Tech Dissatisfaction, Version 99.0

It’s easier than ever for companies to update products remotely—or to stunt them. And consumers are taking notice.

- Robert Hackett

IT WILL get better—or so they say. Today’s flashiest tech titans have pioneered a new approach to business: unrelenting, iterative improvement. Their products—Amazon’s Echo, Google Chrome, Tesla cars—are never quite finished developing. The coder crowd has gotten better and better at making mousetraps that get, as if by magic overnight, faster and smarter. As a one-time purchaser of any auto-updated gizmo, you benefit. Consider that upgrade “on the house”.