Panic hits has been suspended from the Playdate Stereo Dock, saying it’s unlikely we’ll see it anytime soon.
The long-promised Playdate Stereo Dock is officially dead, at least for now. After months with the desktop accessory stuck in development limbo, Panic has updated the product page so it no longer says “coming soon,” but instead it’s on hold due to issues with Bluetooth information, which the factory was hosting. it and the rising costs of solving it all. The Stereo Dock, first announced in 2021, was meant to be a charging dock that doubles as a Bluetooth speaker (and pen holder), as well as a great way to show off your Playdate when it’s not working. But, things did not go as planned.
The Playdate team said they ran into unexpected obstacles in trying to bring the idea to life, and found that “making the Stereo Dock was almost as challenging as making the Playdate itself.” The statement explains:
What’s going on? However, our first regret was thinking that our factory at the time – a factory that made many Bluetooth speakers – could easily make the electronics for us, saving us a lot of time and money. That went very well at first. As for them, they outsourced the Bluetooth software and chipset to another company in another country.
As a result, the Stereo Dock would often crash – a quick volume adjustment would do it. Bluetooth pairing/unpairing was a breeze. And when we played the music, it didn’t sound right. Going back and forth between the three companies trying to fix bugs has been a huge challenge. And worst of all: the cost of the Stereo Dock kept getting higher and higher.
It goes on to say that the team worked to improve the experience, even purchasing the source code of the Bluetooth chipset in hopes of fixing the issues, but to no avail. While “there are a lot of good examples that have been completed,” Panic says, “it wasn’t very good to use.” This official update was foreshadowed in a social media chat shared on Reddit earlier this month when Panic’s Cabel Sasser, in response to a question about the Stereo Dock situation, said “it’s been very difficult for a lot of stupid reasons” and there was a moment of silence.
The team says it is now turning its full focus on continuing to produce Playdate. There may be a chance we’ll see a Stereo Dock at some point down the line, but don’t hold your breath. “Will it come one day? We still have hope,” said Panic. “Will it come soon? It’s impossible.”
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