I don’t watch them much anymore, but imo LTT was always best when they did stuff similar to Top Gear.

For actual reviews others like Gamers nexus, hardware unboxed, rtings and others imo were always better. What I found frustrating in this regard is that LTT seemingly made a big push into the more serious review space with their labs, but at least from what I can tell that so far hasn’t materialized.

With iPhones i think it’s less about durability (and especially in the software department they were always great in terms of longevity), but more about repairability in case something does happen.

As far as lightbulbs go the issue with potential planned obsolescence doesn’t go way just because of the swap to LEDs. First there are a type of bulb even today that use some form of filament and second the part that gets damaged is usually some kind of capacitor or other electronic part that gets run with too much voltage and too hot. Don’t have time to watch it again, but i remember finding this video from a few years ago interesting.

I do agree with the notion that phones in todays society are hugely important and spending money on what for most people might be their most important computing device is valid.

But the thing is that you really don’t need to spend this kind of money to get all the performance 95% of people need. Unless you want a foldable phone or NEED the telefoto-lense that is often reserved for higher end models (but I assume even then there are cheap options),

As an example here in Germany you can get a pixel 9 for under 500€, if you get a cheap mobile contract even cheaper (I pay 15€/month over 2 years and got a free pixel 9 with the mobile plan). All the performance you need and makes great photos. And for anyone who wants lots of storage there are still phones with sd card readers

Or an established player in the market that wants to keep competitors out (but I guess in a way that is someone who dislikes change). While legislation like this can sometimes be great (e.g. the recent changes forcing longer support for mobile phones) there comes a point where it cuts the other way and it becomes an entry barrier.

Imo the better solution would be to legislate what happens after support ends. Like forcing the disclosure of at least some documentation that allows others to continue servicing the product or at least transfer out data and install other software on the device.