Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by theluketaylor on Sunday June 25, 2023 @01:37PM
(#36470744)
Or it actually accelerates the model pumping. If the software has to be supported for 5 years after it’s last on sale there could be a perverse incentive to roll SKUs like crazy even if there are not any actual changes so you only have to support for the shortest possible time.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by mschild on Sunday June 25, 2023 @02:47PM
(#36471369)
That would still effectively be 5 years of updates which is a hell of a lot better than what most manufacturers currently offer.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by sverhagen on Sunday June 25, 2023 @10:30PM
(#36475044)
Sure it would be, but I think the implied point above was that including the period the device is sold (what's that? say three years), the total support time is much closer to the ten years that was being discussed up top, and pumping out more new devices may shorten that back to closer to five years.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by happymellon on Monday June 26, 2023 @03:09AM
(#36476640)
Does having 3 devices that you are supporting for 10 years make more work than 10 devices you support for 5?
Because while that doesn't make sense in my head, I could easily see that being the methodology used by the Android device manufacturers.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by sverhagen on Monday June 26, 2023 @05:51AM
(#36477677)
If these ten devices are mere SKU updates, then maybe yes, they create a sliding five year support window (plus however long they're being sold), instead of a ten year one. Keeping software working for a five year old hardware platform sounds a lot easier than doing that for a ten year old one. A lot less Git branches also.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by ulucs on Monday June 26, 2023 @06:17AM
(#36477835)
If the ten devices are mere SKU updates made solely for the reason of getting around the regulations, then the company can expect a rather huge fine :^)
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by mschild on Monday June 26, 2023 @10:00AM
(#36479746)
Of course, but any increase is an upgrade to the current situation.
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by beebeepka on Sunday June 25, 2023 @02:49PM
(#36471388)
Fantastic point. Chinese manufacturers pump out SKUs like crazy - several new models every six months or so.
Of course, it might turn out as theluketaylor says but I doubt it
Re:Making sense of the EU’s fight for user-replaceable smart...
by sverhagen on Sunday June 25, 2023 @10:33PM
(#36475062)
Maybe that's just waiting on some settled precedents on what's really a new model. Could this be brought before a judge who'd then possibly rule that SKUs 1, 2, and 3 are essentially the same device and should thus count as such for the purposes meant here?
This in turn should make for better parts availability since the window that any given model is manufactured in is wider. It'd also incentivize sharing parts between models where possible.
All in all, positive for the end consumer. It might've been a problem in the earlier days of smartphones, but the category has more or less plateaued by now and so the benefit of high model churn with each new model sharing little with its predecessor is dubious at best.