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Logitech has an idea for a “forever mouse” that requires a subscription

Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber recently discussed the possibility of one day selling a mouse that customers can use “forever.” The executive said such a mouse isn’t “necessarily super far away” and will rely on software updates, likely delivered through a subscription model.

Speaking on a July 29 episode of The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Faber, who Logitech appointed as CEO in October, said that members of a “Logitech innovation center” showed her “a forever mouse” and compared it to a nice but not “super expensive” watch. She said:

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.

Having to pay a regular fee for full use of a peripheral could deter customers, though. HP is trying a similar idea with rentable printers that require a monthly fee. The printers differ from the idea of the forever mouse in that the HP hardware belongs to HP, not the user. However, concerns around tracking and the addition of ongoing expenses are similar.>>>>

onlinepersona ,

She can fuck right off with that. I have a mouse that fell apart because it used soft plastic, another one I threw away because I couldn’t clean properly (taking it apart to clean broke something), and now I have one from logitech. My parents have a mouse from (I kid you not) 1995. Brand is unknown. There were already “forever” mice out there, it’s just that now they voluntarily make them shit for you to buy a new one.

Just make mice like 20 years ago but in different forms (vertical, ball at the thumb), that can be opened to clean and repair, and we’re fine. No need for your dumb-ass subscription. Fuck off.

Anti Commercial-AI license

Dyskolos ,

What? Nooo. I don’t want the stupid mouse-balls ever again. Sure i could clean it but i also HAD to. Regularly.

Besides, you’re right. Fuck subscriptions. Fuck logitech, fuck their shitty quality.

MalReynolds ,
@MalReynolds@slrpnk.net avatar

They’re talking about a Trackball mouse e.g., not the pre laser mice (or they’re nuts). Good ergonomics, useful for carpal tunnel etc.

FWIW I’ve found their high-end mice pretty robust, my MX Master 2 is still going strong 5+ years in, if cosmetically challenged. Amortised over time, the price is not so bad.

r00ty Admin ,
r00ty avatar

I find anything with that coated plastic over time gets crappy. I still have an old X52 pro I've had for probably around 15 years now. In the end I just completely took off the flaking rubber style coating they put over it and it's now shiny plastic and still going strong.

I also have a G502 that's 6 years old. It has some worn areas where it's actively held and on the buttons. I replaced the skates last year and have a spare set. Otherwise, still going strong.

Really not sure why I'd subscribe for something that lasts so long and isn't THAT expensive to replace.

MalReynolds ,
@MalReynolds@slrpnk.net avatar

Oh hell no to subscribing, thought didn’t cross my mind. Save us from MBAs with revenue streams on their mind, wannabe rentiers.

metaStatic ,

Vegas odds that's a Genius mouse

pupbiru ,

i mean they literally admit to it in the article… they need to find the “business model” to support it, which could mean a subscription and an expensive price tag… the reason isn’t because it needs ongoing support - it’s because of planned obsolescence

boo hoo we can’t make money off selling you shit every few years so we have to charge you $200 and a subscription

DeltaTangoLima ,
@DeltaTangoLima@reddrefuge.com avatar

Seriously, fuck all these “subscription” ideas.

Why in the ever-loving fuck would I want to pay a subscription for a goddam computer mouse? Some techbro fuckwit is probably chest-bumping his own reflection in the mirror for coming up with this dumb idea.

Here’s a novel idea to help you keep revenue going the right direction: try innovating something truly useful and new, rather than selling the same, regurgitated Hotel California bullshit to hapless users.

TranquilTurbulence ,

Yeah it’s a horrible idea in all the usual ways, but hear me out. What if Logitech figures out a way to provide actual value to the customer? What if you get a new mouse every year if you send the old one back? That way, you would be paying a subscription for always having the latest mouse. Probably not something I would do, but someone who has more money might appreciate a service like that.

emmanuel_car ,

Not sure if /s or not, but I’ll bite. That’s the opposite of what they’ve stated in the article. This would be a mouse that you buy and use forever, no physical upgrades, just software. There is no value for the customer, only the shareholders.

tal , (edited )
@tal@lemmy.today avatar

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?

Because watch technology is mature and isn’t changing. Nobody’s making a better watch every few years.

That generally isn’t true of computer hardware.

In the 1980s, you had maybe a one or two button mouse with mechanical optical encoder rings turned by a ball that gummed up and would stick.

After that:

  • A third mouse button showed up
  • A scrollwheel showed up
  • Optical sensors showed up.
  • Better optical sensors showed up
  • Polling rate improved
  • Mice got the ability to go to sleep if not being used.
  • More buttons showed up, with mice often having five or more buttons.
  • Tilt scrollwheels showed up
  • Wireless mice showed up
  • Better wireless protocols showed up
  • Optical sensor resolutions drastically increased
  • Weight decreased
  • Foot pads used less-friction-inducing material.
  • Several updates happened to track changing ports (on PC, serial, PS/2, USB-A, and probably soon USB-C).

If wristwatches had improved like that over the past 40 years, you likely wouldn’t be keeping an older one either.

If you think that there isn’t going to be any more change in mice, okay, maybe you can try selling people on the same mouse for a long time. I’m skeptical.

floofloof ,

Most of those changes to mice make very little difference to regular users. And the low-priced mice most people use aren’t so different from the old ones. Wireless is a mixed blessing because it comes with having to recharge a battery which is often not replaceable. Polling rate and DPI is only of interest to niche users. Most people probably never tilt the wheel. So for many an old wired mouse will still do fine.

Anyway, Logitech’s “forever mouse”, if it’s really forever, doesn’t really fit with the idea that mouse technology evolves enough that you need to replace the mouse every few years. That said, it’s probably the subscription that’s forever, not the mouse.

In watches, smart watches are new and still developing, and some of them already have “premium” subscription services.

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar
  • A third mouse button showed up
  • A scrollwheel showed up
  • Optical sensors showed up.
  • Better optical sensors showed up
  • Polling rate improved

... and then everybody joined me in thinking that this would be a good place to stop and actively avoided the continued attempts to sell us on new features that further complicate things.

NigelFrobisher ,

But I have a mouse from 20 years ago that works just fine.

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

I'm using a Logitech mouse from probably 15 years ago that gets daily use and works just fine. I'm not sure how much it cost, but I don't think I've ever paid more than about $20 for a mouse and probably the only reason I'd have picked one from Logitech is that it was the only one available at the shop I happened to be in at the time that wasn't a ridiculous overpriced "gaming" product.

supergrizzlybear ,
@supergrizzlybear@pawb.social avatar

Weird analogy, you don’t to pay a subscription for your nice watch to keep the right time

massive_bereavement ,

Yet!

ryannathans ,

If it’s a nice watch you’re setting it almost every time you use it

SteevyT ,

Hell, mine needs wound up every time.

amio ,

Ssssshhhh, for god's sake don't give them any ideas.

FlashMobOfOne ,
@FlashMobOfOne@beehaw.org avatar

This is as stupid an idea as Wendy’s ‘surge pricing’ nonsense.

clb92 ,

What’s the value proposition here? Free no-questions-asked replacement if it breaks? Free upgrades when new models come out (though they have no real incentive to keep developing new “forever mice”)?

If my mice on average last, say, 6 years and cost $175 (I splurged on a high-end one last time), the subscription will have to be less than $2.40/month, and since customers absolute hate subscriptions, especially if there’s no real benefit, probably even less than $1.50/month for most to even consider it.

In fact the Logitech mouse before my current mouse lasted 12 years and cost me $75, so that’s a max subscription cost of 50 cents/month for it to be comparable.

BlackLaZoR ,
@BlackLaZoR@kbin.run avatar

It will be $7.99 - look it's so much less than $175, so much cheaper!

/s

floofloof ,

The article says this mouse will be $200 upfront, plus the subscription.

r00ty Admin ,
r00ty avatar

I'm going to blame the cloud for this. SaaS has got pretty much most software companies into the idea that they can have their cake and eat it with recurring revenue from cloud hosting their services.

This seems to have overflowed into every other market, where they want a piece of that pie.

I'm hoping it's a fad that goes away. You know how we can make it a fad that goes away? Don't buy into this shit.

millie ,

I have used nothing but Logitech thumb-ball mice for the past 20 years. I love my MX Ergo.

If Logitech ever sells a mouse with a subscription, I don’t care how nice it is, I’ll have my own fucking PCB made and design my own QMK capable mouse before I’ll pay for it.

Just sell me the $90 mouse that lasts 5 years. I refuse to accept mouse feudalism.

stardust ,

They can’t even make a mouse that doesn’t double click after a year. Dumbass.

Summzashi ,

They already did that when Logitech was still a quality company back in the day. Their peripherals turned into Trust level shit ages ago.

noorbeast ,

Perhaps I am incredibly naive, but for me a “Forever mouse” is something you buy, own, and have control absolute over!

QuentinCallaghan , (edited )
@QuentinCallaghan@sopuli.xyz avatar

Of course this is an idea that the CEO brought up, but if this ever materializes as an actual product, I’ll never buy a Logitech again.

thingsiplay ,

“Forever mouse” is a marketing term to sell you a subscription. I’m not going to pay a subscription to get driver updates or to use basic functionality of the mouse. I have a forever keyboard (expensive mechanical keyboard) and it does not require a subscription and I can use the entire functionality without paying ever again.

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