Planned Obsolescence actually is not as bad as people think

 As I install and assemble a wide variety of products and devices for customers on a daily basis, I hear the common complaints people have referring to the perceived lesser quality of thise items.  I say perceived because in some cases it's a point of view that isn't taking all the information into consideration. 

Planned obsolescence, as we see it exercised throughout American industry, takes a product, examines the variety of possible materials,  designs, and intended or desired results for that product and intentionally shoots for a "middle ground" that provides the majority of desired results, using the least expensive materials at a high production volume.

So yes, these products are designed to fail. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Do some companies take it too far and just put out poor products?  Unfortunately true.  These companies are only out for the quick buck and are likely, probably anticipating, closing down quickly and under rushed circumstances. And they make everyone else look bad.  There's always the bad apples. 

But the vast majority of manufacturers are actually trying to put out products that consumers will value.  They put a lot of time, money, and effort into development. But... the thing about putting out the highest quality is that it often makes the cost of the item out of reach of most people to afford it.

By shooting for items made with more affordable materials, though not of the greatest quality, and using innovative design, they are able to put more products within reach of more people.  This gives us access to products that most might never have otherwise.

Historically speaking,  there's also a concept of market saturation.   When you have products that are built to last "forever", eventually everyone who wants or needs one will have one and there's no one left to market to.  Company goes out of business.  Jobs are lost, advancement and innovative development are stopped.

Planned obsolescence gives businesses longevity and the ability to continue to advance and innovate those products via generational progress.  Each new iteration of the product is more advanced than the previous one bringing more rapid maturity and affordability to newer technologies instead of limited and slow advancement.

So yes, there are unfortunate aspects to planned obsolescence in terms of lower quality and more frequent replacement of products.  It gets frustrating.   At the same time, we wouldn't have such widespread access to so many people of newer and useful technologies if it weren't for this approach.