Logitech’s concept of a “forever mouse” isn’t just impractical; it’s a predatory practice that harms consumers and doesn’t make sense as a product. Recently, Logitech’s new chief executive Hanneke Faber discussed this concept on The Verge’s Decoder podcast. Faber explained that the idea was to create a high-quality mouse with excellent software and services, which would be continuously updated, ensuring it never becomes obsolete.
Initially, this sounds promising. However, the other shoe soon dropped: “The business model obviously is the challenge there,” Faber said. “So then software is even more important when you think about it. Can you come up with a service model?”
The conversation inevitably turned to subscriptions. “So you pay a subscription for software updates to your mouse,” The Verge’s Nilay Patel suggested.
“Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again,” Faber replied. Cue the collective facepalm.
There are several major issues with Logitech’s “forever mouse” idea. Firstly, hardware companies should naturally support their products without additional costs. Secondly, hiding features behind a subscription paywall is exploitative. Finally, the concept of hardware as a service is fundamentally anti-consumer and needs to stop.
Good companies already support their products
When we purchase a product, we expect ongoing support from the manufacturer. This has been standard practice for years. In the automotive industry, products come with warranties. In tech, products come with warranties and years of support. The European Union has even proposed rules requiring manufacturers to service out-of-warranty parts.
This is necessary because most tech products rely on software drivers to function with other applications and operating systems. These drivers enable even decades-old products to operate. Many legacy products continue to run on modern systems because their manufacturers have maintained support until forced obsolescence by external factors, such as the transition from serial ports to USB.
A good company supports its products without charging extra.
Hiding new features behind a paywall is predatory
Charging a subscription fee for mouse software updates is exploitative. I recently reviewed a product with AI-powered transcription services that advertised free lifetime transcriptions but required an additional fee to identify speakers or export the transcription.
Logitech already offers services without paywalls, such as the Flow software that allows seamless cursor movement between PCs on the MX Master series and AI-powered features like Logi Prompt Builder. The backlash BMW faced when they attempted to charge for heated seats should serve as a warning. Imagine if Logitech locked essential features behind a subscription; it would be unacceptable.
Logi Prompt Builder is a feature of the Signature AI Edition M750 Wireless Mouse, and Flow is part of the Logitech MX series. It’s hard to imagine Logitech not bundling all its best features into a subscription model, which would be a terrible move.
No more hardware as a service!
What’s baffling is that we’ve been down this road before. HP attempted a subscription printer model, only to abandon it after consumer backlash. The fact that Logitech is considering something similar is perplexing.
We already have too many subscriptions, and now they’re creeping into hardware.
Why is this happening? As hardware becomes more integrated with software, companies like Intel and AMD employ thousands of software developers. Logitech is no different. As hardware evolves, it’s becoming more like software, with permissions, licenses, and subscriptions dictating what users can and cannot do.
