The iPhone's Malaise Era Parallels the Ford Pinto's Struggle
· real-estate
The Malaise Era of Tech: When Better Gets Worse and Costs More
The latest iPhone may have just arrived in stores, but for many consumers, it’s already feeling like a tired rehashing of last year’s model – and priced accordingly. This trend is reminiscent of the automotive Malaise Era of the 1970s, when American car manufacturers struggled to adapt to changing external factors.
In that decade-long period, rising oil prices and new safety regulations forced car companies to improve their technology and become more consumer-friendly. The Ford Pinto, for example, was a symbol of this era’s malaise: a car that cost more but delivered less. Today’s smartphone market has some striking similarities with the Malaise Era.
The global memory crisis is a major contributor to the trend of enshittification – a term coined by science fiction author Cory Doctorow in 2022 to describe the process of tech platforms degrading products and squeezing profits out of users. This phenomenon affects not just Apple or the iPhone, but many industries, from cars to consumer electronics.
Rising prices, decreased performance, and general dissatisfaction are all signs of enshittification. By recognizing these patterns, consumers can begin to make more informed choices about the products they buy. The global memory crisis is a major contributor to this trend, with only a handful of companies dominating the market for computer memory. As demand continues to outstrip supply, prices are expected to remain high even as shipments decline.
This situation is not unique to tech – it’s a common pattern in industries where innovation and investment converge with scarcity and competition. However, enshittification presents both a challenge and an opportunity for consumers. By understanding the forces driving this trend, we can begin to demand better from the companies that serve us.
Tech giants like Apple must consider the long-term implications of their business model and prioritize consumer value over short-term profits. As prices continue to rise and satisfaction levels decline, it’s essential to remember that consumers have agency in shaping the market. By embracing a more critical and empowered approach to buying and using technology, we can create a future where better doesn’t always get worse – and costs don’t necessarily rise.
Ultimately, the choice is ours: will we continue down the road of enshittification, or will we seize this moment as an opportunity to rewrite the rules of tech?
Reader Views
- TCThe Closing Desk · editorial
The iPhone's malaise era is not just about stagnating innovation, but also about the systemic pressure of high demand and limited supply in the global tech market. What the article glosses over is how this trend affects smaller manufacturers who can't compete with the likes of Apple's economies of scale. Their ability to invest in R&D and mitigate the effects of enshittification is compromised by the scarcity of components, ultimately limiting consumer choice. This is a key factor that could accelerate the concentration of market power and stifle innovation even further.
- OTOwen T. · property investor
While I agree that today's smartphone market has some eerie parallels with the Malaise Era of the 1970s, I think the article overlooks a crucial aspect: supply chain resilience. As a property investor, I've seen firsthand how disruptions in critical infrastructure can decimate entire industries. In this case, the global memory crisis is being fueled by Taiwan's strained chip production, which has nothing to do with market forces or consumer preferences. We need to consider the role of systemic vulnerabilities in driving enshittification, rather than just blaming corporate greed and market dynamics.
- RBRachel B. · real-estate agent
While I appreciate the analogy between the iPhone's malaise and the Ford Pinto's struggle, I think we're overlooking a key factor: the role of planned obsolescence in driving enshittification. Manufacturers are intentionally designing products to have shorter lifespans, forcing consumers to upgrade more frequently and boosting profits. This practice is just as prevalent in the tech industry as it was in the automotive sector during the Malaise Era. If we're going to hold manufacturers accountable for their role in this trend, we need to address planned obsolescence head-on.