alt Hacker NewsThis is not open sourcing any actual software or hardware it is “open-sourcing the API documentation for its SoundTouch smart speakers”. You might be able to point them at an alternative back-end¹ if you want the cloud features, but that will need to be written from scratch rather than being forked from code provided by Sonos.
> When cloud support ends, an update to the SoundTouch app will add local controls to retain as much functionality as possible without cloud services
This is a far bigger move than releasing API information, IMO bigger than if they had actually open sourced the software & hardware, from the point of view of most end users - they can keep using the local features without needing anyone else to maintain a version.
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[1] TFA doesn't state that this will be possible, but opening the API makes no sense if it isn't.
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One thing nobody is touching on: since it's not actually open source, when this thing is found to have dozens of security holes (or any bugs), they are not going to be patched.
( Their announcement: https://www.bose.com/soundtouch-end-of-life The API doc: https://assets.bosecreative.com/m/496577402d128874/original/... )
IBM's opening of desktop PC standards also contributed a lot to computing.
Sometimes, an open API is all you need.
Yeah but writing that backend app will be much much easier now
The question on my mind is will the SoundTouch app continue to be supported on new mobile OS versions ?
Is it the same app that caters for other speakers too ? If it is, and Bose continue to include their old speakers on the functionality of the app, then I can hardly see how this is a true EoL. They’re really continuing to support the speakers in their app, at least.
They are claiming open source, without doing it.
Reality: users are still getting a feature cut with an update.
According to this comment[1] by an OSS developer working on reverse engineering the device, the documentation released doesn't allow them to implement an alternative backend. If I understand the purpose of the interfaces correctly from skimming the reverse engineering effort github[2], the API released documents the HTTP interface between the phone app and the speakers, which has been available for years, and covers functionality that isn't going away. The interface between the speaker and the cloud services that are shutting down is still undocumented.
[1]https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/01/bose-open-sources-it...
[2]https://github.com/deborahgu/soundcork