It's not the best one

Planned obsolescence is the practice of designing products to have a limited lifespan and must be replaced within a determined timeframe.

Functional obsolescence is old school technology. Most people over 30 have a box in their home filled with cables that won’t fit their devices. RCAs and VGAs have little value in the digital world.

Physical obsolescence is when something breaks or wears out. This is what most people think of when they think of planned obsolescence.

Economic obsolescence is when a product loses value due to a recession, legislative changes, reduced market demand, or other economic factors. This can be difficult to design for because the designer often has little influence over these factors.

Emotional obsolescence is when you want a new phone even though your old one still works. Your old phone is probably slower and the battery isn’t as good, but one reason you originally bought it was because it was the best one at the time. We want the best one and advertisements create a false sense of urgency which drives you to spend money on your new, best phone.

The alternative is to face the fear of missing out. The irony is that we create FOMO when we show off our new phone to people around us. As much as we argue our purchase was based on functionality, it’s far more likely the opposite.