system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why are older electronics more durable and last longer than newer ones?

Wouldn't it make sense if they kept making them strong?
gpt
As things get more components, they have more potential points of failure.

Imagine an old style coffee maker that just has the heating element in the base that powers the whole thing. As long as that heating coil works, everything works.

Now get a nice fancy coffee maker that has an automatic water dispenser, bean grinder, WiFi enabled, etc. That is more parts that can fail.

If every part has an average lifespan of 10 years, then the basic coffee maker has a 50% chance of working after 10 years, but the complex one has a 6.25% chance of working (each part independently only has a 50% chance of working, and you need all of them to still work).