When smart products go dumb: what the Bose case reveals about digital ownership
Bose is switching off server features for its smart speakers. The hardware works – the features vanish. This is not an isolated case.
Bose smart speakers are going “dumb”. So what? What exactly are we buying when we buy smart products?
The Bose case reveals a problem that stretches far beyond speakers.
Digital products can lose their features – years after purchase, even when the hardware is still in perfect working order.
It is not wear and tear that renders devices useless. It is software.
Not defects, but switched-off servers.
Smart TVs go “dumb”.
Smart light bulbs stop turning on.
Smart door locks cannot be opened without the cloud.
The price is fixed.
The feature set is not.
This is not an isolated case or an operational accident. Experts call it software obsolescence. Germany’s Federal Environment Agency has been warning about it for years. When buyers purchase a device, they often have no way of knowing how long its core features will actually be guaranteed. They bear the risk alone.
The Bose case is therefore a warning signal.
Ownership of digital technology increasingly means owning only the shell – while manufacturers decide by software update how long a product retains its value.
I wrote a news piece on the Bose case and a commentary on the fundamental question of what digital products actually are today – both published in Handelsblatt.