From glued-in batteries to software lockouts, you’re paying more than ever for gadgets that won’t last. Here’s why and what can do done about it.
In 2013, I warned about an alarming trend: consumer electronics becoming unrepairable. Back then, ultrabooks and tablets dazzled with their sleek, lightweight designs, but the trade-offs were hard to ignore. RAM and SSDs were soldered to motherboards. Batteries were glued in place. Proprietary screws and tools locked users out of their own devices. The writing was on the wall for repairability.
Now, a decade later, the situation is no longer troubling — it’s infuriating. Nearly every device we rely on — from laptops and smartphones to IoT gadgets — is designed to fail. Repairs are so expensive they might as well not exist. Upgrades? Forget them. And when something breaks, you often have no option but to replace the entire device. It’s a scam, plain and simple, dressed up as progress.
This isn’t an accident — it’s by design. As Netflix’s Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy reveals, manufacturers deliberately make products disposable to maximize profits. Even worse, this is happening during a time of skyrocketing prices. Inflation has pushed the cost of devices to unprecedented levels, yet we’re being sold products with shorter lifespans. This isn’t poor design — it’s betrayal. Here’s how the tech industry is failing you.
The rise of system-on-chip (SoC) architectures has transformed modern electronics. These chips integrate the CPU, GPU, RAM, and sometimes even storage onto a single component, delivering incredible performance and efficiency. But there’s a catch: soldered components mean no upgrades, repairs, or flexibility.
Take Apple’s M-series MacBooks. The RAM and storage you choose at checkout are the maximum you’ll ever have. Need more storage in two years? Too bad — you’ll have to replace the entire device. Worse, the entire system becomes a brick if any part of the SoC fails — whether it’s the CPU, RAM, or storage. Repairs are nearly impossible, and replacement costs are astronomical.
This isn’t an accidental trade-off — it’s deliberate. By soldering components and tightly integrating them, manufacturers lock you into their ecosystem and ensure you’re forced to replace devices instead of extending their lifespan. Even outside of SoCs, soldered parts have become the norm, turning previously modular devices like laptops and desktops into repair nightmares.
Battery degradation is inevitable, but manufacturers have turned it into a feature designed to drive repeat purchases. Batteries are now glued into devices, making replacement expensive, risky, and often impractical.
Consider Apple’s AirPods. These wildly popular earbuds have non-replaceable batteries that last only 2-3 years. Once the batteries die, the entire product becomes e-waste. Similarly, laptops, smartphones, and wearables now follow this pattern. What used to be a simple task — swapping out a battery — is now a costly ordeal requiring professional tools and expertise.
