When software updates actually improve—instead of ruin—our favorite devices

Opinion: These tech products have gotten better over time.

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[vought1221]

Wish the June oven was still around because it belonged on this list until Weber bought them and bungled things so badly guided cooking will have to come from someone else.

-no spyware
-safe
-didn’t sell your data
-added features every 90-120 days.

Oh well.

 

[SnoopCatt]

Software updates are a double-edged sword - sometimes you get useful improvements and sometimes you get enshittification. I've learned the hard way to hunt out release notes and to wait for early adopters to publish their findings before updating. But some of my devices don't ask for permission first - they automatically update when you turn them on (e.g my Wahoo bike computer).

 

[ZenBeam]

Software updates are a double-edged sword - sometimes you get useful improvements and sometimes you get enshittification. I've learned the hard way to hunt out release notes and to wait for early adopters to publish their findings before updating. But some of my devices don't ask for permission first - they automatically update when you turn them on (e.g my Wahoo bike computer).

Don't give it access to your Wifi password. If it requires that to function at all, take it back to the store.

 

[adespoton]

As happy as I am to find my smart alarm clock increasingly easy to use, those same software updates could one day lock the features I've grown fond of behind a paywall (Hatch already has a subscription option available). Having my alarm clock lose functionality overnight without physical damage isn’t the type of thing I’d have to worry about with a dumb alarm clock, of course.

And that's what it all comes down to. While a company is prosperous, they'll add new features for free. When they start seeing problems with the quarterly numbers, employees are the first to see the axe, after which features get locked behind a subscription model, or the "app" gets retired completely and replaced with something that doesn't fully function with the hardware you've already got.

This, in my opinion, goes back all the way to satellite TV; they started with a subscription model, and worked hard to keep everyone from routing around their encryption, even when it meant bricking receivers and disrupting the service people were legally paying for.

We're just seeing this same process play out in a "new" industry. If a product depends on an Internet connection with a private server to function, you can guarantee that eventually that product will suffer degraded functionality, even if the company provides improved features in the short term to encourage new hardware purchases of older products.

 

[Kiaulen]

This is doubly true in the world of 3d printers. My prusa Mini got much better over its life, but a lot of people are losing functionality on their BambuLabs printers.

Also all my chromecasts updated to make the clock and weather tiny with no option to fix it recently. Quite frustrating.

Completely agree on steam decks though. Mine only ever gets better.

 

[Dputiger]

I have one of the first 4K LCDs. It's a 24" professional panel from Dell.

For the first few years of its life, that panel used a multi-stream transport to run 4K60Hz over DisplayPort. The trick was, it had to be in that mode in order to run 4K60Hz. Running it in single stream transport mode was limited to 4K30Hz. But 60Hz for 4K didn't support any lower resolutions -- just 4K60 on a 24" panel. And if you tried to switch from 4K60 to any lower resolution, the panel would die and refuse to recover until you rebooted the entire PC.

I contacted Dell, they confirmed the inability to switch modes without rebooting was a firmware bug on early iterations of the monitor, and said they had no plans to do anything about it. There was no software solution (at least that's what I was told).

At some point, Microsoft and/or Nvidia appears to have changed something about Windows that just... fixed it. I still have that panel, and when plugged into modern systems it can run 4K60 or lower resolutions without flipping a switch between MST and SST inside the OSD.

 

[YetAnotherAnonymousAppellation]

A few manufacturers using updates for good does not outweigh the thousands that use them to steal your functionality or your data. Any widgets I buy will continue to be denied access to the Internet unless there is a pressing reason to allow them to update or otherwise "phone home." If the widget doesn't perform to my liking when I buy it, I will return it. I will not hang onto it assuming that the issue will be fixed in an update.

 

[Daros]

Similarly, Amazon updated some Fire TV models in December to support simultaneous audio broadcasting from internal speakers and hearing aids. It also expanded the number of hearing aids supported by some Fire TV models as well as its Fire TV Cube streaming device.

TVs used to be able to output audio to multiple devices years and years ago. This was pushed back, I'm guessing at least partially because of copy protection type bullshit, but it used to be normal. Not allowing multiple outputs should be a major accessibility issue, but manufacturers haven't given a shit for over a decade.

 

[Tom Brokaw]

What kind of absolute lunatic photographs a clock at 6:59?

Right?! That's when decent folks are eating supper!

 

[graylshaped]

I read this immediately after dropping a bag with a halved, cleaned artichoke with butter, garlic, and two strips of lemon zest into a pot of water my Anova circulator will keep at 183F for an hour or so, after which I'll dry it, remove the choke, and finish it on a hot, ridged cast iron pan. My Anova has never been used with its accompanying app. Doesn't need it. Never really did.

It's one thing when a company puts out an MVP (minimally viable product) to get it out the door, and develops it from there to be the product the company probably wanted to make all along. Sounds like this alarm product is one of those; I've been happy to see my Steamdeck add functionality myself. Sometimes companies mean to do that and don't, because the product didn't sell enough to make it worth doing, maybe with the lack of functionality contributing to that.

It's completely another when a company acquires another company and immediately enshitifies the product line, or when the company itself uses early adopters to decide what the "best" features are and locks them up behind a subscription wall.

Profit is fine. I have no truck with a company making sound business decisions that drive value for themselves and their customers. Unilaterally deciding to alter the deal after it has been made, is unequivocally a dick move.

 

[graylshaped]

What kind of absolute lunatic photographs a clock at 6:59?

I have one more minute to sleep! Proof!

 

[FlyingSteamGoat]

What kind of absolute lunatic photographs a clock at 6:59?

A tech reporter with a 7:00 deadline?

 

[David Mayer]

This absolutely applies in some ways to Android, iOS, and Horizon OS My phone and VR headset are both vastly more capable, refined, and feature rich than they were when I bought them.

 

[Bernardo Verda]

I read this immediately after dropping a bag with a halved, cleaned artichoke with butter, garlic, and two strips of lemon zest into a pot of water my Anova circulator will keep at 183F for an hour or so, after which I'll dry it, remove the choke, and finish it on a hot, ridged cast iron pan. My Anova has never been used with its accompanying app. Doesn't need it. Never really did.

It's one thing when a company puts out an MVP (minimally viable product) to get it out the door, and develops it from there to be the product the company probably wanted to make all along. Sounds like this alarm product is one of those; I've been happy to see my Steamdeck add functionality myself. Sometimes companies mean to do that and don't, because the product didn't sell enough to make it worth doing, maybe with the lack of functionality contributing to that.

It's completely another when a company acquires another company and immediately enshitifies the product line, or when the company itself uses early adopters to decide what the "best" features are and locks them up behind a subscription wall.

Profit is fine. I have no truck with a company making sound business decisions that drive value for themselves and their customers. Unilaterally deciding to alter the deal after it has been made, is unequivocally a dick move.

It should be remembered that one strategy is to improve the product via updates, then once people have grown accustomed to them, retroactively place those improvements behind a subscription paywall.

Yeah, I'm being cynical -- but on the other hand, it's technology corporations that have taught me to be cynical.

 

[josephhansen]

I'm not sure Apple deserves a spot on this list, since iPad OS 18.1+ have completely bricked thousands of Apple Pencil 2s without warning. It's an issue that has dozens of open threads on the Apple forum and Reddit, but Apple support still refuses to acknowledge the issue. Many of us have been sitting around with an expensive paperweight for months. It's sad, normally Apple does a fantastic job with customer service

 

[yopmaster]

On the same vibe, my Phillips HUE LED stripe is getting a handful of new color effects with time. I'm usually looking forward for new updates.

 

[Fred Duck]

Is the smart clock behind the wedge of cheese?

Edit: Ah, the clock is marked 'Ultra Soft.'

 

[Zerpal Frog]

Software updates are a double-edged sword - sometimes you get useful improvements and sometimes you get enshittification. I've learned the hard way to hunt out release notes and to wait for early adopters to publish their findings before updating. But some of my devices don't ask for permission first - they automatically update when you turn them on (e.g my Wahoo bike computer).

I get it if a software company is rolling out updates to fix bugs, but constant updates to change the UI, or even functionality is just annoying. Library software is like this. Many ILS update monthly. And given how big the functionality of the software is, many "improvements" break or change other functionalities for worse until another update fixes this.

 

[ItchyPoo]

This absolutely applies in some ways to Android, iOS, and Horizon OS My phone and VR headset are both vastly more capable, refined, and feature rich than they were when I bought them.

I was looking at a list of all the software updates to AirPod pro 2 since release. i give props to Apple.

 

[silverboy]

This article is waaaaaaaay to generous to the companies updating our personal possessions however they damn please. It's also way too dismissive of those of us who rightly resent good functionality changed or watered down, enshittified, or just eliminated.

We are not Luddites. If we were we wouldn't own these devices in the first place. And yes, actually own them, they're ours, they should do what we want, not what some corporate hack has decided is good for the corporation.

Come on, Ars, we deserve better than this spin.

 

[WereCatf]

I have an original 2015 NVIDIA Shield TV and it's still receiving updates after 10 years. As much as I dislike NVIDIA as a company, the Shield TV has been absolutely fricking fantastic over the years and I am amazed that they haven't used it to try and screw with me or anything. I cannot think of a single other Android device that'd receive updates for this long, let alone without massive amounts of enshittification.

 

[jock2nerd]

I have an original 2015 NVIDIA Shield TV and it's still receiving updates after 10 years. As much as I dislike NVIDIA as a company, the Shield TV has been absolutely fricking fantastic over the years and I am amazed that they haven't used it to try and screw with me or anything. I cannot think of a single other Android device that'd receive updates for this long, let alone without massive amounts of enshittification.

Just received an update, but it's been 2 years since the prior update.

 

[GreenMcMurray]

Samsung did wonders improving my Galaxy Watch 4, especially battery life. It got faster over time and just a better product.

Unfortunately since switching to an S25 Ultra last week the watch won't even get through a day....

 

[K1Bond007]

* Except for Printers. They continue to be trash.

 

[Zapmymac]

I have an original 2015 NVIDIA Shield TV and it's still receiving updates after 10 years. As much as I dislike NVIDIA as a company, the Shield TV has been absolutely fricking fantastic over the years and I am amazed that they haven't used it to try and screw with me or anything. I cannot think of a single other Android device that'd receive updates for this long, let alone without massive amounts of enshittification.

I keep hearing great reviews of the Shield, well done Nvidia!

 

[IWasToldThereWouldBeCake]

Hammerhead Karoo 2 / 3 belong on this list. They send out bi-weekly updates with small improvements, fixes and features. My Karoo 2 has received years of updates now - no subscription or anything required. Turn it on, get an update notification, reboot into the new firmware!

 

[Zapmymac]

This article reminds me of my gen1 Palm Pres. It kept getting better as time went on! For a glorious short period of time I could even do full iTunes syncs with it. Such a great device imo.

 

[Fatesrider]

Software updates are a double-edged sword - sometimes you get useful improvements and sometimes you get enshittification. I've learned the hard way to hunt out release notes and to wait for early adopters to publish their findings before updating. But some of my devices don't ask for permission first - they automatically update when you turn them on (e.g my Wahoo bike computer).

This isn't new behavior, though to the current generation, it may be their elders bore the brunt of update hell prior to the pure, unadulterated enshitification factor of more recent times.

After the less than pleasant transition from Win95 to Win98, I learned that updates are not always good. Most of those in the industry at the time knew that, too. Not that there was a LOT of Internet going on then, but chat and e-mail told the story back then.

The only thing I see as having changed is that the updates back then mostly fixed buggy functionality or added security. Necessary things that, despite intention, often fucked up something already installed.

These days, it seems to be mostly about minor tweaks and major changes in cash flow. So, sadly, the "update to fix functionality" most times today seems to just fuck it up in favor of some kind of new, monetization scheme requiring you to pay to get that functionality back.

The real bitch is that 9 times out of 10, the functionality was just a minor convenience to begin with and certainly not anything anyone would miss for long, with only the most desperate paying for it. And because that's basically all profit, the companies keep doing it, despite the vast majority of their customers hating it.

I still blame Reagan for all of this...

 

[rbryanh]

Capitalism is not intended to create the best quality goods and services. The system evolved to produce the most salable products. This not only permits but ultimately ensures that what we make will decline in quality and utility, while increasing in destructiveness.

The mythical free market is a death cult. Any economy based on competition must ultimately kill us all.

 

[deepblueskies]

I'm not sure Apple deserves a spot on this list, since iPad OS 18.1+ have completely bricked thousands of Apple Pencil 2s without warning. It's an issue that has dozens of open threads on the Apple forum and Reddit, but Apple support still refuses to acknowledge the issue. Many of us have been sitting around with an expensive paperweight for months. It's sad, normally Apple does a fantastic job with customer service

Happened to me, but since re-pairing the Pencil after subsequent iPadOS updates seemed to resolve whatever caused it.

 

[RetroTrailRunner]

How can a product be most salable without being the best quality? If you say "by being cheap", then isn't making products more affordable to more people a good thing?

Is Coca-Cola the best soda(I personally don't have an opinion on this)? How many different sodas have you sampled to verify if it is? In some cases established products just need to be satisficing. If you're a newcomer trying to break in its a different story.

 

[scaler]

Wiim is another company that has provided a lot of valuable software updates. Their products are refreshing when audiophile products tend to cost much more for the same functionality.

 

[poochyena]

Is Coca-Cola the best soda(I personally don't have an opinion on this)? How many different sodas have you sampled to verify if it is? In some cases established products just need to be satisficing. If you're a newcomer trying to break in its a different story.

Its most available, which is also a positive trait.

 

[EspHack]

software used to be a lot more purposeful, updates were offers, nothing was at a plateau, I guess it's somewhat inevitable in all tech to end up like this

 

[SnoopCatt]

Don't give it access to your Wifi password. If it requires that to function at all, take it back to the store.

That's a good suggestion, but I'll have to test out what functionality is tied to wifi access. I know that my recorded activities sync over bluetooth to my phone, but I'm not sure about routes that I pin in Strava and RideWithGPS - currently they sync automatically (and so are available for me to select when I'm out of the road). I definitely don't want to lose that feature.

And I think the only way to update the software is over wifi, so I'd have to disable it after each update.

Hell will freeze over before I go back to using a Garmin though.

 

[josephhansen]

Happened to me, but since re-pairing the Pencil after subsequent iPadOS updates seemed to resolve whatever caused it.

I try that every few days. Still no luck

 

[macr0t0r]

Devices that run on open-source software almost always improve with each update. I'm not talking "has open-source components" like Android phones, but fully open-source. Remember the OpenWRT routers? Another good example are Jumper and RadioMaster RC controllers that run on EdgeTX. The hardware manufacturer doesn't have the control to enshi77ify it.
Writing this on my Framework laptop running Fedora 41. It's not perfect, but it gets better each time.