Planned Obsolescence Sucks. Here's Why It Still Exists.
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- Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
- Why (and how) Planned Obsolescence and Capitalism make terrible products. Support OCC and get 20+ bonus, ad-free videos by signing up for Nebula: go.nebula.tv/occ/
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In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at why planned obsolescence happens and how planned obsolescence creates waste and emissions. Specifically, I show how planned obsolescence is a symptom of late-stage capitalism and how companies like Apple use perceived and planned obsolescence to make customers buy more of their products. Apple uses planned obsolescence in their batteries and hardware to the extent that once their warranty is up, their devices generally begin to fail. Apple has been sued numerous times for planned obsolescence by Right to Repair campaigns and governments like France claiming that Apple slows down their iPhones, makes it hard to repair iPhones, and generally making iPhones and Mac computers with shorter lifespans. Planned obsolescence is a symptom of late-stage capitalism that pervades a lot of big corporations because it means more consumption ultimately more profit.
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Timestamps:
Intro - 0:00
What Is Planned Obsolescence? - 0:47
What Is Perceived Obsolescence? - 1:39
How Obsolescence Happens - 2:48
A New Economic Model - 7:52
Support OCC on Patreon - 9:49
I use Epidemic Sound for some of my music: epidemicsound.com/creator
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Further Reading and Resources: ourchangingclimate.notion.sit...
#PlannedObsolescence #Consumerism #ClimateChange
🌍 Do you own a device or piece of clothing that you think broke earlier than it should have? What are some other examples of Planned Obsolescence?
👍 Apparently, the algorithm appreciates it when you hit the like button... so maybe hit that like button?
🍎 I go more in-depth into degrowth and alternative economies in my consumerism video: ua-cam.com/video/x0ckvo2Z5BU/v-deo.html
*** Correction: You can replace a Fairphone battery in 8 seconds, not 8 minutes!
my headphones just stop working on the one earbud after a while, i have no idea if it was a coincidence or not, but it's suspicious for sure
The 4 phones I've had in the past years simply would turn off one day and refuse to turn back on. This usually happened around the one year mark. They were 200-300€ phones, and the store would "send it to the manufacturer" and substitute it with a refurbished phone: yes, on my last phone I found a range of pictures from the previous user who had been using it for less than a few weeks. When jumping on the back of a bike, I cracked my screen within three days, as my handbag had wedged itself between me and the bike.
I currently own a 180€ rugged phone, which came with an installed screen protector. I have dropped it countless times, including on a hot oven door, concrete and from heights above 1m. The screen protector has been punctured by my keys, but the screen underneath is completely intact. The pictures are not as great and I often get questions about my brick (it has a 6000mAh battery), but the screws are visible on the outside and I can take it apart completely!
I recently found out that bed linens used to be of a much higher quality. Apparently families hand them down since they could last up to a century maybe more. My current ones hav only got about 8 years of use and they are getting very thin now. The other problem is we are losing the skill on how to make bed linens that last for so long. The families that used to do have basically all gone out of business so we're going to have to learn those skills again from scratch if we can ever end this short term capitalist mindset.
NO. Not after making Tesla sound like part of the problem.
Good video, however if you repair your iPhone, this serms to be the phone with the longest support regarding software updates. Looking at something like the ios support matrix, it seems that an iPhone will be able to receive the latest software/ios updates for 5years. In my experience, when a phone looses the ability to receive updates, there is a risk that after that some essential apps stop working. 5years is not a long time I agree but it seems it is close to be ”best in class” if you want to be able to keep it updated in regards to the os, am I right?
In a castle near my hometown, they installed two light bulbs in the early 1900s to impress guests, and they're still the same light bulbs.. Can you believe it?
there is also a fire station that has a light bulb from the 80s i think, they have a camera looking at it 24/7 for years, and it still hasn't broke
I mean yes, I have clothes from the early 1900s soooo
@@eleonore59830 clothes do tend to last longer than lightbulbs, though
@@-lll-ll-llll-AVE sure but I mean, jeans that have holes from wear after a couples of months ,,,,
@@-lll-ll-llll-AVE Not really... fast fashion clothes tend to last for 1 month. I bought a plain t-shirt and it started having holes after 1 or 2 months... my older t-shirts are not having any after 5 years and I bought them from the same brand.
“We now don’t include the charger” 😍🌎🌱🌿🍃🌸🍎
So you'll have to buy it separately in a separate box
@aloha I would use the old one if it didn't break in one year
Later: this product doesn't include phone, parts sold separately 😂
@@Fred_the_1996 I’ve never had an adapter break. The cable yes. But that comes in the box
Because. You already have like 7 charger's in your drawers.
YES! This is what I hate most about tech these days. Everything from the products to the companies that sell them (e.g. phone providers) are all about getting a new one every year rather than making things that last.
Getting a new phone every year is so stupid and wasteful!
Android phones are usualy cheaper than apple, but they're even shittier. Let's say you buy 150-200$ mobile phone, the phone works fine it doesn't glitch when its new. In the next 12-13months the mobile phone will have enough updates to start lagging.
@@ristekostadinov2820 - What are you talking about? You get what pay for android phones. My Galaxy 6S Edge Plus lasted 3 years and 10 months before it fried, not a year. If you are paying $200 or less for a phone, do not expect it last more than 2 years.
@@ristekostadinov2820 My Huawei was about $175, after 3 years it's as good as new and without any glitches. With a good quality phone case and a screen protector, the phone will last for a while. Even dropping it daily like me
@@ristekostadinov2820 I used my past Samsung galaxy for 5 years then got the S10 in early 2019 and the only difference since it was new is that my case is a little beat up. I plan to use it for several more years
@@ristekostadinov2820 What are you talking about? As someone who’s used both Android and IOS devices, Android devices can be just as good as IOS ones.
Buying environmentally destructive electronics filled with extracted elements that are unable to last is one of my biggest gripes with companies. This is an excellent video. Camera technology advances at a blistering rate, convincing us to always buy more megapixels, or higher framerates, when what really matters is the person behind the lens.
a big part of batteries ir reciclable, since its made with metal (see redwood materials)
It's funny how people always ask in (specific manufacturer) photography groups what lens or camera model the photographer has used. As if the camera and/or the lens would make them able to take that very beautiful picture! I have caught myself doing it. I have dwelled less in such groups for that reason and only own one camera body and one lens.
It's really funny, especially when it comes to cameras. Think of the most iconic pictures. Now of the most iconic photographers. Chances are, most of them were shot/shot on film. And many on 35mm with not-very-sharp lenses. And still, the pictures are amazing. So most digital cameras will be fine. You don't actually need 50 MP for 99.9% of applications.
In the pro photography world, old gear are still very desirable. Unlike phones nowadays
Yes! Any good photographer will tell you it's the person, not the equipment that counts.
If individuals did something like this, it'd be a crime, but apparently corporations can do it no problem.
Right this economy is corrupted on so many levels. There needs to be law passed to prevent companies from doing this because it's draining peoples finances and hurting the environment
Spot on!
@@death24314 Capitalism is inherently corrupt, a law won't fix anything, full scale revolution is the answer.
@@mrsauceman5721 true
@@death24314 The incentive to do this will never be gone in a capitalistic system.
I have a fairphone and it does not take 8 minutes to replace the battery, it takes 30 seconds at most. Literally you just pop off the back, and swap out the battery. You don't even need to unscrew anything (which you do need to do to replace eg. the camera - which by the way, yeah you can replace any part of the phone very easily too).
Unfortunately, that mistake slipped through the cracks. I meant to say 8 seconds instead of 8 minutes 😔
@@OurChangingClimate Very understandable mistake. It doesn't really detract from the video at all, and I still found it very informative. Keep up the good work!
@@Fairphone wait, this is the official account? Fairphone watches OCC confirmed?!
But in all seriousness, you guys are a really awesome company, and I’m glad that you’re making phones that can be easy to fix. Keep up the great work!
Can't wait for the fairphone to come to the United States! I check once a year or so! 🙏🤞
I’m hoping the Fairphone comes to Canada soon. It would be perfect for me
Companies care more about their image than about fines. The punishment for planned obsolescence should be to force their products to bear a big stamp that says "This product was designed to break prematurely". Some brands would turn that into a fashion statement, but overall, I think it could work.
Mhm.
I heard France was implementing a rating system for consumer products which allows to discern how easily repairable a product is. Don't know if it will be made into law soon, but the bill was written.
imagine a big (-1) logo next to apple logo on the back of the phone
not bad. We can force cigarette companies to confess truth on their packages. Imagine buying a new mackbook and half of the box it comes in is a big bold warning
They just need to make the fines the revenue the companies got from the scam. Not the profit, the revenue (which is every cent the product earned before taking out cost)
Always think twice before upgrading or buying a new electronic device:
- Do you really need this new device?
- Is it a need, or more of a want?
- Will it add value to your personal or professional life in any way?
If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, then it might be best to re-evaluate your thoughts, and avoid buying it.
You are right 🇮🇳
Yes, Need (Yes), Yes. Well, I got an iPhone 11 for Christmas, but I literally haven’t touched it yet.
This should be a poster
I don't think this logic apply for gaming devices! Only pro devices
Well, I use my phones until they physically don't function anymore. Its how you get your best moneys worth :)
BMW integrates the blinkers into the headlights, so that you have to replace the entire unit. Mercedes-Benz has brake pads that create grooves in the brake discs, so that you have to replace both pads and disc at the same time. That's just the stuff I know.
Augh what dicks they are 😧
Dont buy German cars!!
Buy Japanese!!
Or just buy what you can afford.
@@chrish7307 Or don't buy a car.
@@pyroman2918 reject cars, buy motorbikes
@@admiralrng6506 no i don't wanna die
This is exactly why I just roll my eyes when I see brands like Apple or Samsung advertise themselves as "eco-friendly, green, and caring for the environment" when their products filling up land fills.
I love the challenge of reuse, repair, maintenance, and pushing the life of electronics. I still run almost daily with my 4th gen iPod touch I bought 11 years ago, it works flawlessly with my modern Bluetooth earbuds, and even still downloads podcasts over WiFi. The battery life is around 1.5 hours max, but that works for most of my use cases. I also rebuilt a 2001 Honda Insight, balanced the battery pack, made a few upgrades, and put over 90,000 miles on it. It's a fun manual hybrid that gets 85+ mpg even when used aggressively. It's over 20 years old and I have about $3,000 into it total.
You should definitely look into replacing the battery (if not by yourself, by a 3rd party repair technician). iFixit has plenty of guides
That's brilliant ☺️
I wish my ipod still worked
Anyone else remember the Google modular phone from a couple years ago that got shut down because it would make the phones last too long? Yeah, lol.
There were numerous problems with that phone on a technical level which made it a pipe-dream from the get-go.
It fail because no one want to buy it
modular phone would probably last less long, more points of failure
That wasn't why it failed, the cost of making a modular phone would be wayyyyy more expensive and require new interoperability standards that didn't exist lol. It was always a fun R&D project, nothing more
The Fairphone is a great example of this. It's very easily repairable, but it makes a 300 dollar phone cost 500 dollars basically.
It sucks, I wish it wasn't so, but it's the unfortunate truth about product design that you can't have it all in one package.
My parents have had the same washer, dryer, oven, and stove top since 1987. They all work fantastic and have only needed repairs here and there
The Android ecosystem has some serious problems too. If you leave auto updates on, the inbuilt apps (Evernote typically), which were payed for by the app creators as a promotion, will keep growing in size with every update. Eventually, you will run out of storage just because of these apps. This motivates people to want more internal storage so they can postpone these problems for longer. Removing these apps isn't possible for a normal user. Moving them to SD card is also impossible for preinstalled apps (if the phone even takes an SD card that is). I solved these problems on my device, but it was only thanks to my experience and spent time.
Android is what could be called the schrodinger software. Is open source yet is too locked down by the manufacturers
You can also deactivate apps you don't use (and are preinstalled). That way they are reset to the factory version (which is probably smaller) and don't show up in your "app list" anymore.
@@alexanderepping1991 Yes, that works until another system update from the manufacturer which seems to enable them again. So this plus turning off system updates is a suitable solution for normal users.
I know this feel. I'm currently using old phone with only 16gigs of internal storage and i have to remove most apps just to make it somewhat usable. I cant even install anything on this anymore because the security updates are getting bigger and bigger.
128gigs current mid range phone could probably last for a 7+ years now.
I mean you can any Android device and get rid all bloatware and needless apps, but I get where you are coming from.
“Only apple stores and apple certified locations are allowed to fix iPhones”
That might be in the USA, but not here in Mexico.
CHECKMATE FIRST WORLD COUNTRIES
Wait they don't do that in Mexico?
Or Canada.
@@kittykittybangbang9367 in my country, there are a million little repair shops that would fix anything you throw at them, and it's super cheap (although a bit shady sometimes)
@@bryan.w.t good luck getting the schematics without black hatters though.
@@naddarr1 As someone who watches Louis Rossman's channel, you are technically correct, but good luck getting the parts to fix it when Apple bribes customs to destroy any replacement part as "counterfeit"
Samsung phone. A small crack in the top of the screen "voided the warranty." When the recharging socket (at the bottom end of the phone) failed after only a few months Samsung refused to repair or replace. Repair shops refused to work on it. Since the phone was useless, as it could not be charged, we ended up having to buy a new phone.
U could have changed the recharging socket
@@germanzarate2755 some specific models have soldered charging ports, which is unfortunate
You have to change the whole board.itd are usually separated from the rest of the phone as a motherboard is usually on top of the phone.
Mend it, don’t end it!!! That’s been my motto for a few years. Would be neat if we shifted our mindset to be more long term. Clothing could be mended or repaired by little mending shops or have consignment and thrift stores be more commonplace than brand new clothing shops. If we got creative and forced the issue, used clothing could even be sold back to the original retailer and sold in a used and renewed section of their store. This would encourage companies to make higher quality merchandise that they could then renew and profit from a second time, keeping them in business.
Phones should be a rite of passage, a once in a lifetime purchase designed with replaceable and customizable parts that could be repaired by any clever person who knows what they’re doing. We all have to think differently and get more people talking about this. Your well thought out video is really helping to open up that discussion, thank you 🙏
Perhaps another good analogy would be high end watches? Expensive watches are repaired, looked after and passed on as heirlooms. As you say, why not phones?
On the premium end there is some clothing that gets repaired, but we’re talking about the likes of Barbour. They repair and re-wax around 14,000 jackets every year in their UK factory.
*Barbour: A Jacket for Life*
ua-cam.com/video/BfjoD4qOBTk/v-deo.html
The PinePhone could be used like that I think.
Check out reliable clothing brands, one in particular, Patagonia. They now sell worn clothing. I bought a jacket at a thrift shop in Boise and was told if the jacket needs repair, I can send it to Patagonia and they will fix it regardless of age. It was probably 8 years old when I bought it and now it is 10 years old. Love finding brands that do this. Also, Darn Tough socks are allegedly lifetime socks and you can send them in. Marmot is also a reliable brand.
Problem is clothes nowadays are so cheap and intentionally poor quality, it's always easier n cheaper to buy new ones even though poor quality than mend the existing cheap one
Watching this on a 4 year old phone (my first and only smartphone, featuring a convenient user-replacable battery) with a 10 year old router, I own an 18 year old car, and I'm 18 myself. It's nice to have things that have been working for your entire life.
There was a quote
"Imagine a world that was constantly shrinking, but everyone kept using the same amount of resources - crazy right? Well that's exactly the same as increasing consumption on a world of finite resources"
Not even the same amount! We use more every year.
@@drabberfrog we use it _exponentially_ more every year... on a world that's constantly shrinking (in resources). That's double. And don't tell me it's overpopulation. The problem is greed.
@@r.a.6459 But luckily, the world's economy can grow while not using more resources. Economic growth can be decoupled from resource use as economies become more advanced.
The clothes iron and the hairdryer in my house is over 20 years old and they are still working well. They are even older than I am (my mom got them before I was born.)
Now, for a fan to work for 3 years is already a good amount of time.
My phone lasted 4 years before started to have problems
My laptop lasted 12 years
Our cars are 2-26 years old
My house is 47 years old
The newer the product is, the shorter lifespan it has.
I never even considered textbooks when thinking about planne obsolescence, but it's so true! My uni textbooks became useless the second each year was up, because they'd release a new one every year with slightly different examples and tell everyone not to buy the old one. It's so wasteful
My friend bought a new house. The fridge quit after 5 years. My uncle in east Europe has a fridge made in east Germany. The fridge was designed to last 25 years, even the light bulb. The fridge is 39 years old and still works.
Planned obsolescence get out of control now. Imagine a house that breaks down within 10 years. Yes, an entire HOUSE. Whlist a house built out of rocks 3000+ years ago still stands today.
Bens Appliances and Junk said the best fridge or electronic to get are simple ones without lots of multi-tools.
ua-cam.com/video/rKJgYVhZ6-w/v-deo.html&pp=ygUKYmVuIGZyaWRnZQ%3D%3D
I think another big issue is the lack of responsibility on the part of manufacturers. Technology will always improve, there is no getting around that. I think phone manufacturers, for instance, should be required (with extremely harsh punishments for not complying) to handle the recycling of their products. The amount of resources in e-waste is gargantuan. I doubt all components can be recycled and reused, but the components that can be should be by the manufacturer. The manufacturer collects all the benefits of selling their products, but it is left up to the customer or the state to deal with the waste. It'd be like a restaurant requiring their customers to clean their plates, cups and silverware.
And updating their OS for longer (currently average is 2 years, even if phone is still working flawlessly)
My great grandparents and grandparents owned a hardware store. I have some of the tools they used from the 30s . People used to make great stuff.
There's a great BBC documentary Century of Self on how psychologists and marketers of that time transformed buying for utility to buying for satisfaction. that greatly influenced how products are made.
I still use my 2010 iPad, my 2013 Samsung S4 and my 2009 Sorry TV, there's a lot of apps they can't run, and a lot of features they don't have, but I don't care, unless it's broken beyond repair I don't need a new one
Well, would you really need a NEW one? If they work for you why not pick up a used one littering some closet when that day come?
My Google Pixel 2, with it's amazing camera, still runs likes brand new except for the battery; something which I plan to replace.
BUT Google has ended not just software updates but SECURITY updates. So it becomes dangerous to not upgrade, not just inconvenient and outdated.
You can always try rooting your phone and install custom ROMs like LineageOS there's probably some online tutorial to show you how to do it. You can still get security and major Sofware updates. Although it requires some time to do it and your battery life also might see some improvements.
The Pixel phone is one of the best non-niche phones to use for rooting. Take advantage of that and install custom OS that will regularly get updated.
Pressure Google to make phones with replaceable batteries. Don't buy a phone that is designed for discard. Why is it so hard to change batteries in phones? Maybe I'll go back to wall hung phone in the house and a cell outside only.
@@Hafhafnhaf PinePhone is meant to be repaired. Tbh corporate greed sucks. Disappointing that our species has such a throwaway culture.
Look outside official support, as many already would point out: Custom ROMs are a great way to keep your device up to date (even if its an unofficial method.) And afaik, Pixel phones are great in this regard.
{Am saying this after rooting my 7-year old Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and installing Android 10 on it, am planning for Android 11 soon}
A electronics store clerk told me that while phones are similar electronic products usually have a warranty of two years here, the battery only has a half year one. To be fair, I don't know enough about phone batteries to judge how fast they wear out even under the best cicumstances, so ok. But if it's expected a part wears out quicker than the rest, then it absolutely should be made easy to replace. (Not just in consumer goods, also in industrial applications that are expected to last decades and get regular maintenance & repairs. _disgruntled electrician noises_)
It'd be amazing if all the engineering knowledge that's wasted on planned obsolesence now could be used to make actually better and longer lasting products.
Great video, such an important subject.
Batteries are a wear item, I get that, but they can last over 15 years if you use them correctly.
@@Mark-kt5mh 15 years? For a phone battery? Please teach me your ways!
I had an old Nokia that I _thought_ I treated well, charging only when it was low, but (almost) never letting it drain completely. But even that battery died after like... 7 years?
@@Mark-kt5mh that's very wrong. Batteries inevitably degrade, even without fast charging and optimal temperatures.
Spot on! Planned obsolescence was and is in every company I worked for. There's only progress = profit, yet no one asks important question, why? Especially when a company or individual reach certain point of wealth. Great video Charlie!
because companies seek growth just for the sake of growth.
Ever since I learned during my internship that one of the largest medical devices producer worldwide ensures their medical devices break in a foreseen time (and reduce the quality of the products they sell to Russia), I cannot tell you how unsurprising this is. At least few lives depend on phones.
We had learned this in one of our engineering courses... And I remember being shocked about this at the time but even more shocked how the teacher had to admit that he knew people who worked on making this happen, with a pretty grim look on his face.
Simple fact is back in the day things where built to last now they're built to break.
'Does it actively contribute to humans and nature thriving together as one integrated system on this planet? If yes, green light. If not, red light. Period.' A poignant statement all major companies and consumers need to hear right now. We need to change the way our world works and realise we are apart of nature, not above it. Thank you for the video OCC and spreading this message.
drive.google.com/folderview?id=1WCGMdKm8S6YXZf4J5Ay1R4GlpPkAhmRr
Several minerals required to make our phones are tied to SEVERE human rights/child labor issues, too... and the soil, air & water pollution that occurs in these mining communities is so extremely destructive to all of its living inhabitants - plants, animals and people.
Thank you so much for this video, it’s such an important topic and more people need to know.
Every time I crave in buying a new gadget, I will always search this video to cleanse temptation.
God, this makes me really care about right to repair
Really good video! I’m currently writing my uni paper on ephemerality and obsolescence in Architecture
Keep up the great work!
Thanks Ben!
Many businesses are already making versions of their products that are built to last, military grade products. They really can do this. They choose not to because it makes them more money.
We just went over this in our sustainability class.
Frugality = sustainability
End of class
Couldn't agree more, My Grandparent 1960's early color CRT TV still works today, it lived more than half century, never broke even once.
Meanwhile my 4K UHD Smart TV broke after 3 years normal usage, even worse it came with 2 years warranty, when i go to service center to fix it, technician simply reject to repair because "This model is discontinued last year, we didn't have sparepart anymore *but you can buy a NEWER MODEL* "
The choice is either pay $$$ (sometime more expensive than buying brand new TV) to repair your old TV, or just buy a brand new TV.
Because electronics have become orders of magnitude more complex.
Planned Obsolescence doesn't exist. Engineers design things to last a certain period of time based on cost, materials, and function. Planned Obsolescence exists only if you either buy a product in haste or don't maintain it.
The corporations doing this also claim so much how much they “care” for the environment… land fills loaded with more and more ewaste and now “fast fashion” leading the massive amount of dumped clothing…. It’s disgusting.
I’ve known about planned obsolescence for ages (specifically towards vehicles because my Dad is a mechanic and we always buy old/used) I’m glad there’s videos like this out here to continue spreading awareness!
Btw, my mom and dad have a Gateway laptop that’s over 10 years old. Yeah, it’s not “up to date” with today’s tech, but it runs movies, email, and everything else they need it for.
This is such a well put together piece! If only our education system taught children the importance of changing our economic system. Once someone is into their teenage years, I think it is harder to pull them out of supporting late stage capitalism.
Capitalism is built on secularism - an economic system that demotes God from life. Switching to socialism doesn't work either, look at Venezuela and North Korea. Both systems are man-made, and Godless.
Problems can only be solved by putting God back to where it belongs in our life.
This channel is so underrated! I love your videos, they're really informative and thought provoking
As an engineering student, this is one of those things that I am really worried about when finding a job later. I hope I can find a company or institution to work in that doesn't participate in these kinds of practices. I want to work on sustainable technologies that genuinly benefit mankind. Wish me luck.
Good luck trying to find a company that cares about morals and sustainable advanced technologies more than money and power to exploit consumers. Because an increasing amount of popular businesses have replaced quality and consumer satisfaction with quantity and planned obsolescence that makes it harder for consumers who are too old to fix things or consumers that are trying to save money for retirement. The modern technologies are designed to fail at the expense of elders and people who are trying to save money for retirement because modern society is cut-throat and doesn't care about people's well-being. Old people lived much more comfortable lifestyles in the past when technologies would just work and last long compared to now. Modern society is heartlessly about planned obsolescence at the expense of elders and the environment, money, power, plastic surgery that wastes nonrenewable resources, Instagram models who have anorexia, vile kids on TikTok who look like they aren't being raised by parents because of how wild they behave, diet pills, soulless pop music, feminazis, brainwashing cancel culture, brainwashing censorship, and other things that make modern society crazy and unstable. So, good luck trying to reason with the crazy and unstable young generation that is making modern music, modern movies, modern video games, and other modern things be worse than older things that is causing the music industry, entertainment industry, video game industries, and other industries not hold a candle to their former glories anymore. Because people are saying modern music sucks, modern movies suck, modern video games suck, and other modern things suck. So, good luck trying to get modern people to make competitive products that are sustainable.
@@genaferde9046 Yup, it's not going to be easy, but I suppose there are still public sector options that do somewhat appreciate quality (like public transportation for instance). Otherwise I also consider teaching as an option.
Watch “The Man in the White Suit”
Fun fact: In Mexico, warranties are not that important. In fact, a person is more likely to bring their phones to a technician even if it still has a warranty, just for the fact that is cheaper. All technological stuff works the same way here.
I have replaced myself iPhone's batteries and LCDs for my friends, and is not that hard, to be honest. I even managed to open my old phone to replace the built-in battery 3 times, and took it to a technician also 3 times to replace the charging slot, and to fix it after it fell on the toilet.
I feel people in developed countries give much more importance to have everything repaired by am approved technician because they live well. It's related to the overall economic status of the whole country. That's why in Mexico everyone is a handyman, while I'm the US they hire them.
Personally, I love repairing stuff since I was a child. As a grown up, I also realized it was lot cheaper, because you find the pieces for a fraction of the price, and they deliver them to your home in 3-5 days. Also, there's a lot of resources on the internet to guide you. In overall it seems dumb to bring your stuff to an authorized center for who knows how much time while they repair them, when you could have them back in an hour or the next day if you bring it to a technician. And if you do it yourself (considering you're careful enough and everything goes well), maybe it is less time.
It's great that you're repairing and holding onto things as much as possible but nowadays is getting harder to repair stuff , take iphone for example , on their latest model you can't replace any part of the phone even if it was taken from another identical iphone , not even the battery can be replaced. Every part is paired with the motherboard and in the event of an unauthorized replacement the phone wouldn't work, there's a video about this on UA-cam.
@@mikimouse3001 I don't know how people still buy apple products, that's absurd!
@@KarolYuuki I guess the average iphone user isn't concerned about these matters. Usually people care about the phone being slim and having thin bezels , and these companies know this and take advantage of it. If the costumers would be more aware apple wouldn't get away with this kind of stuff.
Hey Charlie, thanks for making these videos. Indeed it's hard to not want the latest stuff but the work you're doing with your videos is seriously invaluable. Thank you for the work you do researching all of these topics and compiling it in very interesting to watch content. You're doing something really remarkable educating people on the most important issue our generation faces. Thank you!
Incredibly good video. Much appreciation for this channel and those who put effort into it!
I bought a Fairphone after I dropped my last one and couldn't use it any longer. It's not the best phone, but it does everything it should and I'm happy with it. Also a great team that sells them
Its a slow low end phone overpriced
This is great info, crosses through so many industries.
Your videos are awesome my friend! i really like how you show the problem as well as take a shot at possible solutions!
This is very true with appliances I swear my grandma has had a fridge for 30 yrs and still kicking. Old washing machines work longer too and can actually be fixed once the newer machines are broken often not worth the repairs.
My iPhone 6s still gets software updates and still runs smooth 🤷🏻♂️. You cannot say that of any other android phone from 2015
But my Android tablet from 2014 still has the latest Android 11 (yes, not official, but warranties expire after 2 years so who cares)
@@jasimaneesahamed1033 depends on the tablet I also have a Samsung galaxy tab s3 sm t210 and is stuck on android 4 even on custom roms
@@edd9581 Tab S3 on Android 4?! The model you are saying is not Tab S3, which was released in 2017, but is the Galaxy Tab 3.
And yes you are right, Custom ROM availability differs per device.
But for my SM-T320, for a long time, Android 6 (Stable) or Android 7.1 (Unofficial) were the only two options for like 2 to 3 years until a dev compiled and made Android 9, 10 and 11 builds for the device.
Take a shot every time he says ultimately
You'd be so fuckin dead
There's also this real marketing trick with cellphones. They sell it with a 2 years plan, and after 2 years you receive tons of messages about how it is time to change your phone, and how you could get a brand new cellphone for the same price you're already paying! So my father is like ''it is time to change our phones, and there are great deals'' but their phones still work perfectly fine!!?! But then during he 3rd year somehow they always start slowing down.
i feel like the quality of your videos improved even more... i like the 3D tracks.. and as always: great video dude! Love your channel... we need more people like you!
drive.google.com/folderview?id=1WCGMdKm8S6YXZf4J5Ay1R4GlpPkAhmRr
As an engineer, I like the video and agree with your conclusion, but I'd like to share why I think this issue is even more complicated than it seems.
The iPhone is one of the most complicated pieces of consumer technology ever made.
I agree that 7 years of life is small when compared to a reliable microwave, but I would argue it's more reasonable for a high tech product. If you kept your 2007 iPhone1 today (only 13 years old), it would not be able to connect to the network. Not because of Apple's planned obsolescence, but because there's no cellular tower supporting the old iPhone technology.
The Tesla case is also interesting. If you allow users to modify components on a self-driving car, who is responsible when a crash happens? This is an insurance and public safety regulation nightmare. When cars were simpler, it was easier to understand and repair, but now those are so sophisticated it is inaccessible for most people.
Regulation for the perceived obsolescence seems impossible to me.
I have my doubt that fashion trends' evolution would slow down in a non-capitalist economic system.
To fix that, I think we need to change the consumerism culture.
Of course, every one of those points could be an entire video. Long story short, the solution is not easy.
Governments need to come together and put an incentive for companies to put a lot of engineering effort into making their product easier to repair and maintain. Culture needs to change to value simplicity and maintenance.
As a final word:
Good job on attacking this difficult and interesting subject. You can reach out to me if you have any questions.
Keep it up!
Maybe one solution would be continued support/repairs and upgrades where possible at prices lower than a new phone. Sure, in some cases it might not be possible. But maybe you could replace the old antenna with a newer one that can recieve 4/5G signals? (No clue if that specific example is possible, but you get what I mean.) Or at the very least make components that are expected to wear out quickly (battery) easily replacable. In that case while it might not function on mobile signal anymore you could still use it when connected to wifi (which is how I use my phone 90% of the time anyway lol).
The issue you bring up with self driving cars is indeed interesting though. Don't workshops get licenses to work on specific cars/parts or something? Like, get training from the manufacturer so they're able to fix things correctly. (On top of their regular professional car mechanic/electrician training.)
Forcing companies to actually cover all the production costs might be a step to curb overconsumption by perceived obsolesence. If prices included fair wages for workers and whatever costs created by environmental damage (or prevention of such), then things would just be more expensive, and people would probably buy less.
But yeah, culture and policy needs to change, agreed!
And i'd like to complicate the matter on the consumer technology even further :)
While the hardware in a 13 year old phone doesn't meet the requirements we expect from current phones, i would hazard a guess that the hardware in current phones will still be relevant in 13 years. Do note that current phones basically have the same processing power as laptops. I would also say that the things we require from phones won't change that much (video streaming, browsing the web, and using it as a communication device). The screens are already at a pixel density that surpasses our ability to see, so screens will not make a difference. And the processing power is more than enough to stream video to your device. If you use your phone for playing 3D games then it's a different story, but for 99% of the use cases i can imagine current phones staying technologically relevant.
The same can be said for laptops and other computing devices. 90% of the use cases is web browsing, video streaming and word processing. Currently, 10 year old laptops are perfectly capable of handling those tasks, and i imagine current laptops to continue being relevant for at least that much, provided their battery lasts and the cpu cooling paste doesn't dry out.
So i would argue that in most consumer devices, the hardware has surpassed the use case requirements, and those use case requirements won't change much in the coming decades. In addition to this, Moore's law is dead, so the increase in processing power per year wil slow down, meaning the hardware in devices will stay relevant for even longer. That being said, the absence of software updates will probably make a lot of devices obsolete, in addition to the lack of affordable repair or replacement of consumables.
P.S. As far as i know, the GPRS/EDGE (2G) connectivity used in the 1st gen Iphone is still supported everywhere. It's woefully inadequate for basically anything, but it's still supported.
@@WouterNederstigt Great points there! I'm sure technology will continue to evolve in some regards, but as you say, for the vast majority of people current/older technology is perfectly sufficient. (I still use a 2G dumb phone for calls/text lol.)
@@WouterNederstigt I like the point you bring up: Maybe we are finally getting sufficiently mature with our computer. Maybe the endless race to CPU performance can stop.
At the same time, I remember when people were saying that an Internet connection was useless on a phone.
Then came 3G, Google Maps, music streaming, etc.
Who knows what will be the norm in the future?
@@KarolaTea I really like the idea of "dumb phone"!
these videos make me feel kind of hopeless that our world can change
Well done and keep posting.
I'm really fed up of putting screen protectors on my phone but the screen breaking almost instantly anyway. And every single time, it costs twice as much to repair it as it does to just replace it with the same phone again. I think I'm going to have to just teach myself how to replace phone screens. It's the only way.
I think future sustainable economic model is subscription for everything.
For example, we don't own our refrigerator, instead we pay subscription for it. The company will make the refrigerator as durable as long as possible, and every broken part, they will fix it as part of the service. They want you to use their refrigerator as long as possible, because if you want to change your refrigerator, you may go to the competitors.
I actually find "we'll rent everything" an even worse economic system than what we have now. Rentier capitalism is a powerfully and insidiously concentrative system that tends to lead to monopolies as well as enormous socioeconomic stratification. Larger corporations already tend to buy out their competition or take advantage of the inherent advantages of scale, network effect, and intellectual property rights to lock competitors out of the market, and this will only be worsened with increased rentier dynamics. Devoting even more of out incomes to rents (the average American now devotes more than two-thirds of their incomes to some type of rent) will also undermine the prospects of all but the rich to accumulate wealth, fueling social and intergenerational inequalities.
This is a good idea, but many of these business models tend to give you a new rented product every few years. First thing that comes to mind are car leases but I'm sure there are others like that
@@marcelloandres yes new product is inevitable, and maybe it's a good thing because maybe it's more energy efficient and something like that.
but at least company will not use planned obsolescence to make their products less durable and make more e waste.
I heard of fairphone before and I’m glad you mentioned it.
Damnnn thanks for an amazing video! Your editing is perfect. This is such an important topic more people need to know about!
Thank you for putting this out.
I love that you identified that there's no way around replacing the current economic model. however the issue runs even deeper than that.
before we can replace the economic model, we'd need to replace the model of politics - specifically political representation.
political representation is what enables corruption, which in turn enables corporations to have the last say about any new rules and regulations.
current technology "easily" allows for the implementation of a democracy that does not employ political representatives.
direct democracy is what we need to aim for.
Direct democracy without an informed populace is doomed to fall easily to tyranny though. It's definitely the goal but it requires HEAVY educational investment in the populace something extremely lacking in society at the moment
@@gemain609 haha yes, education is not just lacking, but set up in a way to normalize and perpetuate our current systems.
it's a challenge for sure. but I believe it's very much solvable. I imagine a tree structure of forums with different degrees of specialization.
there may be a forum category for a highly specialized field in which generally only people who are experts in that field are active. it is still a public forum, but there's probably little point and interest for non-experts to try to decipher the technical jargon in there. here, someone identifies a certain issue within that field and creates a posting about it. it can be seen as a first draft defining the issue, and it generally comes with proposal of an solution, too. similar to version control systems for open source code, others can add to this draft, improve the formulation of the issue, expand on the solution proposal, and discuss it. someone may even fork the issue if they want to create drastically different solution proposal that may oppose the proposal of the original posting. similar to Reddit, people can vote on these issues ("thumbs up"), and once an entry reaches a certain threshold, it organically raises up into a more general forum category. this may still be a forum that relates to the field, but a broader range of people in the general field is active there. they will be able to pick up on it, add formulations and summaries that are easier to understand for non-experts, and continue to improve on the solution proposal. again, people will be voting on these issues, and if one issue received sufficient acknowledgement & approval, it will raise up once more into a general "democracy" forum. at this point, the issue & solution proposal have gone through many iterations and are therefore likely to be of high quality as well as easy to understand. the process may have taken several months. here, the general population is active and does their voting. voting on any issue is optional - if you do not feel that you understand the issue or you think it does not not apply to you, then you just don't vote on it. only when an issue achieved the absolutely majority of approving votes over a certain period of time, it is set for implementation.
that's the general gist of how an implementation of direct democracy could look like.
The current political model doesn't allow for internal change. Meaning it has to be changed by those outside of the system.
I've always felt duped by Apple on an instinctual level and I now realize why they are the poster child for planned obsolescence.
Apple supports their phones with software updates for 7 years. Samsung’s are barely supported for 2 years. The latest iPhones are some of the most durable phones (with ceramic coated glass and flat edges). They’re not as bad as you think.
@@samferr16 Samsung has 3 years of new OS versions and 4 years of security updates.
@@Doman9191 The iPhone 5S from 2013 still gets security updates. Enough said
@@samferr16 Literally No one uses phone for 8 years
Wow this video is sooo good! I've never seen your channel before, but now I will surely be binging all your videos.
Love these videos, great channel. Watched on Nebula, came here to comment!
Only American manufactured phones and laptops do that. If you get a Chinese manufactured phone or laptop, it wont be "Designed to break after warranty.", which is one of the reasons why most of those Chinese devices are banned from selling in America.
It fills me with hated when I see planned obsolescence. That's why I've decided to continue with my offer two year old phone, because it works fine. I wish that the company would push the latest OS updates to my phone beyond the two year period 😔
Excellent video and a great question at the end.
Amazing vid, great production 🙏
Positive comment
hahahaha I love this
Me: *watches video critiquing Apple*
YT: here’s an Apple ad for ya
My parents fridge broke a few years ago and they did what they always did and called the repair guy… he couldn’t help them because what was broken is no longer available at all… I was 32 when they finally replaced the fridge and the fridge was older than me…
There is a third type of Obsolescence = The one where your hardware doesn't get supported by updates anymore.
Thank you, Charlie.
finally, thanks 🥳 ... btw, i think single use plastic also (should be) categorized P-O. what do you think?
This is a desperately important subject. Thank you for the video.
great video as always, my man
The first phone that I bought when I began working in 2016 was a Sony Xperia Z2. I used it for 6 years until a relative handed me their old phone. I still have that Xperia and still works perfect despite not receiving software updates. I began noticing this planned obsolescence during college, where my friends would buy the latest phone, fashion, etc. All of my old stuff still works and I still use them to this day. I remember meeting with these same people last year while wearing the same backpack that I had a decade ago. I didn't care if my bag was out of style, it works. capitalism is a b!tch and people are simps over her.
All my backpacks don’t last more than 1 year (if that)
I wish they lasted longer but that’s planned obsolescence…
It's not my first phone, but as my Huawei P Smart phone got obsolete from their inclusion of a slow 2,4GHz only WiFi router I replaced it with a new old stock phone I was eyeing at the time but couldn't afford.
This phone, the Moto G5 (non-plus) was already 4 years old when I got it and needed a new battery, a simple €15 drop-in part.
3 years later, it's still going strong as a phone and occasional camera, though it's Android 7 ROM and 2GB of RAM are starting to show their age now.
For the tasks it struggles at, I use my now 6 year old laptop, which I selected for it's longevity, or my Steam Deck, serving more as a tablet for me.
I am proud to be keeping it going and prefer the perceived obsolete design over the not lasting and inconvenient modern styles.
The goal is to keep it alive for 10 years, to then replace it with a new Motorola with replaceable battery, as the EU mandates that.
I think you missed a lot of points about tech. Especially phones. Non removable batteries are not the only thing. Companies are pumping out new phones to replace the old "flagships" literally every 6 months. This requires government intervention...like only giving 4-5 "slots" per company per 3 years and forcing companies to give software support for atleast 3 years.
Another example is manufactures removing headphone jacks.
Same with laptops removing ports to make money from dongles
> This requires government intervention...
sure, there's just a slight problem with that though. most governments are essentially run by these companies.
@@holleey While I agree with your general idea, is there really an alternative? Companies have already shown that they don't care about the environment. At least with legislative action, in theory, change can be enacted. And, in theory, if those in power don't make those changes, they can, in theory, be voted out. Now, this is all pie in the sky, especially when you look at all the (un)progress we've made so far. But is there really another option? Either the companies change (not gonna happen) or governments make them change (a little more likely to happen).
@@PatrickMelanson I'm not saying it's entirely pointless to exert pressure onto your political representatives, but the change we need is just not going to originate from them.
depending on the country you live in, your buying decisions are likely to be much more meaningful than your vote.
under the current system, no amount of rules and regulations is going to get us to achieve sustainability. the relentless maximization of profit is in direct opposition to it.
in the long term, the only option is - as the video points out as well - a change of the economic system itself. this is going to be a development that's not being dictated by a government, but one that emerges from the people through cultural change.
@@holleey Definitely agree with your last point, that we need to restructure how we run things around here. While I agree that it is a fruitful endeavour to make more sustainable choices for one's self, it is ultimately collective action that will create real change. And whether through legislative, cultural, or economic means, something has to give.
@@PatrickMelanson collective action always begins on an individual level. a collective is a sum of individuals, after all. but I don't think we are making opposing arguments here.
yoooo thank you for mentioning textbook companies!! this channel must be protected at all costs
Sorry. Video typo (Vypo?) at 8:53 - "The battery of the Fairphone only takes 8 minutes to replace." Should have read "screen". The battery takes 30 seconds to replace. This was used in your video about consumerism where both statistics were listed. Great video and your entire channel is uplifting. Thank you.
Now imagine having a camera, internet and an app store on the legendary Nokia 3310.
Sales go up up 🔼🔼📈📈
Legendary phone ❤️
Thanks for touching on Right to Repair.
Sadly, there currently are no eithical, easily repairable phone offerings in the US that offer upper midrange or flagship performance.
The moment Teracube, Fairphone, or Shift releases such a model I will consider it as my next 5-year daily driver.
Why do you need that kind of performance?
Try Blackview. Their phones are durable and offer decent performance.
@@divinehatred6021 AFAIK no Blackview models are compatible with US cellular network bands. I already have a Realme X2 Pro for gaming and the Oppo Reno 10X Zoom & Pixel 5a for photography so I'm good on phones that don't happen to be modular/ultra-repairable.
Very well-made, thank you for talking about planned obsolescence. ❤
Thank you, this was really interesting!
Sustainability is inherently impossible in any market-based, for-profit system
I have a Macbook Air that's a refurbished 2016 computer and It needs to be replaced soon in a few years or something. My Battery is running low and can't be replaced. I hate Planned Obsolescence. It needs to change. Thanks for the great video.
This is more to do with how batteries work, just replace the battery
@@anflorke7862 Yeah, but I am scared of doing that and I had my Mom sent the computer to apple to get a battery replaced already. I am autistic and disabled.
@@teddyfurstman1997 that's understandable. There are loads of computer repair shops not run by Apple that will do this for you. And depending on where you live, you might have a friend who could do it also. I can quite easily replace that battery myself.
Thank you so much for these well done videos!
Your videos make me think so much, thank you
If you’re interested in Right to Repair laws, I recommend Louis Rossmann’s channel
But we're taught in schools about how good capitalism is. It leads to good products right? Yes, with competition. Once a company gets too big and gains too much control, that no longer applies. Capitalists seem to ignore this problem.
That last part is very true but it's gonna trigger half of Americans 😂
Like Peter Davey's Ultrasonic Boiler.
Excellent video! New here, and just have to say, you do an amazing job! Subscribed!
This is an outstanding video! Super important topic for basically everyone
I tried to watch this on Nebula, but it wasn’t uploaded there yet. Are you still uploading to both UA-cam and Nebula?
I cancelled Nebula because of this exact thing. Most creators don’t care, and don’t even bother removing the “like and subscribe, and hit the notification bell!”.
Thank you for making this very important video!
I kinda already knew that companies intentionally made their products to not last that long, but now I know there's the term for that.
And tbh people who changed their phones just to follow the trends (ehm iphone) are seriously my pet peeves, esp when their old handphone was perfectly fine..
Thanks for raising awareness on this specific topic. Planned obsolete sucks!!