Very few Apple customers were amused the company's iPad strategy last year. In March 2012, the third generation iPad, dubbed the "new iPad", saw the light. This tablet was better than its predecessor in some respects, but slightly worse in size and weight. Just seven months later, Apple introduced the fourth generation iPad, also dubbed the "new iPad" or "iPad with retina display." In short, the third-generation iPad not only lost the title of being "new" in record time, but also directly disappeared from the market without leaving a trace. Only those customers who purchased it 30 days before the iPad 4 was released had the ability to exchange it.
This is what is called scheduled obsolescence: In March, Apple was already scheduled to launch another iPad seven months later: the iPad 3 would be obsolete in no time. The retina display iPad featured a more powerful processor (A6X chip versus A5X chip), an HD front camera (the iPad 3 had VGA) and the lightning connector in front of its predecessor's 30-pin dock. The result for all those who bought an iPad 3: their tablets lost value automatically.
La planned obsolescence is not a phenomenon That it occurs only in Apple: it is something that happens in each and every one of the technology companies of the moment. Apple also carries out this strategy with other devices every year, but until now it has not done so blatantly.
So it is not surprising that the company has been sued in Brazil by the Software Law and Policy Institute, which accuses Apple of making iPad 3 customers believe "that they were acquiring the latest technology on the market, even though they knew they were releasing something out of date." If the Brazilian Institute wins this lawsuit, iPad 3 customers in Brazil could receive compensation from Apple.
Indeed, the strategy followed with the iPad during 2012 was somewhat abusive for the consumer.
What is your point of view regarding the obsolescence of Apple's program?
More information- An exhibition shows the most curious Apple pieces
Source- Mashable
Well, I largely disagree with everything that is said here.
Planned obsolescence, as I understand it, is that what you buy artificially ceases to be useful to force you to buy a new product. This is not the case. The iPad 3 "just" stopped being the "latest model" prematurely.
Yes, it is true that it is frustrating, but far from all that it could mean for those who bought it, whether or not they took out an iPad 4, today the iPad 3 would work exactly the same, so it is not more obsolete or less than if the iPad 4 would not have come to light.
I do not understand the feeling of obsolete that there is lately. History has always worked this way. I remember all my PCs that I have assembled throughout my life, and it was rare that it would hold up being the last of the last six months later. But they were becoming obsolete after four or five years!
Same with phones, there have always been dozens of models to choose from. I remember looking at the huge lists of Nokia phones on their website… it was amazing! and there were always rumors of a new one coming out. Obsolescence? No, it is the advancement and updating of technology.
In the relative few years that Apple has entered the phone business, it has accustomed its users - customers - to updating their terminals once a year. Something that seems to be now unsustainable. For a reason, technology has always worked like this!
And with the iPad less. It has only kept "the year" on its first two products. Nothing really historical that demonstrates a long-term strategy.
Seriously, I think Apple should release its products simply when it has something new to showcase, not on a strict schedule.
That's not planned obsolescence, the iPad 3 still works.
Scheduled obsolescence is when a device stops working from one day to the next simply because the manufacturer renders the device unusable in order to get the person to buy another one again.
Apple has us used to updating its devices every 12 months. In this case it was updated at 7 ... bad luck ... but the device continues to work and is still a pointer.
I do not understand that we say programmed obsolescence to define the iPad 3 when I use an iPad 2 and it works perfectly
This is not planned obsolescence… Has your old iPad broken? Every time I read the sensationalism of Pablo Ortega, I want to cry ... What a horror
The real problem is the following:
People (apparently) don't want to have this iPad or that iPad. All you want is the LAST iPad. Most do not even know the differences between one or the other, and even less if those differences really change the hypothetical real use that they are going to give it.
In other words, the problem is not that a new gadget comes out every year, every month, or every week. The problem is with those with that "smug" mentality (so to speak).
I have been a user of iPhones and iPads since their first models (even those that did not come out in Spain) and they have always told me that “what the hell no? Yours is not the last anymore ”and I have always answered that it is not a bitch, that what I most want is for that gadget to evolve, and the faster it does it the better, because the day I update to a new one the change will be greater and more pleasant, the models who want to pass through the middle ...
Right now I have an iPad 3 and it didn't hurt at all when 5 or 6 months later the iPad 4 came out, on the contrary, I thought «well imagine the processor that the 5 will have (for which maybe I will change mine, and if it were not so, because the 6th will be the rehost ...
They came out now with 128GB and I thought "great, the next models not only more powerful but with more capacity" and so on. And now I will have to change mine, do not be envious. I enjoy my iPad 3 every day and right now I read and write to you about it.
Where do you see the problem?
Totally agree, I am going to buy an iPad 4 and I do not care if the 3 comes out in 5 months, I plan that it will last between 4 and 5 years, since I have acquaintances who have the first model and they still do like the silk hahaha
What interests me is that they are products that last over time being great products and working like a charm and there Apple is an expert, my iPhone 3gs worked as well as the first day after 2 years and something and I changed to 5 just because it broke and now until 6 or even 6S comes out I won't change. For what we use these devices and with Apple updates, they have a useful life of at least 3 or 4 years, another thing is that we let ourselves be carried away by fashions and always want the latest!
Hello, look, on the one hand you are right, on the other it is not logical, I bought the macbook pro retina and it cost me 3000 euros, I need it to work, at 6 months they take out another macbook pro retina improvement and cheaper, it is not Fair, because they are taking us for fools, I think it is good that they take out products, but at least every year.
Apple has long stopped caring about customers and has only cared about selling and making money, and that happens with the iPhone 4s, both with the Siri, with the Siri and it turns out that until the iPhone 5 they did not put it in Spanish , honestly a lack of respect, that with Steve Jobs did not happen, they took much more care of the buyer.
Jonathan,
Siri is one thing and quite another for your computer to stop working.
I have an iPhone 4, I don't have Siri and in the end I have to accept it, because Apple doesn't want it. In this case, YES is programmed obsolescence. But that your laptop is no longer the latest model, and that it is now cheaper, no.
Salu3
Since the iphone 3g they already had the technology to develop the iphone 4, however they could not stop selling the 3g, 3gs and 4 models in succession to obtain more money, and to achieve it successfully they applied obsolescence.
One thing that is that these chips or those memories already exist much earlier and quite another is that they can be mass-produced (we are talking about millions), that they have been tested together with the rest of the hardware, that polished software is developed for them, etc.
Technology advances at full speed, let's get used to it. In fact, it advances because we buy it.
It's nice to read comments like that, I think 100% the same as you. Salu2!
I see the problem in that I have my iPhone 3, and now there are applications that are not compatible with my iPhone and not because my iPhone does not support it technologically, but because Apple simply creates the application so that you cannot use it, exploiting the small ones differentiav between one iphone and another, for example restricting saying, the device does not have a front camera, even when the application does not use it at all…. programmed obsolescence of the worst kind.
I agree with what was said in the other comments ... I still enjoy my iPad 1, so I am amazed when reading articles like this one, in which it seems dramatic for people who have an iPad 3 the fact that 7 months after buying it, Apple has released the iPad 4 ...
There are two forms of planned obsolescence. The first, in which they make things so that over the years they spoil, and the second, in which they make you feel the need to acquire a new one, not because what you have is not the latest model, but by making you believe that the new functionalities of the new gadgets are indispensable and you cannot live without them.
I have iPhone 4 and iPad 3 and I don't need to upgrade to iPhone 5, nor do I think 6. and iPad… many versions will also have to go through for me to upgrade.
I recommend that you watch this documentary
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/el-documental/documental-comprar-tirar-comprar/1382261/
Obsolence would be if Apple stopped providing support or updates to the previous equipment, or for example, as with iPods and batteries, where their batteries had an expiration date, but this does not happen with any other product. The ipad can continue to be used and updated from version 1.
This strikes me as a forum for people hired by Apple to defend themselves against TRUE accusations. This is Programmed Obsolescence: I have a brand new iPhone 3G of which I was very proud until they used the infamous decision to leave us without operational coverage in the main and most used applications: Whatsapp, Facebook, Skype ... This car has been targeted so many that they already account for 80% of the apps that had paid for them.
Friends, this is not about the terminal, but blatantly forcing us to buy their new devices through the blackmail of obsolete operational versions.
That technology advances? Well, very well, but let me use what I bought, I don't care about the new versions.
Technologically, old applications can coexist with new ones, so ... Why don't they let us use them?
That is just as provocative as when they did not allow the SIRI to be installed on my IPad 2 which is only 2 years old.
Apple previously had a science superior to its competitors, but this has changed enormously in a few years, and the terminals of other brands, although they do not surpass it, are going to take advantage of its price. That all brands will make use of obsolescence is true, but one can buy a terminal of approx. 100 or 200.- that will practically do the same as the Iphone of 600.- €. Apple's battle has the losing horse and it deserves it. I have bought a Samsung for the contained fury that I have and that I have sent to Apple as millions of disillusioned users have already done. If not, take a look at their page and the hundreds of forums that claim revenge for their vile trick that has been marked with the iPhone 3G in terms of their apps WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype etc.
WhatsApp and other apps will not let you update because they will ask you for iOS 6 (or whatever), but does your version of WhatsApp really stop working?
Be careful not to ask with seconds, if so, you have left me dismayed.
Of course, WhatsApp and Facebook and Skype and 80% of the applications for the Iphone3G have stopped working. Check it out in the search engine: You will find thousands, if not millions of comments from scammed and disappointed customers. All the developers of these applications have made it clear that it has been Apple who has forced them not to provide service to the iPhone 3G and, of course, to the previous ones. Apple's obsolescence is here to stay and if you have an Iphone 4, get ready within approx. to throw it away. Is this fair? . I do not understand how some express themselves here, with the tranquility that they say that they buy a new one and that's it, that if technology advances than if patatín and patatán. Do they get their new gadgets as a gift? They would complain if your car, your TV, your washing machine, etc. etc. served only 5 years ?. I think so, the problem is that those who write here have not yet reached the moment like me to realize the treacherous mischief that supposes that they decide the moment when your terminal will be useless.
If so, I agree with you, but reading your lines I have remembered that I have a cousin with an iPhone 3G and I chat with her daily. The information does not match.
This is what they put on specialized websites: «As the Itunes page indicates, the new version of WhatsApp requires iOS 4.3 or later. While the Iphone 3g stayed in version 4.2.1. »
What I am going to is that you will not be able to update the WhatsApp but you can use the version that you already had installed. Those who want to install it from scratch will be screwed.
As I told you before (I think it was not published) I have a cousin with an iPhone 3g and I WhatsApp almost daily with her. The information does not match.
The only iPhone that supports the latest version of WhatsApp is 3GS; the rest, even if we have the purchased version like me, we cannot use it. So, find out. Thank you for your comments.-
Well that is a chore. Thanks to you for informing us
I disagree with some comments that have been made, because I bought my iPad 3 thinking that it would not be short on features, and we all know that the applications that are called are increasingly demanding, and more considering that many of them They are programmed taking into account the latest models, there is no mention of the accessories that will have to be eaten with potatoes due to the new connector, nor of the 8-hour charging period. .. in short, that for my part I will switch to less glamorous devices but that will allow me, for example, to connect a traditional USB. I sincerely believe that the policy that the apple company is carrying out no longer treats the customer as in the past, neither in guarantees (which by the way the EU regulations are passed through the lining), nor in attention. But it's just my humble opinion.
It happened to me and I'm upset (if there is a difference between the 3rd and 4th), without further comment.
I agree with many reviewers here, the ipad 3 is not obsolete, it is more likely to have a life of one 3 years before it becomes obsolete.
OP is when a product stops working as it should, which creates the dilemma of whether to repair or buy new.
That a new product comes out does not mean that the one you have at home does not work. In the iPhone case, the last 4 to 5 are made with OP, there is no doubt about that.
As they say in a previous meal, the problem is that people want the latest.
The problem is not that we want the latest, it is that if we do not have something more or less current, we cannot give it the same use as before.
Tell me why you want an iphone 2g or 3g if you can no longer use most applications because you cannot install 3.1.3 and 4.2.1 respectively.
Not to mention the shit of the iphone 3g with 4.2.1, which is much worse than with 3.1.3 and there is no way to leave it like that, and Apple does not fix it.
Maybe it's time you watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nULL6hR-mhM
For all those who do not know what the term "obsolescent" means, here is your definition of the RAE:
"That it is becoming obsolete, that it is falling into disuse." Obsolete implies "outdated", not "that has stopped working", as many say.
Where is the sensationalism here? Gentlemen, we are breaking the news that an organization in Brazil has sued Apple for "planned obsolescence." We analyze this type of strategy carried out by technology companies and present the Brazilian case.
You have to read the articles well.
It is not a problem that it is linguistically incorrect to call it 'programmed obsolescence', it is clear that it fits without problem in the definition of both terms; The problem is that it is a concept that has been used for years in the direction of talking about pure and simple 'functionality', and here we are talking about something else, more linked to another type of business strategy that plays with anxiety, stupidity or let's call it what we want from the client, which has nothing to do with programming the failure of the product (most vile practice, without a doubt, to exonerate Apple from something, which is not my interest either). All this does not detract from the article, but it is to mix churras with merino, I think.
In my opinion, it seems ridiculous to get angry about this, it happens in each and every one of the companies in the world, not to mention that the fact that a better iPad has come out, does not mean that your iPad becomes worse, it remains the same It would be different if they stopped supporting said product but it is not the case (in Apple even the iPhone 3GS has iOS 6.1.2 at the moment).
The truth just seems like an excuse to always have "the latest" and not have something you need.
I've been a Mac user for 25 years, an iPhone for three and a Pad for just one. With the latter I constantly have the feeling that every day they work worse. In the last few days my iPad2 no longer detects the Wi-Fi network in my house that a few months ago it captured without problems. My iPhone 3S looks like a car with square wheels. I am convinced that the software is programmed to perform worse after a certain period of time. d done I don't even dare to update the software.
people get more ambitious every time
They will not get sick, they will not eat, nothing will happen to them if they do not have it, I do not like technology very much, I am happy with my cell phone, nokia express, musis, hahaha, I would not change it for a galaxie s2 or for the last ipad.
technology is short-term, things are becoming more disposable but what makes people excited is the luxury on the outside and unfortunately people fall down and do not inform themselves well
It seems to me a complete stupidity, of all the points in which you had been able to demonstrate how apple carries out programmed obsolescence, you have taken the only one in which they were not guilty of it, what's more, it does not even meet the definition of what is understood by planned obsolescence.
The planned obsolescence at Apple is not this, it is based on the wrong updates and the terrible optimization that is done. Because it is very easy to see how an Apple device DRASTICALLY slows down as Apple updates it over the two years of software support.
And this is something that happens even with Macs, where the only thing that has technical support to tell customers that they have updated to the latest version of OS X, and have seen their speed greatly reduced is a simple and straightforward: « Maybe it's time to buy a new model »