Which product category is overdue for a complete rethink?

[Cole_55]

Some products have barely changed in decades, while others feel stuck in a rut of minor yearly updates. Smartphones are a good example, where each new model is slightly faster with a slightly better camera, but the basic design has hardly changed since 2010. Other categories feel overdue for someone to throw out the rulebook and start again

Printers are an obvious candidate. They are still expensive to run, prone to jamming and tied to costly ink cartridges, with some manufacturers even blocking third party ink. Remote controls are another, with dozens of buttons most people never use. Washing machines, ovens and other appliances seem to add apps that nobody asked for rather than fixing real problems

Then there are things like email, which has barely changed since the 1990s despite spam, phishing and overflowing inboxes. Passwords are finally being replaced by passkeys, but slowly. TV interfaces have become cluttered with adverts and recommendations. Even cars have gone backwards in some ways, with touchscreens replacing simple buttons

A good rethink usually starts with asking what people need, rather than what features can be added. The best products often remove complexity rather than adding it. The iPod and the original iPhone both did that

Which product category would you rethink from scratch? And what would your version look like?