Planned Obsolescence
Planned obsolescence is a business strategy where products are intentionally designed to have a limited useful life or become outdated after a certain period, encouraging consumers to replace them. It involves techniques like using non-durable materials, limiting repairability, or releasing frequent updates that render older versions incompatible. This concept is widely discussed in technology, consumer electronics, and manufacturing industries.
Developers should understand planned obsolescence to design sustainable software and hardware, avoid practices that frustrate users, and comply with increasing regulations like right-to-repair laws. It's relevant when building products with long-term support, considering backward compatibility, or evaluating ethical implications in tech development, such as in mobile apps or IoT devices.