this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
95 points (95.2% liked)
Internet of Shit
454 readers
1 users here now
Rules:
1. What to post?
- "Smart" features that stupid, unnecessary, or even harmful.
- Devices that are (bad kind of) internet-dependent, harvest data, are a security risk, and such.
2. Behave.
Act like a nice human being.
founded 11 months ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Someone could innovate by making this user's dream trackball