In an age where just about everything can be purchased as part of a subscription, it’s understandable that people get frustrated at their inability to just buy stuff outright. So when the news broke that Logitech could be considering a subscription-based mouse, it was met with widespread disdain. In fact, Logitech has had to come out and deny that there are plans to make this absurd idea a reality.
Last month Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber shared plans for the so-called “Forever Mouse” with The Verge. Claiming that a Logitech engineer was developing a mouse that would be so good you’d never want to get rid of it. Faber likened it to a high-quality watch, where age doesn’t matter provided you put in the right maintenance and care.
Naturally, few companies are going to sell products that are so good you’d never buy from them again — especially in the tech industry. So this mouse was described as being a service model, with an ongoing subscription that gives you access to software updates over time.
Faber was speaking hypothetically in the interview, but did admit that she doesn’t “think we’re necessarily super far away from that." Faber also said that she “possibly” envisions a subscription mouse, and that mouse would indeed be the hypothetical Forever Mouse — this time likening the subscription for software updates to modern day video conferencing software.
Obviously, this is a monumentally stupid idea, and it’s no surprise that Logitech is already backtracking on those comments and insisting the “Forever Mouse” is not in development.
Logitech is backpedaling at full speed
The furor on the internet to the idea of subscribing to a mouse is pretty universal. To the point where Logitech has been backpedaling from those comments and insisting that the Forever Mouse is not something the company plans to release.
Logitech’s head of communications Nicole Kenyon said to various outlets that, “There are no plans for a subscription mouse.” Later adding that Faber’s interview did not cover “an actual or planned product but a peek into provocative internal thinking on future possibilities for more sustainable consumer electronics.”
Provocative is definitely the right word to use there, but probably not in the way Logitech means. Big tech loves to use words like “disruption” when talking about their products and their impact, but in this case it just made people on the internet angry.
Whether Logitech was genuinely working on a subscription-based mouse isn’t clear. At least for now we know that Logitech isn’t dumb enough to attempt this anytime soon. And let’s just hope any companies considering doing something similar see what’s happened here and back down before they end up in the same position.
Subscriptions for everything is getting out of control
Being asked to pay for software updates for a product is one thing, especially if it’s a few years old. But because hardware as a service is something that people are extremely tired of. Whether that’s BMW asking for a monthly fee to activate heated seats or HP reportedly bricking their printers when your ink subscription lapses.
The fact that they’re talking about a mouse is even dumber. Because it's, well, a mouse. It’s already one of those products that the majority of people will keep until they break. Software updates tend not to be something you think about for peripherals either.
Not that they don’t happen, especially for high-end and specialized equipment, and I’m not even sure how to update the software on my own mouse — a Razer Deathadder V2. So I certainly wouldn’t miss new software enough to bother paying a subscription for it.
On top of that, Faber’s scenario only discussed paying for software, and not what would happen to the mouse itself. Would that subscription come with an ongoing warranty, designed to ensure you’re protected even if your mouse breaks or malfunctions? What about those times when Logitech creates a better mouse —would you be in line for an upgrade? Plus, what would have happened if you let your subscription lapse, would Logitech brick your mouse remotely?
Thankfully, these questions are all now moot.
Comparing a mouse to a watch is all well and good, until you remember that traditional watch design and technology has been more or less static for a few centuries compared to the pace at which modern technology evolves. I’m all for sustainability and not upgrading gadgets simply because a newer, shinier version has arrived. But that can easily be accomplished without pushing the subscription model.
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