When new technology arrives on the scene, many of us rush to buy it as soon as possible. For instance, the Nintendo Switch recently released and it was instantly sold out on the first day with more units being released. Whenever a new iPhone is launched, people will literally queue outside of their local Apple store a week before it’s released just to be one of the first among their friends to get their hands on it.
But between Nintendo Switch’s abysmal launch and Samsung’s exploding Galaxy Note 7 devices, it’s clear that quality assurance probably isn’t the first thing on the minds of the manufacturers and the multi-billion dollar companies behind them. However, there are still some people using the Galaxy Note 7 as well as playing on a fully-functional Nintendo Switch that isn’t letting off high-pitched screeching sounds. So what gives? Why are launch-day devices so terrible?
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Manufacturing Defects
For starters, if there’s a single defect in a product, the entire line is probably going to have a problem. Perhaps it’s a machine that wasn’t calibrated properly or an inspector was being lazy that day. Whatever the reason, these problems slip by and still make it to the final product that ends up in our hands. There are many machines, such as an industrial vision inspection device, that help manufacturers determine the quality of something before shipping it.
Unfortunately, most of the issues lie within the staff and not so much the machines. At the end of the day, the machines are programmed and maintained by the staff, so if a fault develops in the machine or if it starts to spit out the wrong things, then it’s usually because someone was being lazy when they were setting it up. These manufacturing defects almost always get through, and it’s not until after a wave or two of products releases that the defects are fixed at the source.
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Lack of Testing
Some devices have to be tested for a long time before they are officially made consumer-worthy. But this is a long process that eats into a lot of the budget that these companies have. For instance, games consoles usually release after just a bit of testing. Test units might be operating on engineering samples or hardware that is above-spec or above the quality of the consumer version. When the production line actually starts, you’re probably not getting the same product because they might be cutting back on some material costs or changing a component and switching it for a lower-powered part or something less expensive.
These last minute changes are to save money and get the product in your hands sooner, but it also means they’re cutting corners which can ultimately lead to issues such as overheating, or not stress testing extreme scenarios to ensure that every person that uses the device is getting the full experience.
Summary
In short, if you want to avoid getting a bad product due to the laziness of these companies, then always avoid buying something on the first day it’s released. Whether it’s a games console, a computer or even a smartphone, you can be sure that something will be wrong with the initial production run and you may as well wait until these issues are ironed out before putting your money on the line.