Planned Obsolescence
WikiPedia helps us define the concept: Planned_Obsolescence
Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a policy of planning or designing a product with a limited useful life, so it will become obsolete, that is, unfashionable or no longer functional after a certain period of time. Planned obsolescence has potential benefits for a producer because to obtain continuing use of the product the consumer is under pressure to purchase again, whether from the same manufacturer (a replacement part or a newer model), or from a competitor who might also rely on planned obsolescence.
This is a topic I've given a fair amount of consideration to. Apple appears to want to be seen as the premier brand and they certainly treat their customers that way. Want in to the Apple ecosystem? Better be willing to pay, pay a lot, and keep paying again and again and again. Ergo: planned obsolescence.
A New York Times Magazine article states it more explicitly:
Why Apple Wants to Bust Your iPhone
That is an attention getting headline. The content tells the story to match the attention:
why-apple-wants-to-bust-your-iphone
Here is a snippet from the article:
At first, I thought it was my imagination. Around the time the iPhone 5S and 5C were released, in September, I noticed that my sad old iPhone 4 was becoming a lot more sluggish. The battery was starting to run down much faster, too. But the same thing seemed to be happening to a lot of people who, like me, swear by their Apple products. When I called tech analysts, they said that the new operating system (iOS 7) being pushed out to existing users was making older models unbearably slow. Apple phone batteries, which have a finite number of charges in them to begin with, were drained by the new software. So I could pay Apple $79 to replace the battery, or perhaps spend 20 bucks more for an iPhone 5C. It seemed like Apple was sending me a not-so-subtle message to upgrade.
Happy reading,
J.W. Gant
**UPDATE**
Several more good articles I want to link to.
First, a list of smart quotes for retailers:
http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-insight-blog/Smart-Quotes--Inside-the-Best-Minds-in-Retail89138
Second, the layout of grocery stores as exampled by one store in South Florida:
http://wlrn.org/post/how-south-florida-supermarkets-move-customers-through-their-stores
Last, how Kroger uses data on their customers:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomgroenfeldt/2013/10/28/kroger-knows-your-shopping-patterns-better-than-you-do/
That last one is especially good.
Happy reading.
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