When you want to buy a new iPhone because your battery life is poor and your apps are as slow as Christmas, you may be unaware that you’re falling victim to planned obsolescence, one of the grislier sides of capitalist deception. It’s a dubious business strategy exploited by companies which ensures that their consumers are constantly buying newer versions by making products unusable or unfashionable through upgrades and programmed faults. This practice of dishonest innovation goes much further and is more historic than just your phone, however. Some claim General Motors invented it. The waste involved means that dire environmental costs correlate with the economic costs of sustained product renewal. Let’s take a look at tech products and other examples of planned obsolescence for items that you are maybe being forced to purchase again and again.