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Why refrigerators and other kitchen appliances break so easily now


Kitchen appliances nowadays might be higher-tech — but they’re also higher maintenance.

At home, Costanzo has a totally original GE fridge from 1935 that he says “works perfectly,” but these days, “you’re lucky to get 10 to 15 years out of a refrigerator. On a modern appliance, you’re less likely to turn a dial that triggers a motor (a mechanical system) than press a button on a screen that connects a bunch of tiny components to a motherboard (digital integration). He says some of their CEOs and vice presidents lamented the difficulties of competing with Chinese companies, which often promise extremely inexpensive products.

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