In the past decade, many services and products have switched from a pay-once model to a subscription-based model. Sometimes, you get a choice, say between the pay-once version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. Even then, companies usually tweak the deals to raise the attractiveness of the subscription-based product. Microsoft, for example, does not add new features to the pay-once version of Microsoft Office after release.
Many companies favor subscription-based services. They generate a steady-stream of income, bind the customer to the service, and make it easier to raise the price or change the deal favoring their side. Amazon did the latter when it introduced ads for all Prime Video subscribers and recently announced that more ads are coming.
Some companies raise the product of their services almost every year. Google, for example, just announced another round of price increases for Nest Aware.
Google Next devices are smart home products, think thermostats, smoke detectors, smart doorbells or speakers, designed to give home owners more control over their homes, even when they are not at home.
A subscription is required to take full advantage of Next devices. Nest Hub Max, for instance, offers basic motion detection only, if you have no subscription. If you want an upgrade to that, which also includes seen and face alerts, smoke and CO alarm and glass break sound detection, and more, you need a subscription.
Google informs subscribers currently that the price of a subscription is going up again this August. The two products, Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus, will cost $10 and $20 per month respectively, up from $8 and $15, which customers pay right now.
The last price hike happened in September 2023, when Google raised the price from then $6 and $12 per month to the price that it charges currently.
So, the price went up from $6 to $10 and from $12 to $20 per month in about two years. Is it the last increase? Very unlikely.
With hardware products, it is more challenging to switch, as you invested into the hardware already. While you can cancel a Netflix or Microsoft 365 subscription at any time and without much issues, with Nest and other hardware products, you’d either end up with some dumb bricks or hardware that is less efficient or useful.
The only options that we have is to vote with our wallets. Either do not buy the product in first place or end the subscription, if it gets out of hand. Yes, that could mean ending up with products you bought that will be of little use to you in the future.
Now You: do you have subscriptions currently? If so, which and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
Subscriptions such as these are very costly and really not necessary there are many products avalible that do the same things that do not requre a subscription. What are you going to do when the hardware or software you bought and pay a subscription to use is no longer supported in a few years or the app is upgraded will not run on on your existing device? Your only choice is buy the new vesion for hundreds of dollars, or buy something that does else forhundreds of dollars.
“Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus, will cost $10 and $20 per month respectively, up from $8 and $15, which customers pay right now”
So (rounding up) a 25% increase for “Nest Aware” and a 34% increase for “Nest Aware Plus”…
Significant increases over the “Inflation Rate” (5%?)
“The last price hike happened in September 2023, when Google raised the price from then $6 and $12 per month to the price that it charges currently.”
So, since September 2023 price hikes are 67% for both Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus…
And Google claim that are NOT a monopoly?
“The only options that we have is to vote with our wallets.” Americans don’t get this, especially when it comes to environmental issues–Every purchase one makes is a “vote” for that product and service and all the environmental damages incurred with its production and operation–e.g. You bought three plane tickets? One to Europe; one to Australia; one to Iceland? And here you complain about companies exploiting the environment and hypocritically point out all the recent catastrophes are due to “climate change.” Must be a large carbon footprint–all those flights.
Yes, I have one subscription to Amazon Prime–the main reason is the shopping. I live in an extremely small locale that has little in the way of shopping. One grocery store, etc. I don’t even bother with Prime Video.
To get people to buy these products in the first place, the seed of paranoia is planted. Then, the usefulness of such products is exaggerated and relentlessly marketed. 😉
I was so excited when I read “smart home” was going to be a reality.
Then I was like a five year old who just watched his dog get run over by the guy who just stole his ice cream when I learned how it worked and the cost included my privacy 🙁
I purchased a lifetime licence to Malwarebytes five years ago and they are the only concern that hasn’t reneged on the deal even though there have been several itinerations of the product since then. However, it only applies to the version I had when I purchased it although they continue to update it if any security issues arise.
But other concerns I’ve bought lifetime subscriptions for such as Mailwasher Pro for example pointed out that the version I had was no longer supported when it went pear-shaped one day and I would have to purchase a new licence in order to get it fixed. So much for the “lifetime” aspect for that one. No way baby.
In NL land at least, Amazon keeps bugging me to sign up to Prime every time I buy something and I almost fell for it because I used to buy a lot of DVDs from their UK store and getting free delivery sounded like a good deal. However, after delving into the small print it turns out it only applies to the country you reside in. Pity though because I had a huge list of DVD’s I intended to buy and was disappointed with the way things turned out especially because their postal charges from the UK to the Netherlands have gone up to £10,57 basic rate plus £0,99 per kilo. I rarely buy any at all now.