Prices have no where to go but up: How the IT industry is diminishing the lifespan of its own products.
Between the flurry of excitement from tech journalists and endless jokes about a certain stand, the Apple WWDC conference was not at all in terms of material. With the impending release of iOS 13 later this year, Apple was promising a whole host of new features; however, what many missed was that it would not be arriving for iPhone6 owners. Defenders might state its necessity, new features allow newer products to have more freedom in what they can do, so there is little reason to handicap the iPhone Brand in order to support aging tech. However with declining sales and an aging market, Apple, amongst others, has to sought new facets in order to grow sales figures. Rather than innovating, Apple is relying on higher prices and a limited lifespan in order to lift sales figures. This trend is not limited to only Apple, but can be found in significant portions of the Tech industry; where long term functionality is either ignored or actively hampered. This planned obsolescence encourages a quick replacement consumer mentality that not only diminishes the value of each product, weakens consumer rights, and stifles innovation. As the market advances in terms of inter-connectivity and ability, a new emphasis should be placed on the lifespan of the product rather than its ease of replacement.
Innovative Obsolescence
Here a few simple facts: 83% iPhone users are utilizing the current iteration, compared to only 10% of Android users. The iPhone went from 10 million units sold in 2008 to 200 million in 2015, a renaissance in wearable tech where we saw steep interest for the product and a dedicated fanbase. People would wait in line for days to be the first to purchase it, and the media would go crazy over the minutiae of their latest additions. Yet after the iPhone 6, sales have stagnated. Of course, stagnating around 200 million sales would seem like an odd companint, but with the company’s short term growth focused mindset and how 60% of Apple’s revenue comes directly from iPhone Sales, they needed to find new ways to accrue profit. There are only three potential consumer groups for Apple in the market: those who need their first phone, those switching devices, and those upgrading to the latest model. With most people in the world having a singular device and the smartphone market being as competitive as ever, existing consumers are the safest block to target.
This tiered consumer segmentation holds true for most IS companies; as our industry ages, companies will want to look for ways in order to encourage a high replacement rate. Consumers are being pinched into constant new device that bear little difference compared to their last model. Planned Obsolescence as a concept is very difficult to prove, however, we can see it come into play with legacy support; IT inter-connectivity has made it possible for the company to effect the end user experience after purchase. Advertising features that require server side support than taking that away makes the original hardware nearly useless.
In addition, denial of repair occurred just as often a denial of support; often second-hand repair stores are often limited in repairs through artificial scarcity, voided warranties, and the cost of repair being on par with device replacement. Right to Repair legislature that would allow alleviate this has often been met with fierce resistance, with lobbyists giving excuses from encouraging hacking to consumer harm. Rather than convince the consumer the necessity of a purchase with an idea that creates an entire new industry or even a basic feature, denial of ownership repair is a much easier outlet for revenue.
“Building Smarter (and Longer Lasting) Tech”
With the introduction of 5G within the next five years, many companies’ will eventually reach an important crossroads. With high internet speeds and many devices’ abilities reaching their spatial limitations, the importance of longevity will need to be realized; smart strategic planning would see the value of differentiation through extended support. Consumers’, especially enterprise users to whom stability and longevity whilst being able to keep up with the latest technologies are paramount, needs will change from the latest and greatest to what lasts the longest whilst being current, as the maturity of the market means successive generations will have diminished ways for them to distinguish themselves from the previous. JAKIN ID is distinguishing itself from the rest with two fundamental principles; our RFID IoTs, ACTAtek series, for access control and workforce management have a 10 years guaranteed product life cycle. Doesn’t matter the make or model, we will support it to the fullest of our abilities. The second principle is Software as a Service, or proprietary owned. As of now, other companies have little incentive to support its previous line-ups for one reason or another; however, a way to alleviate this would be something akin to Software as a Service or provide downward compatibility through private cloud software towards existing installed devices, where the company can continue to run software support for both the longevity of the device and to allow it more features. Creating a smarter device that lasts for many years down the road is based on physical and digital support, and while industry trends are currently against it, JAKIN ID, www.jakinid.com, will continue to provide the best value to the end user.
About: Jakin ID Technology Inc, www.jakinid.com, is a pioneering provider of biometrics RFID IoTs for access control and workforce management.