The European Union plans to address planned obsolescence. While the resolution was voted by the EU Parliament in 2017, and the implementation is still undefined, I think this is very important move, and it is relevant for a lot of modern devices, particularly electronics, but also home appliances. Want some examples? Try to replace the battery of an electrical toothbrush or of a smartphone without causing any damage.
2 Comments
Bruno Santos
And almost ironically, Apple is heading towards “products as a rented service”, given that they don’t want users to open and repair their hardware… therefore enforcing permanent monthly fees and enforcing product replacements… “Why own something forever, when you can rent and replace on a whim?”
They haven’t done it yet simply because their hardware can’t handle being rented out…
Although… that’s one way to tackle obsolesce… enforced replacements as per contract and monthly fee…
Alberto
They do not seem the worst offenders, at least in the smartphone arena. The “other side” has 24 months of support, which is plain ludicrous for any device, but especially for high-end phones.