more_beans_mrtaggart t1_j9xzqz3 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 11:16 AM

Reply to comment by shanoshamanizum in A platform for products with no planned obsolescence by shanoshamanizum

The XCover 6 Pro is cheaper than it’s competitors, yet nobody buys it.

Nobody buys it, because nobody wants it, apart from business and healthcare. Everybody wants a Galaxy/iPhone.

Without customer demand, there’s no sales. And no sales is why these companies fold.

Again, if enough people wanted repairability/upgradeability, Samsung and Apple would make these products. They both consistently tap the markets to see what people want.

And what people actually want is longer battery life, better camera, faster processor, more camera features etc etc. Repairability isn’t even in the top 20 of customer wants.

Reddit-username_here t1_j9y3nlm wrote on February 25, 2023 at 12:08 PM

I would love a phone like that, but I'm not paying $650 for a fucking phone lol. That's absurd. If a phone is over $200, I'm not interested.

PublicFurryAccount t1_ja01fb7 wrote on February 25, 2023 at 8:47 PM

Pretty much.

The market for upgrades in every product area is limited to enthusiasts and business. It's just not worth doing, honestly, unless the device is hideously expensive and the market is fast-moving but inconsistent like PCs in the 1980s and 1990s. Otherwise either upgrades don't give enough value to be worth buying an upgrade or you basically need to upgrade everything anyway.

Battery life is a solved issue with a lot of things, now, though. Because phones and laptops aren't increasing in capability as fast, manufacturers have started to offer free or nominal cost replacement services for those components.