planned obsolescence 

A process which involves a manufacture to develope a product (such as a car, video game console, TV) with the intentions of making it obsolete and/or non-functional after a certain period of time in order to sales and profit. It has benefits for a producer (repeat purchases) but disadvantages for the consumer(waste of time and money).

Man, I have to go to the store again; my toaster broke and it would cost more to fix it than to buy a new one. Freakin' planned obsolescence.

planned obsolescence by Yza January 11, 2009

Enforced Obsolescence 

A more heavy-handed version of Planned Obsolescence usually employed in the high-tech industry, especially software. Consumers of a product are forced to upgrade through some new technology rendering an old one literally unusable, usually through unnecessary incompatibility issues.

Porting a game from the 360 to the PC, rewritten to require DX10 when DX9 was used originally and clearly runs the game, can only be Enforced Obsolescence.

Enforced Obsolescence by Digital Watches May 26, 2010

planned obsolescence 

A business strategy where a company plans the obsolescence of a product to encourage the purchase of a newer version of a product. This can be done in several ways, ranging from bad engineering to breaking updates. Apple most famously uses this strategy to slow down iPhones and iPads of 1-2 generations back to encourage people to buy a new more expensive iPhone.

Person 1: "My iPhone is slow! I can't believe it, I have an iPhone 6 which is only 1 generation behind!!!"
Person 2: "Yeah, Apple slows down the iPhone a lot via updates to try and get you to buy a new one. That's called planned obsolescence."

planned obsolescence by pokemoneuro August 22, 2017

Arbitrary Obsolescence Fallacy

The claim that socialism and communism are outdated ideologies from the 19th century, while capitalism is presented as timeless, natural, and permanently relevant—despite capitalism also being a 19th-century ideology that has changed dramatically over time. This fallacy arbitrarily declares one set of ideas expired while granting another eternal freshness, based on nothing but preference. It's like saying horses are outdated but cars are forever, ignoring that cars will also be obsolete someday, and that the criteria for "outdated" are entirely made up. The arbitrary obsolescence fallacy allows capitalism's defenders to avoid engaging with socialist critiques by simply declaring them old, as if age determined validity rather than, you know, evidence and argument.

*Example: "In the debate, he deployed the arbitrary obsolescence fallacy: 'Socialism is a 19th-century idea that failed everywhere it was tried. Capitalism is modern, dynamic, the future.' She pointed out that capitalism was also a 19th-century idea, that it had also failed many people, and that 'modern' was just a vibe, not an argument. He responded with 'but look at the stock market.' The fallacy held strong."*

Arbitrary Obsolescence Fallacy by Dumu The Void February 15, 2026

pre-obsolescent 

(adj.) Something recently acquired that, due to inferior construction, breaks before you can use it, making it useless, e.g. cheap bin liners, corporate gift pens, etc.

A: Hey, this pen I was given when attending that workshop is really shiny but it doesn’t write.

B: Yeah, that’s because it’s pre-obsolescent.

pre-obsolescent by W. T. Figo November 21, 2010

Planned Jobsolescence 

Term describing the pre-meditated set of accumulated difficulties with Apple devices over time. These difficulties include increasingly insensitive buttons/touch screen, as well as an inability to make use of new network capabilities. Devices inevitably become extremely frustrating to use just as the next generation device comes to market.

The home button on my iPhone 4 crapped out just as the sweet new 5 came out. Planned Jobsolescence has compelled me to donate more money to Apple.

Planned Jobsolescence by ursus maritimus July 16, 2014

obsolessence

Refers to when da basics or aromas of a particular concept or substance are so very yesterday.

Perfumes are notorious for planned obsolessence as new scents are created in da labs.

obsolessence by QuacksO December 20, 2025