Built to Not Last

Khoi Vinh:

Several times a year, Apple rolls out hardware products that are, in terms of pure design smarts and innovation, leagues beyond what their competitors are capable of. Their machines are more beautiful, better built and, admittedly, longer-lasting than just about any other high tech hardware out there. But if the durability of, say, a Dell laptop is two or three years, and if Apple’s hardware improves on that two or even three times, it’s still not doing that much better than the mean. What would be really impressive is an iPod or iPhone that lasts for decades.

I felt an immediate and desperate yearning for the new MacBook Pro when it was unveiled, as I do after many of Apple’s product announcements. Yet I soon realised that I can wait a little longer before upgrading my current set-up. In fact, I’m finding myself looking at people using older Apple hardware with increasing admiration.

As such, I’m not sure I buy into Khoi’s argument. Apple product can last if treated with care, and those scratches perhaps highlight a problem with our own attitudes, not Apple’s.

Be sure to read the comments and Khoi’s follow up too.