Companies Removing Advertised Features in The Future?

jerjergege on 12/03/2024 - 08:11
Last edited 12/03/2024 - 08:18 by 1 other user

Just want to discuss what everyone thinks should happen when a company advertises a feature / compatibility with another company's service, but then a couple of years in the future, they remove said features. This happened to me a couple of times now, but recently the item that broke the camel's back was to do with Samsung TVs.

Previously, Philips Hue were advertising functionality with IFTTT on their products boxes, then IFTTT made their service subscription based, cool no problem, I will stop buying their bulbs, but they did ruin a good set up. Sony, removing movies and games off their platform because of licensing issues. Recently Samsung has removed Google Assistant, and Steam Link from my 3yo Q95T, which were 2 main features that pushed me towards choosing that specific TV for in the first place, one of the other reasons being single cable from unit to display.

If I had known the features would be removed in the future, I would have never purchased the TV, and opted to buy a cheaper android TV instead, at the time of purchase they were spouting that they developed the steam link app for their OS and had google assistant compatibility which is advertised on the box.

What do you guys think companies should do when they remove features people paid for and removed them via a software update in the future?

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • jerjergege on 12/03/2024 - 08:15
    +1

    On the note of removing Steam Link.

    If they just left the app usable I would be fine with that.

    But they have forced automatic app deletion, and the next time you click the icon it says the app is no longer supported, delete the icon off your apps list?

    No other option to use the app.

    • HeWhoKnows on 13/03/2024 - 08:06
      -4

      Just for Ops sake let me tell you a secret

      The world is not standing still..
      Things are changing all the time.
      Most are unpredictable

      Now tet me check my crystal ball and what see happens in the future.
      Hmm Its a bit foggy.

  • FoxJump on 12/03/2024 - 08:22
    +7

    acl refund

    motorola removed built in sip support without warning on androind 8

    i complained, they sent me a refurb handset still on android 7

    • askbargain on 12/03/2024 - 09:37
      +3

      should have updated it again and complained

  • iridiumstem on 12/03/2024 - 08:23

    I think it really depends on whether it was provided for a reasonable amount of time. What consistutes as reasonable is… I think everyone has different opinions on that.

    Reminds me of the fiasco that third party apps had with Reddit, and how they were no longer able to provide the service people paid for (because Reddit changed their policies around).

    What I would like to see is, for the companies to at least acknowledge that their product is less valuable in some form (like a discount coupon or something to say, we are sorry things were out of our control).

    What I do is, if it bothers me too much, I buy different product next time. I think there are products with high premium because of how long the supports are provided (like Noctua or Apple).

  • InLaymansTerms on 12/03/2024 - 08:25
    +8

    Reminds me of when Sony removed the Linux feature they heavily advertised when launching the PlayStation 3.

    Class action resulted in partial refunds.

    • JimmyF on 12/03/2024 - 09:34
      +2

      Class action resulted in partial refunds.

      Where the lawyers got money money than the end users ;)

      • leiiv on 12/03/2024 - 10:06
        +1

        Such things should have been baked into the law in a way so that no lawyer is needed.

  • mapax on 12/03/2024 - 08:47
    +2

    Thought this was going to be about Netflix and password sharing.

    • JimmyF on 12/03/2024 - 09:35
      +2

      You can add this to the list though. The Netflix CEO is on record saying they are happy for people to password share! Then years later changed their mind.

  • Muzeeb on 12/03/2024 - 09:04
    -7

    Technology moves on quickly these days. Sometimes humans need to as well.

    • barge-in hunter on 12/03/2024 - 09:10

      This is probably more to the point. I don't think Samsung would have any choice in the hardware requirements behind say, SteamLink.

      If Steam upped the requirements past what your 3 or 4 year old Samsung hardware could handle, then Samsung wouldn't have a choice but to remove it.

      Agree with some of the above though - if you care enough, you could potentially push for a partial refund… or just save your time and buy standalone streaming box like an Apple TV?

      • jerjergege on 12/03/2024 - 09:19
        +3

        They discontinued the app not because of Valve.

        But because of they want to put the maintenance team on something else.

        Steam Link app and service is no longer available on Samsung 2022-2023 TV models after November 30, 2023. The reason for termination is that, technical maintenance closure of an app plugin due to focus on next generation Gaming Service. For information on games purchased in the Steam store, please contact the Steam support.

        Let me know if there is anything else that we can help.

        Please take note of your Samsung reference number: XXXXXXXXXX

        Thank you for choosing Samsung. You can also reach us via the different contact channels through the Samsung Support link at https://www.samsung.com/au/support/contact/.

        Edit: as said on another comment, they should have just let the app live while letting people know it will not be maintained, vs force deleting it.

        • barge-in hunter on 12/03/2024 - 09:31
          +3

          @jerjergege

          Yeah ok, so it doesn't sound like a hardware compatibility issue then; that's very rough.

          next generation Gaming Service

          Almost sounds like they're making a competing app/capability. Super dodgy.

    • mrkorrupt on 12/03/2024 - 09:20
      +7

      that is a silly premise, if they advertise a feature, then that feature is part of the experience of that product. if they subsequently remove the feature or hid it behind a pay wall after the fact then that changes the facts which it is purchased under.

      Imagine I sell you a 4K TV multipixel and multicolour tv advertised as maximum of 4K, 2billion colours, and then over time reduce the number of either down to 4 colours and pixel, it still is 4K TV multipixel and multicolour tv but now only 4 pixels.

  • JimmyF on 12/03/2024 - 09:38
    +2

    Philips Hue were advertising functionality with IFTTT on their products boxes, then IFTTT made their service subscription based

    That was a IFTTT thing, not a Phillips Hue thing as such, even though Phillips Hue is the devil.

    Samsung has removed

    Samsung is the biggest pile of shit when it comes to TV features. Look at all the older 'smart TVs' they have produced and you'll see they do this on all models. Youtube was recently removed on older Samsung Smart TVs.

    Basically don't buy a TV for the smarts as in a few years it will be outdated and start removing stuff. But the TV for the display and use a 3rd party device, apple tv, google tv etc to get your 'smarts'.

    • FoxJump on 12/03/2024 - 11:39

      wow. my 2014 LG tv still has youtube, though .. patchy and crashes.

      • JimmyF on 12/03/2024 - 12:25

        Yeah it is pretty crappy from Samsung but inline with what I expect from them these days. We have a even older Samsung 'smart tv' and just use it as a dumb TV as everything stopped being supported once the new model comes along after a year or two. Haven't even looked to see if Youtube was removed from that, but it was a POS when I last seen it, so no loss.

        But some friends ran into the YouTube was there one day, gone the next issue. When I looked for them I found Samsung just removed it under a too bad, so sad claim.

        I told them to buy a Google TV and use that instead. Which they did and said it was like light and day, everything is 10x faster now!

        • FoxJump on 12/03/2024 - 13:23

          i watch yt on tv from my nas' hdmi out on the firefox browser with adguard.

  • rumblytangara on 12/03/2024 - 09:58

    What do you guys think companies should do when they remove features people paid for and removed them via a software update in the future?
    If I had known the features would be removed in the future, I would have never purchased the TV,

    Just operate on the assumption that any feature that is internet-dependent can be removed at whim.

    I would never depend on a TV for 'smart' features, I connect the TV to a HTPC instead. I would never even connect a TV to the internet in the first place- why would I trust the consumer goods division of Samsung or whoever to have the slightest interest in security. How long does a TV last- ten years? Do you really think that Samsung is going to keep writing updates for ten year old, obsolete televisions?

    Same with home automation stuff- do it inhouse, or just run the risk of functionality disappearing in the future. There have been so many instances of functions, products, or entire companies vanishing that you'd have to be incredibly naive to think that any advertised feature will stay around forever. It's like somehow believing a TV ad that says "product X is the BEST!"

  • bbinc on 12/03/2024 - 10:00
    +2

    Some companies eg Belkin brick whole products with “end of life”. I’d never heard of that, and it certainly wasn’t on the box. I had a remote security camera bricked by this, and couldn’t even use it with third party apps. At least with a TV you can re-smart it using Fetch or Google TV etc.

  • leiiv on 12/03/2024 - 10:10
    +1

    They should do a full refund, or at least a significant partial refund, to discourage them on keep doing it.

  • apple2016 on 12/03/2024 - 10:27
    +1

    If I had known the features would be removed in the future,

    I am quite sure it would have been covered in the tiny T&C which you accepted when you switched the tv on for the first time.

  • netjock on 12/03/2024 - 11:26
    +1

    Major problem when price doesn't support end user requirements. Only company that have managed to charge a lot up front is Apple and give 6 years of OS updates.

  • hazzad on 13/03/2024 - 07:21

    Built in obsolescence of apps on TV's is nothing new. Been happening for years. Typically happen side to new features implemented on apps that the tv can no longer handle it. Ie. Video codec support, security protocols. Sometimes it's a simple case of cheaper manufacturers just not giving a damn and not bothering to update the app for the platform for that and previous years models. As a few others have said, don't reply of the smarts of a tv. Get a shield or apple tv box.

  • mhz on 13/03/2024 - 09:15

    This is the reason I don't rely on apps on smart tv's and instead buy a stb like the Apple TV

  • Ultimate Gattai on 16/03/2024 - 00:23

    You would hate to use Windows 11, they're constantly removing features on that one (they recently removed the ability to load android apps or they're about to).

    I also hate when media like Video games remove features that don't need internet, thankfully Steam lets you keep any games you payed for even if they delist them. At this point, I don't trust anyone to keep the features they promised intact, but it's annoying when they do remove anything.

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