Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Thank you to our Sponsors
Mozart vs. Network Link Platform
31 replies
Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Interesting summary, but what does
mean technically?More modern streaming platform.Following your Pros and Cons Mozart offers much less features than NL. Or do you mean offering less value for more money, is the „more modern“ way to increase at least the profit for B&O shareholders ;) ?
Yes, I mean technically a more modern platform. I have no details but as mentioned in the thread, more functions will follow. Stereopairing and BT 5.0 I would say are examples of actual improvements vs the "old platform".
Location: Sweden
My B&O Icons:
Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Not to my knowledge. Nothing more than that NL will come Q3/Q4...
Location: Sweden
My B&O Icons:
I find it very odd that B&O is still not saying anything. Maybe hinting and leaking and calling the platform names (one name anyway), but after all this talk it’s like a project in limbo. Everybody knows about it but officially it doesn’t exist? I know B&O could improve their communications in general (ref. the Beolab 28 leaks) but this is way too strange that has been ongoing for too long. I understand they might need a minimum set of features before they can actually announce it, and that they might burn themselves if they say «hey, we have a new platform coming soon with these planned capabilities», if they were to announce it too soon, but at the same time so much is already anticipated or known that it stops making sense not to announce it or send out some sort of an acknowledgement? No marketing expert here though, I’m just slightly annoyed :). But I have no other choice than be a bit more patient and hope that there actually will be a dedicated launch, not just for hardware.
Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Not to my knowledge. Nothing more than that NL will come Q3/Q4...
this is what the B&o app says about it: "not enabled".
No doubt their communication is poor and very unclear.
It must come from a lack of internal clarity about the forward path of platform development.
When the Mozart speakers started being released, why not make a proper announcement with a roadmap for future features, both those certain and those where customers would be consulted on (i.e potential).
When the Balance was released, even my dealer was not perfectly informed about the absence of NL.
All that being said, I would look at the track record - which is of slow delivery. Within a month of so of the Balance release, the announcement to dealers (of NL and Touch to Join) suggested those features would be added soon (er rather than later). Its going to be closer to 2 years from that date that NL etc gets added to the Balance. No one expects super agile delivery from B&O, but close to 2 years is stretching credibility somewhat.
All this matters when it comes to making purchase decisions of course - personally, i woudltn buy anything on the expectations or promise of future features.
The fact that they have been surveying customers on NL and Touch to Join strongly suggests that delivery of both is still some way off, despite the Q3 / Q4 date that has been bandied around.
I find it very odd that B&O is still not saying anything. Maybe hinting and leaking and calling the platform names (one name anyway), but after all this talk it’s like a project in limbo. Everybody knows about it but officially it doesn’t exist? I know B&O could improve their communications in general (ref. the Beolab 28 leaks) but this is way too strange that has been ongoing for too long. I understand they might need a minimum set of features before they can actually announce it, and that they might burn themselves if they say «hey, we have a new platform coming soon with these planned capabilities», if they were to announce it too soon, but at the same time so much is already anticipated or known that it stops making sense not to announce it or send out some sort of an acknowledgement? No marketing expert here though, I’m just slightly annoyed :). But I have no other choice than be a bit more patient and hope that there actually will be a dedicated launch, not just for hardware.
Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Not to my knowledge. Nothing more than that NL will come Q3/Q4...
All very good points!
I am struggling to understand if somebody has just made a decision on a high level and left an engagement team with dealing with it, or if they have spent most of the time recruiting and onboarding team members. It can be extremely difficult to find people with the right competence and then get to a state of clarity, good coordination, etc. But indeed a roadmap would have been something more tangible to us customers. I am not sure if it is missing because they have no idea of the identity of the platform (is it the same with Halo?), or because of something not working between hardware engineers and software developers, or because they want to play it safe, or for other reasons.
I am one of those that have been putting a purchase on hold ever since the Balance came out. I’d be all set with an additional Beosound 2 currently for my needs but I fear I might bet on the wrong horse due to the older tech. Or would I? If I got the modern platform-based Balance instead, which might not be getting NL for another year or two… I mean, it could work on its own, but it’s be a missed opportunity not to include NL. I am currently in talks with Denmark through my dealer to get a bespoke-version of the Balance, exactly because I’m anticipating the arrival of NL to it. Which cannot possibly take longer than a year now, given that it’s been in the making for so long. But I’m a bit like you, perhaps I shouldn’t get into it. I’m just tired of postponing it.
When it comes to the timing of their survey regarding NL, I do share your concerns about how long it might still take. Were they only just starting the work at that time? Or had they been working for a while but needed a better use case? Did the new programmers/architects need info the old fox that has left the company used to have without a knowledge transfer? Questions are many. For now these new speakers appeal more to those insta-influencers that have no clue or any particular expectation.
No doubt their communication is poor and very unclear.
It must come from a lack of internal clarity about the forward path of platform development.
When the Mozart speakers started being released, why not make a proper announcement with a roadmap for future features, both those certain and those where customers would be consulted on (i.e potential).
When the Balance was released, even my dealer was not perfectly informed about the absence of NL.
All that being said, I would look at the track record - which is of slow delivery. Within a month of so of the Balance release, the announcement to dealers (of NL and Touch to Join) suggested those features would be added soon (er rather than later). Its going to be closer to 2 years from that date that NL etc gets added to the Balance. No one expects super agile delivery from B&O, but close to 2 years is stretching credibility somewhat.
All this matters when it comes to making purchase decisions of course - personally, i woudltn buy anything on the expectations or promise of future features.
The fact that they have been surveying customers on NL and Touch to Join strongly suggests that delivery of both is still some way off, despite the Q3 / Q4 date that has been bandied around.
I find it very odd that B&O is still not saying anything. Maybe hinting and leaking and calling the platform names (one name anyway), but after all this talk it’s like a project in limbo. Everybody knows about it but officially it doesn’t exist? I know B&O could improve their communications in general (ref. the Beolab 28 leaks) but this is way too strange that has been ongoing for too long. I understand they might need a minimum set of features before they can actually announce it, and that they might burn themselves if they say «hey, we have a new platform coming soon with these planned capabilities», if they were to announce it too soon, but at the same time so much is already anticipated or known that it stops making sense not to announce it or send out some sort of an acknowledgement? No marketing expert here though, I’m just slightly annoyed :). But I have no other choice than be a bit more patient and hope that there actually will be a dedicated launch, not just for hardware.
Has B&O ever actually announced it? Not that I’ve seen so far. There is certainly a lot of talk about it and features to come are being discussed, but I have yet to see an official introduction of it.
Not to my knowledge. Nothing more than that NL will come Q3/Q4...
No doubt it's better for B&O not to announce any of these features before they are ready. Especially as they clearly have troubles with their time tables.
You will have a lot less disappointed customers if you only sell the products based on what they can do now, and not what they might do later.
If you had bought a Balance or any other Mozart based speaker with the impression that NL was just around the corner, or that it will be able to be used as a surround speaker for your TV, and that feature never dropped or dropped late, then it will piss off existing customers.
I have no doubt that B&O would have liked to release the Mozart platform with more functionality. But they clearly needed to move forward even tough it wasn't ready to integrate with existing products. The most critical feature is the NL, and this is also the only coming feature they have publicly commented on.
When B&O lauches something that is not ‘ripe’ (according to the expectations of some people), it is described as not right.
If they wait too long - in order to have all things sorted out - that is also not right.
I do not expect a public roadmap from B&O…..that was never the case and I don’t see that changing.
Maybe the conclusion that Csaba made on the previous page is the best thing to cling to:
‘But I have no other choice than be a bit more patient and hope that there actually will be a dedicated launch, not just for hardware.’
One should not forget, that a thing like the Balance was conceived in the era of Petros Beli, where the B&O devices best should be reduced to supporting AirPlay and Chromeplay and the apps of the big players.
Luckily this is no more so - but it takes time for a small team (yes, the for these things responsible guys at B&O are but a ‘small team’) to turn the ship around……also concidering that they in general are rather picky with doing things right.
(Also do not forget that a lot has been on hold or delayed in the past year or so - due to….you know what).
MM
Location: Flensborg————Danmark
Please Log In to Reply
You must be logged in as a BeoWorld member to post replies to forum threads.
or
Join BeoWorld
Register to access the forums, reference material, and exclusive member benefits — including our monthly prize draw.
Become a Member