Planned obsolescence alone doesn’t explain the change over time of this phenomenon. It’s a static explanation, one which applies equally well to every era, unless something more is said. So the question becomes, Why are manufacturers planning for sooner obsolescence now than they did in the past?
Likewise, “worse materials cost less” is always true. It’s a static fact, so it can’t explain the observed dynamic phenomenon by itself. Or, at least, you need to add some additional data, like, “materials are available now that are worse than what used to be available”. That might explain something. It would be another example of things being globally better in a perverse sense (more options = better).
Planned obsolescence is technically difficult: it’s relatively easy to design and use a material which lasts indefinitely, but harder to design a machine around materials that last a specified period and then fail. You need to tread the tight-rope between “too shitty to buy” and “too high quality to require frequent replacement.”
Some say that it failure comes with miniaturization too. Those SMD capacitors fail a lot easier in electronics, so while the microwave might still work, the display will fail pretty quickly.
Planned obsolescence alone doesn’t explain the change over time of this phenomenon. It’s a static explanation, one which applies equally well to every era, unless something more is said. So the question becomes, Why are manufacturers planning for sooner obsolescence now than they did in the past?
Likewise, “worse materials cost less” is always true. It’s a static fact, so it can’t explain the observed dynamic phenomenon by itself. Or, at least, you need to add some additional data, like, “materials are available now that are worse than what used to be available”. That might explain something. It would be another example of things being globally better in a perverse sense (more options = better).
Planned obsolescence is technically difficult: it’s relatively easy to design and use a material which lasts indefinitely, but harder to design a machine around materials that last a specified period and then fail. You need to tread the tight-rope between “too shitty to buy” and “too high quality to require frequent replacement.”
Some say that it failure comes with miniaturization too. Those SMD capacitors fail a lot easier in electronics, so while the microwave might still work, the display will fail pretty quickly.