New Study Reveals When Our Gadgets Will Die

A few years ago, facts about the internal battery life of old Game Boy cartridges spread across the Internet like wildfire. This was mostly due to memes telling us that our old Pokémon saves were probably gone, due to the battery life of the cartridge only lasting so many years.

Now, the Seattle Times has released a study that wasn't a mournful realisation that our childhood saves were now deceased, but a memento mori for our current tech. The study reminded us that the clock is ticking for our beloved devices. Like their owners, they aren't blessed with immortality.

Speaking of hardware, check out the announcement trailer for the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model).

The title of the piece in the Seattle Times is "Gadget graveyard: We found the hidden death dates on popular devices." With no intent on keeping it light, they go on to list the expiry date of many of the household gadgets we use today. The Fitbit Charge 5, for example, is designed to die in as little as four years. Whether you think it's worth it or not, it's a fact you should know before splashing out £129.99.

On the subject of consoles, the Nintendo Switch is only designed to last about three years. It's surprising, because lots of Switches bought on release date may still be functional today, but it's unlikely they're as efficient as in 2017. In fact, Reddit users were talking about this five years ago.

User SireNightFire noticed their Switch's decay way back in 2017. The fact that it's so difficult to change the battery (both physically and to obtain one) is scary, too.

Like death itself, the demise of our consoles is something we know is coming, but don't like to think about. That being said, I have a SNES from the 1990s in my possession that doesn't seem to be slowing down in the slightest. That current consoles are built to die tells us a scary fact about our current situation. We've traded immortality for power. (Yes, I felt cool typing that).