What Is Planned Obsolescence?
Let me explain planned obsolescence to you directly: it's a strategy where manufacturers deliberately make sure the current version of a product becomes outdated or useless within a known period. This approach guarantees that you'll need to buy replacements down the line, keeping demand steady.
You can achieve this by rolling out a better model or by designing the product to stop working properly after a certain time. Either way, it pushes you toward the newer versions over the old ones.
Key Takeaways
- Planned obsolescence is the calculated act of ensuring a product's existing version becomes dated or useless within a given time frame.
- In technology, smartphones often have a replacement cycle of two to three years as components wear down.
- In clothing, items like nylon stockings are prone to damage, requiring regular replacements.
Understanding Planned Obsolescence
Certain industries are notorious for this practice. Take fashion: it's common knowledge that nylon stockings will snag or run, so you end up replacing them routinely.
In tech, personal devices like smartphones historically last two to three years before components degrade, and new software or OS versions become incompatible with older hardware. Software itself gets updated with features and file types that won't work on previous versions.
Remember, planned obsolescence isn't the same as perceived obsolescence, where designers tweak styles frequently to make older items seem undesirable and unfashionable.
Computer hardware fits this too, following Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every two years, halving the cost of processing power in the process.
Even car makers do it by releasing new model versions every year.
Special Considerations
Consumers often push back against planned obsolescence, especially when new products don't offer real improvements. This can hurt brands by driving customers away through forced demand.
Consumer Reaction
That said, it's not always viewed negatively. Sometimes companies use it to manage costs, like a phone maker choosing parts that last five years instead of 20.
Apple’s Planned Obsolescence
Apple has been in the spotlight for this. They introduced a program for annual iPhone hardware exchanges with direct payments, which many saw as shortening the replacement cycle to boost sales at your expense.
Critics questioned if Apple could deliver meaningful upgrades that fast, a challenge even for two- or three-year cycles. Apple denies engaging in planned obsolescence, but a Harvard study showed iOS updates slowed older iPhones—not to drive sales, apparently. They settled a 2017 lawsuit over 'batterygate,' paying out to customers and states.
Proof isn't absolute, and some economists say planned obsolescence pushes tech forward. Other makers, like Android phone producers, release yearly updates too.
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