Last week, Anova CEO Steve Svajian announced that the company will begin charging a subscription fee for new users of its sous vide circulator app starting August 21st, 2024. However, existing users who have downloaded the app and created an account before this date will not be impacted by the change. These users will be grandfathered into free access to the app’s full features.
Svajian explained that the decision to introduce a subscription fee stems from the fact that “each connected cook costs us money,” a cost that has become significant as the number of connected cooks now numbers in the “hundreds of millions.” The new Anova Sous Vide Subscription will be priced at $1.99 per month or $9.99 per year.
As Digital Trends noted, this announcement comes on the heels of Anova’s decision to sunset app connectivity for older Wi-Fi and Bluetooth sous vide circulators.
Unsurprisingly, the news has sparked discontent among Anova users. There are currently 195 comments on the Anova post announcing the new subscription, the majority of which express dissatisfaction, with many users stating, “I’m done with Anova.”
For instance, one user commented:
“I liked the product and bought it for friends and family as a gift. I will no longer be using this product and regret ever supporting this company.”
Another user remarked:
“You must have watched Sonos app troubles and thought, ‘Hold my beer.’ Charging your customers for your inability to innovate is a doozy!”
As a long-time Sonos user, I can relate to the frustration expressed in the Sonos comment, having witnessed how the music streaming hardware pioneer damaged its reputation with a glitchy app. While the Anova app may not be as central to the user experience as the Sonos app (I personally prefer using the on-device controls for the Anova), it highlights how upset customers become when a company alters or disrupts a previously satisfactory experience.
However, it’s important to recognize that smartphones have taught us that connected devices have a limited shelf life. Over time, products age, and companies like Apple, Samsung, and now Sonos and Anova, have made it clear that they can’t support old hardware indefinitely, particularly when maintaining apps incurs ongoing costs related to development, web services, and customer support.
The challenge for companies like Sonos and Anova is that consumers don’t perceive all connected electronics the same way, especially those that were initially free to use and expected to have a long lifespan. We’ve become accustomed to paying substantial sums for our phones and their associated monthly service fees, and despite this investment, most of us have accepted the forced obsolescence model that the smartphone industry has ingrained in us.
In contrast, when it comes to other devices, like connected cooking appliances, we tend to expect them to work indefinitely without additional costs. We assume that this new experience—connected cooking—will continue without requiring us to pay for the same level of service we previously enjoyed for free.
Considering the broader trajectory of Anova and its parent company, Electrolux, this news is not entirely surprising. Electrolux, like many appliance companies, has faced challenges in recent years, including laying off three thousand employees last fall. Despite these difficulties, they have continued to operate Anova as a relatively independent entity. Unlike other major brands that have shuttered their smart kitchen acquisitions, Electrolux appears to be making a concerted effort to keep Anova going in a tough economic environment.
It remains to be seen how this move will affect the brand. The backlash is predictable, but I wonder if the outrage is primarily coming from a vocal minority. I suspect that the “100 million connected cooks” figure is somewhat exaggerated, as Anova claims to have powered over 100 million cooks on its website. I also believe that many of these cooks, like me, are from users who simply plug in the device and use it directly without relying on the app.