The shortest-lived category on this page, which makes the two questions that matter sharper: can the battery come out, and does anything depend on a server?
The shortest-lived category on this page, which makes the two questions that matter sharper: can the battery come out, and does anything depend on a server?
Both of those questions have concrete answers you can check. A lithium-ion cell loses capacity with every charge cycle, so a glued-in battery sets the lifespan of everything attached to it, and European rules taking effect in 2027 require portable batteries built into appliances to be removable and replaceable by the owner, with some exemptions. A device that needs a company's servers belongs to that company's plans; when support ends, cloud-dependent features can disappear and some devices stop working entirely.
Each row below is scored as its definition reads, and each definition is exactly the property that keeps one of the score's hard caps from firing, which the notes explain case by case. The strongest signal an electronics maker can send is published schematics with spares sold to anyone, and several US states now require makers of many electronics to provide parts, tools, and documentation. The practical checks are simple: a battery door with screws or a latch, a standard port and cell size on the spec sheet, a device that works with no account, and a service manual you can download before you buy.
A glued-in cell sets the lifespan of everything attached to it.
If a remote server can disable the device, the maker owns its lifespan and you do not.
USB-C, AA, and 18650 all outlive proprietary docks and packs.
The strongest longevity signal an electronics maker can give, and the rarest.
Hot-swappable switches, standard keycap profiles, and a detachable cable make a keyboard a decades-long object.
Every item type above, scored 0–100 on the six properties a shopper can check by hand. These score the type, never a product: no brand is named, no price is quoted, and the Guarantee pillar stays provisional until you have a specific maker in front of you. Open a row for the pillar-by-pillar reasoning.
Tell us which product from this piece you have lived with, and how it held up.
Courtesy Score v1.1, 0–100, from six weighted pillars a shopper can check by hand. It is not a product rating and not a brand endorsement — read how we score.
Three questions settle almost every purchase in this category, and all three can be answered before you pay.
A gasket, a sole, a belt, a blade, a battery. If the maker stocks it, the object has a future; if it does not, the maker has set the expiration date.
Stitching, screws, welts, and bolts can all be undone and redone. Glue, ultrasonic welds, and fused linings cannot.
Single-material objects — cast iron, solid wood, steel, wool, full-grain leather — wear evenly and repair cleanly. Laminates delaminate.
These three questions are the short form of the six-pillar Courtesy Score rubric — the weights, the caps, and the worked examples are published in full at how we score.
Reviews are written when the object is new, before the failure modes arrive, and most review coverage never reaches the categories on this index at all. So use the review you are already watching — or the person at the counter — to answer the six things a first impression cannot:
What is it made of, and is that one thing — or layers bonded together? Did they show a seam, a laminate edge, a fused lining?
Did they open it? With ordinary tools, or by prying against clips and glue? Is there a free repair guide anywhere?
Which part wears out first, is it sold today, and for how many years after the model is discontinued?
Does it work with no account, no app, and no server — and can the battery, if there is one, come out?
Who fixes this besides the maker — a cobbler, a watchmaker, a bike shop, a repair café — and can they get parts without permission?
What is promised in writing, and does the maker sell parts to people whose warranty has run out?
The only durability evidence better than any score is your own: what you bought, when, what wore first, and what a year of ownership actually cost. The CourtesyCart app is building the Owner's Log to keep that record against your real purchase dates — cost per year from receipts, not from marketing. It arrives with the app itself.
The longevity evidence behind this index comes from owner communities and open repair data rather than from any maker's marketing. Start with these: