your next fridge may be obsolete after 2 years

June 22, 2020

Shift the June 8, 2020 at 7:39 p.m.

smart health connected appliances, a waste? "Which?" The British equivalent of Que Choisir is very critical of manufacturers in an investigation. Too many brands choose not to commit to support for updates beyond two years, which quickly plunges these more expensive devices than others into obsolescence.

The British equivalent of Que Choisir has just published investigation who puts their finger on the practices of the manufacturers of smart health connected household appliances as regards updates. Without these, devices end up losing functionality and endangering their security. Devices that are no longer subject to updates end up becoming obsolete. And when it comes to appliances, it’s a shame in more ways than one.

First, because these devices generally have a very long lifespan when they are not smart health connected. According to Which? we are talking about an average lifespan of 10 years for dishwashers and washing machines, and 11 years for a fridge. Then because the smart health connected household appliances are sold significantly more expensive. Which? suggests an average premium of 855 Pounds Sterling (€ 960) for a smart health connected fridge, 259 Pounds (€ 290) for a smart health connected dishwasher and 190 Pounds (€ 213) for a dryer.

The British Que Choisir advises against buying smart health connected appliances for the moment

However, for the time being, manufacturers are vague as to the exact duration of support for updates. After asking the big manufacturers, Which? realized that most of them just announce updates "Throughout the life of the product" without specifying this duration. The more precise answers vary so much from one brand to another that it seems far from superfluous.

When some brands like Beko and Miele (there are not many) make it clear that you have to understand "10 years maximum", others, like Samsung, for example, prefer to guarantee these updates for a period "At least 2 years old". However, when purchasing, the consumer does not have access to this information. And again, we are talking about brands that agree to give an answer. Some manufacturers like those of the BHS group (Bosh, Neff and Siemens) stick to the terms "Throughout the life of the product" without further details.

Read also: Scheduled obsolescence – Que Choisir launches a fault observatory to report faulty devices

Which? recalls that a European directive will soon force all manufacturers to specify at the time of purchase the duration of support for the product. The magazine does not recommend buying smart health connected appliances until this information is clearly communicated, and recommends to prefer more reliable and less expensive classic alternatives.

Source: The Guardian