help developers who have been working on their own solutions via the GitHub platform. Hopefully, they can develop successful alternatives to the SoundTouch app by May.
Compatibility with the popular streaming service Spotify and Apple’s AirPlay service will also be maintained.
Open source extends the service life of technology
For Bose, opening up the SoundTouch API may be a step towards appeasing angry customers or media reactions. From an ecological perspective, however, the manufacturer is demonstrating how important open-source programming is for the sustainable use of technology.
How can we ensure a green digital future?
Growing e-waste, carbon emissions from AI, data centre water usage—is rampant digitalisation compatible with a healthy planet? Our latest project explores how digital tools and services can be developed with sustainability in mind.
Closed ecosystems always make it difficult for users and independent developers to continue using purchased technology in the event of a defect or after support has ended. They are therefore largely responsible for the fact that electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste mountain in the world.
In conversation with Philippe Arradon, we discussed why more and more devices can no longer be repaired without manufacturer support. Lucie Hartmann also explains why open hardware reduces the power imbalance between companies and customers.
For us, however, the example of SoundTouch speakers shows above all how easy it is for manufacturers to actually operate more sustainably.
The publication of a document just under 30 pages long has the potential to save thousands of customers from having to buy new speakers. This reduces the need for new resources, cuts emissions in the supply chain and may save more greenhouse gases than reforestation projects or the use of recycled materials.
So, dear hardware manufacturers: do as ‘Bose’ does and don’t keep important programme code secret!
