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Logitech CEO Wants to Sell You a Subscription-Based 'Forever Mouse' (gizmodo.com)

submitted 3 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] 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 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.