Logitech CEO Proposes Building Products That Last a Long Time ⇥ theverge.com

Nilay Patel, of the Verge, interviewed Hanneke Faber, CEO of Logitech, for the Decoder podcast.

NP […] You sell me the keyboard once. It’s got Options Plus. It has an AI button. I push the button, and someone has to make sure the software still works. Someone probably has to pay ChatGPT for access to the service. Where is that going to come from? Are you baking that into the margin of the keyboard or the mouse?

HF Absolutely. We’re baking that in, and I’m not particularly worried about that. What I’m actually hoping is that this will contribute to the longevity of our products, that we’ll have more premium products but products that last longer because they’re superior and because we can continue to update them over time. And again, I talked about doubling the business and reducing the carbon footprint by half. The longevity piece is really important.

I’m very intrigued. The other day, in Ireland, in our innovation center there, one of our team members showed me a forever mouse with the comparison to a watch. This is a nice watch, not a super expensive watch, but I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse. The forever mouse is one of the things that we’d like to get to.

Faber goes on to say this is a mouse with always-updated software, “heavier” — which I interpreted as more durable — and something which could provide other services. In response to Patel’s hypothetical of paying $200 one time, Faber said the “business model obviously is the challenge there”, and floats solving that through either a subscription model or inventing new products which get buyers to upgrade.

The part of this which is getting some attention is the idea of a subscription model for a mouse which is, to be fair, stupid. But the part which I was surprised by is the implication that longevity is not a priority for business model reasons. I am not always keen to ascribe these things to planned obsolesce, yet this interview sure looks like Faber is outright saying Logitech does not design products with the intention of them lasting for what at least seems like “forever”.

To be fair, I have not bought anything from Logitech in a long time, and I do not remember when I last did. I believe its cable may have terminated in a PS/2 plug. I switched to a trackpad on my desk long ago. When I bought my Magic Trackpad in 2015, I assumed I would not have to replace it for at least a decade; nine years later, I have not even thought about getting a new one. Even if its built-in battery dies — its sole weakness — I think I will be able to keep using it in wired mode.

But then I went on Wikipedia to double-check the release date of the second-generation Magic Trackpad, and I scrolled to the “Reception” section. Both generations were criticized as being too expensive at $70 for the first version, and $130 for the second. But both price tags seem like a good deal for a quality product. Things should be built with the intention they will last a long time, and a $200 mouse is a fine option if it is durable and could be repaired if something breaks.

I know this is something which compromises business models built on repeat business from the same customers, whether that means replacing a broken product or a monthly recurring charge. But it is rare for a CEO to say so in such clear terms. I appreciate the honesty, but I am repelled by the idea.