In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence is the concept of policies planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life or a purposely frail design, so that it becomes obsolete after a certain pre-determined period of time upon which it decrementally functions or suddenly ceases to function, or might be perceived as unfashionable. The rationale behind this strategy is to generate long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. It is the deliberate shortening of the lifespan of a product to force people to purchase functional replacements.
The 1923 Chevrolet is cited as one of the earliest examples of annual facelifts in the car industry because it had a restyled body covering what essentially was nine-year-old technology.
Pentalobe screws used in an iPhone 6S. Critics have argued that Apple's use of pentalobe screws in their newer devices is an attempt to prevent the owner from repairing the device themselves.
Ending the Depression Through Planned Obsolescence, by Bernard London, 1932
Product lifetime or product lifespan is the time interval from when a product is sold to when it is discarded.
Prince was built 1863 and operated 1864–1936, 1955–1968, 1980-present, a product life of over 150 years, a service life of around 125 years
