Bose has announced a significant reversal in its approach to the end-of-life (EoL) for its decade-old SoundTouch Wi-Fi speakers, originally introduced in 2013. Initially, Bose stated in October 2025 that cloud support for the SoundTouch lineup would cease on February 18, 2026, effectively rendering many smart features unusable and greatly reducing the speakers' functionality. This decision sparked considerable backlash from customers who had invested in these premium devices. Responding to customer feedback, Bose has extended the EoL date for cloud services to May 6, 2026. Crucially, the company has also published the complete SoundTouch Web API documentation as a 31-page PDF, available for independent developers. This strategic move, while not a full open-sourcing of the device firmware, allows developers to understand how SoundTouch devices communicate and build their own control applications and features, essentially giving the "aging" speakers a new lease on life. The license for using this API is described as royalty-free but proprietary and revocable. Furthermore, Bose confirmed that essential wireless streaming options like AirPlay and Spotify Connect will continue to function after the cloud support ends. The SoundTouch app will also receive an update to enable local control features without relying on cloud connectivity, allowing users to still configure systems, control playback, and group multiple speakers. This initiative by Bose is seen as a more responsible way to manage cloud-dependent products nearing EoL, preventing them from becoming expensive e-waste and empowering the user and developer community. The original PCWorld article accurately reports on this development.