Hello Readers! Welcome to Yognut again! Planned Obsolescence is a trending thing nowadays. It tends to work for the best when the consumer has at least an Oligopoly. About every field is suffered from this but technology is the place where you will find the most consequent Planned Obsolescence by companies. Today on Yognut we are going to discuss Planned Obsolescence in the Tech Industry.
In a competitive world and in the crowd of being best become a risky policy it is so because consumers have to decide to buy from competitors and they do not know about the strategy behind being good. When a market becomes competitive then the products given to consumers should have the best, they should increase product life span but they do not do so.
This article is not about to inflame to you about the tech industry but, we want to aware of all of Planned Obsolescence in the Tech Industry.
So, be here, and know all the details about the company scamming.
What is Planned Obsolescence in the tech industry?
Planned Obsolescence or In-built Obsolescence is a deliberate strategy to ensure that the current version of the product you buy will become outdated or useless within a period of time. This ensures the proactive guarantees that customers or consumers will seek a replacement in the future. Hence, it will be a bolstering demand.
Now, You must know In-built Obsolescence can achieve through introducing a superior or better replacement of the product model. And also, by intentionally designing a product to cease the proper function within a time period of a specific window. For us, common people we won’t understand their intension and get theoretically favor to the next generational product over the old ones.
Understanding Planned Obsolescence?
Several sectors like technology, fashion, etc are more well known for Planned Obsolescence.
The fashion industry is widely accepted that nylon stockings are destined to run, they use require routine replacement Obsolescence.
You have to upgrade yourself as according to time. The new trendy things will ensure to invest your money in trendy clothes. They make clothes that have interesting details and also the new style that attracts you.
Meanwhile, In the technology industry, the replacement cycle comes along for personal electronic devices such as laptops, smartphones, etc. They provide 2-3 years of the facility because the component starts to wear down and the new generation software and the operating system often designed to manipulate you by giving new features and file types that are incompatible with old versions of the program.
Not only computer software, but Hardware is also affected by Planned Obsolescence. The companies provide more capable or more powerful computing in microprocessors that typically follow Moor’s Law. It observes the number of transistors able to fit on an integrated circuit double up to every two years. And, the processing power cost halves every two years.
Additionally, Planned Obsolescence also affects automobile manufacturers. The design or make a new model or new version and launch mostly every year.
Now, After understanding Planned Obsolescence, we are going to discuss the listed below in detail 7 types of Planned Obsolescence in the Tech Industry :
1. Contrived Durability
A strategy of shortening the product in the stock before the lifetime of the product released onto the market by design it deteriorates quickly. All consumer product design includes an expected average lifetime permeating in all stages of development.
You may understand by an example like If you buy a new smartphone and uses it for approx 6 months. And, after a while, a company launches a smartphone with more improved features then your smartphone will become the old version.
The company changes in the smartphone basically android or operating system or increases RAM or increases battery life.
The company also keeps a life span of the electronic device and after that, you will find difficulty in that. It is the most common and popular Planned Obsolescence.
2. Prevention of Repairs
The company provides or design the product in a specific way.
Let’s take an example, single-use versions of durable goods like disposable cameras if your smartphone has this then the customer have to purchase an entirely new product, it can not be replaced or repair. You can use it only in a single time.
Another example we can take about Throwaway digital watch which has a cheap quality, it may have a casing where it is simply sealed in the factory and have no designed ability for users to access the interior without destroying watch entirely.
This type of product is impossible to repair or replace and not so pocket-friendly.
3. Non-user-replaceable Batteries
Some products in the market like mobile phones, laptops, many other electric devices contain batteries that are irreplaceable by the End-user after they bought it.
However, this is another way where leaving an aging battery trapped inside the device. Whereas these types of devices design make devices thinner but it also difficult to replace the battery without sending the entire device and it will get on that position where you have to buy a new product.
The devices which are a non-openable back cover or a manual battery are difficult to replace and the replacement may cause permanent damage to your product. It also includes loss of water-resistance due to damages.
4. Perceived Obsolescence
Stylistic or Desirability Obsolescence occurs when the product designers change the styling of the product so that customers or people buy new products as the old will be not in fashion. It decreases in the perceived desirability of not so fashionable products.
Many of the products are mainly desirable for aesthetic instead of functional reasons. Now, For example, In every interval of time, the company launches a limited extent true for electronic products with slightly updated products and emphasize their value as everyone’s status symbols.
This fact includes that you have to pay high for that and in the competitive world you have found many difficulties to know what’s going on? Every interval of time one and another company release their product that may interest you but you will confuse in between what to buy.
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5. Systemic Obsolescence
This fact od Obsolescence is the deliberate attempt to make a product obsoleting by altering the system used to make the product’s continued use difficult.
For example, this obsolescence where the company tries to not accommodating compatibility in software. They use to change the screws or fasteners that can not be easily get operated with existing tools. And also, it is not designed to intentionally cause obsolescence or y interface standards.
It is the most common obsolescence in the tech industry that is not intentionally and make a sense of obsolescence.
6. Programmed Obsolescence
This fact is combined with deliberate disabling the product to prevent it from working hence, requiring the buyer to purchase for the replacement.
For example, if you buy a smartphone and used it for some time then it gets outdated or stops working. Another example of printers, laser printers are designed to stop working with a message that you have to replace the drum or they also have expired cartridge.
They also have some instance workarounds for users which leads to an increase in the life of the product that stops working.
7. Software Lock-out
This type of Planned Obsolescence comes under the Programmed Obsolescence that means changing your software application from older to the new versions.
For example, If you have a phone with software or an android update or if any app or software does not work on your product then it means you need a more powerful or newest model of the product. And, that leads to change your product to get better facilities.
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Conclusion
Planned Obsolescence influences an estimated company decision about Product Engineering. It leads the company to use the least expensive components to satisfy Product Lifetime projections.
It also stimulates the demand for encouraging to put customers under a pressure to but a new functioning product for the industry. This technique is necessary to maintain the level of revenue for the producers.
However, Planned Obsolescence also appeals to producers that can do significant harm to our society in the negative externalities. Replacing the product continuously rather than repairing it causes more pollution, wastes and more natural resources that results in the increasing amount of consumer spending.
Now, That’s all for today! If you find 7 facts about Planned Obsolescence in the Tech Industry interesting and informative then please let me know in the comment section and also if you have any suggestions or information about this article comment down below and let us know.
One of the best article of this site.
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