Planned Obsolescence: When Software Kills Your Hardware
I was thinking … do we really need to change our devices so often? After giving my daughters my old phones which are 7-8 years old and are still working perfectly, I must ask myself why do we change our telephones so often?
Having a new device is something we are so used to buying at regular date that we sometimes don’t stop anymore and asks ourselves, do I really need it? For mobile phones, there is a release each year bringing new features in a shinny new case and pushing our wallet into making another purchase if somewhat the new products speaks to us. And in many cases it does, as the marketing machine is working. Maybe we don’t do it yearly but after 3-4 years we are sold the idea that our device is somewhat old, the updates are no longer done from most phone providers and we need to upgrade. I am aware that we have exceptions, like Samsung and Apple who deliver 7 years of software updates, but looking at all the producers, they are the exception.
I looked at my older phones (OnePlus 3 and OnePlus Nord, I know, am a bit of a fanboy) they work perfectly. Aren’t as snappy as my latest Phone but the difference is so small, I asked myself why did I upgrade? Well, the end of life announced by the producers for the software somehow triggered me into thinking that there is no other option. Was taking a big risk having a device without updates. Therefore the new shinning phone was bought and the cycle repeats itself, with one difference. This phone will remain in my pocket for at least 5-7 years regardless what the phone manufacturers are saying.
Wouldn’t it be great if the decision would be taken at the producer level, not on consumer? We take part of the blame but as being the focus of countless marketing campaigns it is increasingly hard to stop ourselves and make decision which, albeit small, might contribute with saving our planet. The initiatives started in Europe are excellent and I hope they will be continued in the future, nevertheless the majority of the manufacturers are still promising only marginal Operating System updates; some of them are even releasing devices with outdated Operating system with no promise to update it. So obsolete since the sale.
One example of such a device is Boox Palma. I have purchased the first version of the device, which was released with Android 11. At the launch there weren’t many information about how the update process will be done. After a while it’s successor Boox Palma 2 was released with Android 13 and it became clear that the original one, will no longer be updated with a new Operating System. Therefore it became “old“ hardware even though the differences between the two devices were marginal and the release cycle very short.
What is the solution for such companies which have their entire business model around releasing new hardware almost yearly, discontinuing the software for them after a short while? I understand fully that we are talking about costs, for developing and maintaining a platform but these costs should be included from the get go. Are costs who on the short term help the customer being conscious about his purchase and on the long run, will contribute to preserving the life on our planet. If in Germany is possible to have more than 6 bins to sort out trash in each home I do believe for a company should also be possible to support it’s products more. After all it will not only benefit the consumer but also our Planet and as we don’t have another backup plan yet, might be sensible step for us to cherish it more.
Until next time, TFG