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Logitech CEO Wants to Sell You a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse' (gizmodo.com)
submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18112704

During a recent episode of The Verge’s Decoder podcast, Logitech CEO Hanneke Faber shed some possible insight into the company’s view on one of its most important products. Saying that “the mouse built this house,” Faber shares the planning behind a Forever Mouse, a premium product that the company hopes will be the last you ever have to buy. There’s also a discussion about a subscription-based service and a deeper focus on AI.

For now, details on a Forever Mouse are thin, but you better believe there will be a catch. The Instant Pot was a product so good that customers rarely needed to buy another one. The company went bankrupt.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (2 children)

This is ambiguously written, and I don't have the bandwidth to go listening to full interviews on mice, of all things. But from the quotes it seems like the idea is selling you a mouse that is very expensive but built for durability. The "we can update the software for more AI" sutff seems separate.

But hey, who knows? Logitech insists on having an update with game profiles every time I boot my PC just because I use one of their mice. The future got very dumb and it's not getting any less dumb.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

This one seems to be sticking, so you made me go check. She does flag the software updates as a subscription, although she readily admits they don't have a value proposition for that idea, although they could definitely make the hardware.

What made the mouse a forever mouse?

It was a little heavier, it had great software and services that you’d constantly update, and it was beautiful. So I don’t think we’re necessarily super far away from that.

But, again, I just come back to the cost. You sell me the mouse once. Maybe I’ll pay 200 bucks for it.

The business model obviously is the challenge there. So then software is even more important when you think about it. Can you come up with a service model? In our video conferencing business, that is now a very important part of the model, the services, and it’s critical for corporate customers.

...

Imagine it’s like your Rolex. You’re going to really love that. (...) It’s not going to be like your Rolex in that it doesn’t have to ever change. Our stuff will have to change, but does the hardware have to change? I’m not so sure. We’ll have to obviously fix it and figure out what that business model is. We’re not at the forever mouse today, but I’m intrigued by the thought.

It certainly will help with sustainability. There are two ways people have traditionally proposed monetizing hardware over time. It’s subscription fees and it’s advertising. Is there a third way that I don’t know about that you’re thinking of?

No. The third way is the traditional model of “we innovate and we have you upgrade.” That’s the current model.

I’m going to ask this very directly. Can you envision a subscription mouse?

Possibly.

And that would be the forever mouse?

(...)

Yeah, and you never have to worry about it again, which is not unlike our video conferencing services today. (...) I think consumers might perceive those to be very different.

Bad Gizmodo and Ars Technica making me do homework just so they can regurgitate a story from The Verge. Everybody link the primary source next time.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Let's be honest here, the HID business has absolutely no innovation in the near future. There's nothing they could meaningfully improve, so the need to either release marketing driven products or pull you into a subscription.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Hah. Are you kidding me? There are people out there spending hundreds of dollars on DIY keyboards and fancy keycaps. Microsoft started selling $200 console controllers and now it's a whole market segment.

She has the right idea with making unreasonably expensive mice, she just hasn't realized the Linus Tech Tips fanbase can be tricked into buying one of those every six months with enough influencer lubrication, so she has no need for a subscription model.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

And what exactly is innovative about that? They're trying to replicate a Model M. A keyboard older than most keyboard users.

Mechanical keyboards are gimmicks, nothing more.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Exactly.

And they sell like hot cakes and are a sustainable market segment full of boutique houses and specialty retailers.

You can absolutely substitute luxury and design for feature innovation in tech accessories and make money.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This is a niche. Logitech doesn't make its billions in revenue selling a handful of specialty keyboards. And that trend will subside soon, too.

Logitech makes money by selling hundreds of millions of generic mice, keyboards, webcams, etc. That's where the money is. And if these devices don't break, why buy new ones? A 20 years old usb mouse is still perfectly usable (I'm using one right now), that's not good for business. So either you have to cater to fads like mechanical keyboards, which don't really add anything, or sell crap like subscriptions.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

They already don't break, is the thing. When was the last time you replaced a mouse because it broke?

The last maybe three mice I bought were for ergonomics or to color-coordinate a setup. And once to see if a light one would be better than a tall one for my particular damage. It was not.

So if I'm already buying mice for reasons other than durability, why not sell me the most expensive one you can sell me?

Also, not sure how much of a "niche" mechanical keyboards are, considering that Logitech will happily sell you one right now for 250 bucks. Best selling one in its segment, too. I was eyeing a Corsair one for almost 400 recently. Asus has a refresh for its 500 dollar Azoth Extreme coming up, I believe.

Expensive peripherals may sell fewer units, and I don't know how the margins compare, but 500 dollars is a lot of 20 buck membrane keyboards.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Someone could innovate by making this user's dream trackball