Customers want to know how long their expensive devices are going to be supported before they make purchases. Responsible designers will publish their product’s support lifetime and make that information easy to find for consumers.
When users aren’t aware of a product’s support lifetime, especially when the company is nearing end-of-support, it can cause serious problems. Sonos’ despicable end-of-life strategy in 2020 is one example: Sonos announced that they would stop supporting newly labeled “legacy products” (some which were produced as recently as 2015 – is a five-year-old speaker really “legacy”? really?). The underlying problem with the announcement was that keeping functional legacy products in your sound system would mean that products still supported by the company would no longer receive software updates. There was no prior announcement for this change. Tough luck if you recently bought one of the older models.
Currently, Apple is the company we’re aware of with one of the best support policies – and it’s even better because it’s actually written down for consumers to see, unlike with Sonos. For example, Apple guarantees that repair services and parts can be received for a minimum of 5 years from when Apple last distributed the product, or 7 years to adhere to EU regulations (and possibly even longer now with regulatory changes that are in the pipeline). Macbook battery replacements have a 10-year support guarantee after distribution. Apple has also stated that the goal is devices will receive five years of software support after release, plus exceptional security updates for longer. They have beaten this guarantee so far – the iPhone 6s/6s+ can use iOS 15, which is 6 years of software support and counting.
Use Apple as your example: clearly publish your support times and then do your best to exceed them whenever possible.
Related Entries
- This concept was derived from our article Bricked for Want of Support
- Responsible Designers Support Their Devices
- Responsible Designers have an Indefinite Support Plan
Examples of Published Lifetimes
- Apple
- Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty
- How Long Does Apple Support Older iPhone Models?
- Apple publicly commits to updating iPhones for at least 5 years after its “first supply date”. In reality, Apple usually exceeds this commitment by several years.
Case Studies
References
- Letter: Groups call on FTC to develop clear guidance for use of ‘software tethering’
Require disclosure of a guaranteed minimum support time on the product packaging: Companies should plan for and disclose, to the consumer, their plans for both security updates but also anticipated engineering and cloud resources to keep a product functional to a certain date. This date can be extended at the company’s discretion, but should represent the minimum amount of time that the consumer can rely on the product to keep working. The Federal Communications Commission has started down this path with its voluntary U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program that asks those that get the label to include a minimum support date by which consumers can expect to receive security updates, but also allows companies to state that they have no plans to include support time frames. The ability to ignore the requirement to post a minimum support date, and the voluntary nature of the FCC’s program means there is still a sizable opportunity for companies to harm consumers by shutting down or stopping security updates for their connected devices without providing any compensation or even notice to consumers.
Commensurate with mandated minimum support time frames on packaging, the FTC should also help establish minimum support expectations for different classes of devices. Consumers are using trial and error to figure out the expected lifespan of their connected products. But when it comes to cars, large connected appliances, or products installed in homes the agency should establish clear guidelines for an expected lifespan that matches software support to the hardware lifespan.
Mandating companies include minimum support times on their connected products enables consumers to make informed choices about which products to purchase. Clear communications around the expected lifespan of connected products will help manufacturers allocate resources for their connected products and help regulators recognize egregious examples of software obsolescence. It will also help consumers understand the tradeoffs they may be making when they choose a connected product over a “dumb” one.
- FTC urged to make smart devices say how long they will be supported – Ars Technica
In a letter sent today to Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, and Serena Viswanathan, associate director of the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices, representatives from 17 groups, including Consumer Reports, the US PIRG, and iFixit, urged the FTC for “clear guidance” around software tethering. Software tethering, per the letter, is “making functions of a device reliant on embedded software that ties the device back to a manufacturer’s servers.” As it stands, the practice is hurting customers with “unfair and deceptive practices,” such as suddenly locking features behind a subscription—like the Snoo smart bassinet recently did—or bricking already-purchased devices, which Spotify did with its Car Thing.
- Plan for death at the start of building your connected device – Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis
Amazon isn’t the only company that has ended its products’ lives early. The German company behind the Neato vacuum, Vorwerk, shut down the vacuum division this year. But it also said it would maintain a staff of 14 people for the next five years to ensure the security and functioning of the vacuum’s cloud software and app. Vorwerk further said that it would provide replacement parts for up to five years.
Expiration dates for smart devices
Had I know all of that when buying my cameras, I probably would have been fine with the cost/benefits tradeoff. But others may not have. And this is why in today’s day and age, every single device should come with a guarantee that the device will work for a set number of years.
Companies can go beyond this date, but they need to establish minimums that get displayed on the box and for devices sold online, at the point of sale. This includes how long the device will get new features and essential security updates. The UK has already enshrined this idea in regulations that will take effect in April next year.
Additionally, knowing the device expiration date can help companies figure out how much money they should set aside in the escrow accounts. It also ensures that when another company buys a connected device maker, they can’t simply shut it down. Connected devices have been around long enough that we understand the challenges they pose for business models and the challenges that result when those companies fail.