Planned obsolescence my a**

In the 1920s, a cartel of manufacturers purposely limited the lifespan of light bulbs to 1,000 hours, ensuring customers would need to replace them frequently.

It gave rise to the term “planned obsolescence,” the corporate strategy of limiting product lifespans to force customers to upgrade.

Apple has long been accused of this practice, and the company’s long-standing practice of sealing batteries into its devices (from the first iPod to today’s iPhones) is often held up as a prime example. The battery is a consumable with a limited lifespan. And in most Apple devices, the batteries are not easy to replace without specialist equipment and training.

Apple counters this argument, saying that sealing batteries inside makes for gadgets that are much more water- and dust-resistant. Plus, the company cites research that shows most customers have no interest in replacing batteries in older devices; they’d much rather upgrade them to newer (and often better) models instead.

Apple has also made the argument that its devices are much longer-lived than competitors’ offerings. Products that are well-made often have a second, third or even fourth life as they get handed down or resold.

But software is often a weak spot. Just this week, I threw out a couple of perfectly good security cameras because the company that made them no longer supports them. There’s no way to get the cams to work.

In 2020, Apple settled “Batterygate” for $500 million after dozens of class-action lawsuits accused the company of purposely slowing older iPhones with iOS updates.

I sympathized with Apple’s explanation of the issue (the software prevented unexpected shutdowns caused by aging batteries — oops, there’s those batteries again!). But the controversy left the stink of planned obsolescence.

However, Apple just proved that wrong this week with the latest iOS updates — and I don’t think “proved” is too strong a word for it.

Also in today’s newsletter:

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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