Bose Lets SoundTouch Users Save Their Speakers—Before the Cloud Falls

Bose is giving its aging SoundTouch speakers a second life—by letting users fix them themselves.

In a surprisingly user-friendly move, Bose has announced it will be open-sourcing the API documentation for its SoundTouch smart speakers. This allows developers and enthusiasts to create third-party tools that can maintain functionality after cloud support ends on May 6, 2026—nearly a year later than initially planned.

"In a surprisingly user-friendly move, Bose has announced it will be open-sourcing the API documentation for its SoundTouch smart speakers"

The local SoundTouch app update will retain Bluetooth, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and speaker grouping features. While cloud-based services like voice commands and remote access will disappear, users can now build custom solutions using the open-sourced APIs to fill these gaps.

"Usually when products lose support for cloud services, they end up bricked"

This approach contrasts sharply with the fate of devices like the Pebble smartwatch, which required a community-led effort (Rebble Alliance) to preserve basic functionality after its 2016 shutdown. Now that the SoundTouch API is being open-sourced, users can also create their own compatible SoundTouch tools.