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Logitech Says It Has No Plans for a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse'
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And reminded a lot of people about Logitech. Seems it worked. Now at the time when the story starts to fall off, they get a fresh round of PR to say “don’t worry, Logitech still makes all the great products you love! Come see our website, no subscription mice here!”
This reminds me of the story last year about BMW making the heated seats in one of their cars a "subscription" feature.
What? Someone bought a car with heated seats in it. Why would they want to pay you to use something they all ready bought?
Now, I'm not a BMW fan. I've never owned one and it's just not the car for me, but a subscription? REALLY?
It's just another way to try and squeeze money out of people. Which is all life in this world seems to be about anymore. Just try and buy an airline ticket, or OMG a concert ticket and see how much you get squeezed.
What? Someone bought a car with heated seats in it. Why would they want to pay you to use something they all ready bought?
Now, I'm not a BMW fan. I've never owned one and it's just not the car for me, but a subscription? REALLY?
It's just another way to try and squeeze money out of people. Which is all life in this world seems to be about anymore. Just try and buy an airline ticket, or OMG a concert ticket and see how much you get squeezed.
That's what I'm reading as well.
They simply could have said Logitech plans to have a never subscription mouse.
Good idea (or read the relevant part of the transcript transcript). Your version is also somewhat selective.
...Faber initially raised the topic of the "forever mouse" that had "great software and services that you’d constantly update" - Patel then asks several questions about how that business model for those updates would work - and doesn't really get a straight answer. - before resorting to "I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?"
...which is a large part of the problem. Faber could have dismissed the idea - but she accepts it as a possibility and doubles down on that in several subsequent questions, comparing it to existing support plans that Logitech offers.
Sure - if you're going to fall back on "exact words".
Faber introduced the idea of a mouse with services and constant software updates, then danced around what the business model would be - which makes "will it be a subscription?" a very obvious and important question - a question which Faber was at perfect liberty to dismiss or downplay.
To be fair, Faber does mention "we innovate - customers upgrade" as a model but doesn't really explain how that would work with a mouse (which uses a well-standardised interface protocol), especially since it's a model that more and more companies are abandoning in favour of subscriptions.
When the business plan is basically:
- Sell 'Forever Mouse'
- Keep updating the software
- ???
- Profit!
All you are doing is what everyone else has done, used guess work, assumptions, suppositions and implied thinking to try and gauge what Faber was thinking or what she meant which has led to the backlash the company has faced because people are writing articles claiming to know what Faber is saying without actually knowing what she is saying.
This clueless ceo doesn’t realize that MICE are subscription's-free anywhere especially if you leave spoil food out for them to come eat.
Logitech on Wednesday denied reports that the company is working on a "forever mouse" that could come with a subscription fee for regular software updates, after comments by its CEO suggesting it could introduce such a product in the future received immediate backlash.
"There are no plans for a subscription mouse," said Logitech communications head Nicole Kenyon in a statement given to several media publications. Kenyon was responding to reports based on comments made by Logitech chief Hanneke Faber on The Verge's Decoder podcast with Nilay Patel.
During the podcast, Faber said that the Logitech innovation center team in Ireland showed her a "forever mouse" that is designed to be used for many years. It's a "little heavier" than a standard mouse, and it has "great software and services" that get constantly updated.
Patel asked Faber if she could "envision a subscription mouse," to which she responded "possibly." Faber went on to explain that customers would "never have to worry about [their mice] again," which is similar to Logitech's video conferencing services.
When asked whether Logitech had some other model for monetization than subscription fees or advertising, Faber said no, and that she was "intrigued" by a forever mouse that has an accompanying business model around software updates.
Kenyon sought to downplay the comments, saying: "The mouse mentioned is not an actual or planned product but a peek into provocative internal thinking on future possibilities for more sustainable consumer electronics."
Article Link: Logitech Says It Has No Plans for a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse'
There are no plans today. Yesterday there were plans, of course.
This is such a baffling thing - what software updates would a mouse need that anyone would pay a subscription for it? It's a mouse. Logitech marketing is clueless, which should have been obvious when they changed their name to "Loogi" or whatever.
...and other people are trying to dismiss the issue by cherry-picking one question the interviewer asked.
If you actually read the transcript, the "subscription mouse" idea was not some out-of-the-blue leading question that the interviewer threw in as clickbait. The question came after Faber described a "forever mouse" with associated "services" and "constantly updated" software, and after she had dodged several questions on what the business model for that would be. She not only accepted the "subscription mouse" as a possibility, but doubled down on that in subsequent answers and drew a comparison with Logitech's video conferencing services.
It's there in the transcript in black and white. No guesswork required.
Whether Logitech actually had a subscription/service-supported mouse in the pipeline, or whether Faber was just spitballing in an interview (a very, very bad idea - as subsequent events show) we'll never know, but there is no doubt about what was suggested.
This is still a frustrating way of thinking as a "provocative internal thinking" piece. What they're basically saying is, yeah, we could make a mouse that lasts a lot longer with better materials (i.e. solving the "they don't make 'em like they used to" issue), but then you'd have to pay us monthly for that privilege. Sure, they say it's for software updates. But come on, for a mouse? Just make the firmware once and maybe push an update if you messed up. Decide what features you want from the start and live with it. Just make it truly full-featured...you won't need any updates. But anyway, why not just make a great, long-lasting piece of consumer electronic equipment and charge more for it to offset the parts. They're basically admitting planned obsolescence through a reluctance to actually make a product that could last forever without a subscription fee. So lame.
Most people who know of Logitech know of them for cheap mice that have double click issues. This was not a PR stunt. It’s a CEO who is 8 months into the role and is completely lost.
Watch the interview. When asked about the possibility of a subscription mouse, she replied “possibly… it would work much like our conference subscription services right now”
So the media was fair.
You’re falling into the trap of believing Logitech’s PR department and the mad scramble they’re on to save the brand damage the CEO did by speaking so liberally. You’re better than that.
I'm just waiting for Logitech to release a mouse that lasts long enough to get it home from the damn store.
Okay okay exaggeration but I have had nine Logitech mice in the last twelve years, four of which failed between 10 and 16 months after I got them, and none of which lasted much past two years.
Early this year I bought one from a different vendor. It lasted six weeks, and I can't get it replaced in warranty because they require you to re-flash it as a diagnostic step and they don't have that software on the Mac. I'm sure I'll have access to a PC at SOME point before the warranty is over... I guess...
I have taken to just buying every decent-looking mouse that I see at a thrift store, testing them when I get them home, recycling the ones that don't work, and throwing the ones that do work into a drawer. I'll just use them until they die and go on to the next one. So far I've spent about $40 on ten mice, of which eight worked, and seven of which still work.
Okay okay exaggeration but I have had nine Logitech mice in the last twelve years, four of which failed between 10 and 16 months after I got them, and none of which lasted much past two years.
Early this year I bought one from a different vendor. It lasted six weeks, and I can't get it replaced in warranty because they require you to re-flash it as a diagnostic step and they don't have that software on the Mac. I'm sure I'll have access to a PC at SOME point before the warranty is over... I guess...
I have taken to just buying every decent-looking mouse that I see at a thrift store, testing them when I get them home, recycling the ones that don't work, and throwing the ones that do work into a drawer. I'll just use them until they die and go on to the next one. So far I've spent about $40 on ten mice, of which eight worked, and seven of which still work.
So I guess my gut reaction was the right one. Someone just needs media training.
I was ready to dump them because of it… I have the brio and g502 mouse - but that was ridiculous
Logitech on Wednesday denied reports that the company is working on a "forever mouse" that could come with a subscription fee for regular software updates, after comments by its CEO suggesting it could introduce such a product in the future received immediate backlash.
"There are no plans for a subscription mouse," said Logitech communications head Nicole Kenyon in a statement given to several media publications. Kenyon was responding to reports based on comments made by Logitech chief Hanneke Faber on The Verge's Decoder podcast with Nilay Patel.
During the podcast, Faber said that the Logitech innovation center team in Ireland showed her a "forever mouse" that is designed to be used for many years. It's a "little heavier" than a standard mouse, and it has "great software and services" that get constantly updated.
Patel asked Faber if she could "envision a subscription mouse," to which she responded "possibly." Faber went on to explain that customers would "never have to worry about [their mice] again," which is similar to Logitech's video conferencing services.
When asked whether Logitech had some other model for monetization than subscription fees or advertising, Faber said no, and that she was "intrigued" by a forever mouse that has an accompanying business model around software updates.
Kenyon sought to downplay the comments, saying: "The mouse mentioned is not an actual or planned product but a peek into provocative internal thinking on future possibilities for more sustainable consumer electronics."
Article Link: Logitech Says It Has No Plans for a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse'
Oh yeah, it's so ridiculous
Paying extra fees on top of things that are already expensive now is just ludicrious
Not only that, but also going next to anywhere nowadays and getting prompted for a tip; something that only should be done in places that warrant it like a sitdown restaurant, barber, tattoo parlor, etc
Oh 💩!
We just shot ourselves in the foot, what do we do!?
Denial! Denial! DENIAL!! We said no such thing!!
🤣
We just shot ourselves in the foot, what do we do!?
Denial! Denial! DENIAL!! We said no such thing!!
🤣
Yes, she needs media training or a new job.
When asked about Logitech being in the smart home market, she said that she didn’t think Logitech was in the smart home market (this is very concerning news for Apple HomeKit users since Logitech is probably the biggest HKSV offering). She said she’d have to look into it and get back.
LOL Like how do you not know your own product offerings 8 months into leading your company?!? That’s wild. And concerning if you’re a investor of Logitech.