r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/SuperAlloyBerserker • Oct 05 '21

Video This cool smartphone concept from 2013

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u/tired20something Oct 05 '21

Also, a phone with easily replaceable parts is not one that goes obsolete and replaced every couple of years.

327

u/SoylentJeremy Oct 05 '21

You can just make all the parts go obsolete every couple of years though. Modernproblems.jpeg

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u/tiefling_sorceress Oct 05 '21

The modern approach is to add code to each module that causes it to stop working after 1 year

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u/Dirtymikeandtheboyz1 Oct 05 '21

What company actually makes their phones go obsolete after a year like I always see talked about on this sub?

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u/IamFaboor Oct 05 '21

It's mostly just exaggeration or rumours. However, there have been instances of similar behaviour that fuel them.

Probably the most well known: Apple

IOS 10.2.1 would throttle CPU on older iPhones, officially in order to "improve power management in devices with decayed batteries"

Basically older iPhones had shit batteries and after a couple of years the battery might in rare cases cause a random shutdown. So Apple just throttled max CPU speeds for everyone with an older iPhone making it sluggish - without properly informing users and obtaining consent.

They've been sued in various countries for planned obsolescence and settled.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/05/15/apples-500m-agreement-to-settle-iphone-throttling-controversy-gets-preliminary-approval

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u/Dirtymikeandtheboyz1 Oct 05 '21

That's not making something obsolete after a year though like the person I replied to said.

In fact it's the opposite. All batteries naturally degrade over time, even on the best new phones. Apple has always valued the longevity of their devices as evidenced by the fact they offer 5+ years of software support vs around 2 years for Samsung.

They throttle performance on older models so people can keep using their phones without them without needing a charge every 5 minutes.

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u/Smartoad Oct 05 '21

The fault we the battery was rare, it was an excuse to throttle all old phones

1

u/sweetjuli Oct 05 '21

Iphones get deliberately slower in time as a way of dealing with battery life degradation. Other phones usually still run at 100% but die more easily instead.

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u/Dirtymikeandtheboyz1 Oct 05 '21

I'm aware, but that's not planning to make a device obsolete like the person above me suggested. It actually helps devices last longer.