At this time a new iPhone has been announced and is flooding stores in many countries. You’ll see people gleefully lining up to replace their 12-month old previous phone as fast as they possibly can.
We don’t see this in the 3D printing world, but should we?
A pattern of personal 3D printer announcements seems to be setting in. For the past couple of years, the two industry giants, MakerBot and 3D Systems, have made major announcements to their personal product lines in January at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Other 3D printer manufacturers have taken the hint and will no doubt be releasing their own new devices at the same time this coming January.
But let’s think about this. You’d like to get the new 3D printer because it’s bigger, better and exceptionally cool, just like you’d like to replace your iPhone.
But an iPhone costs only several hundred dollars, whereas a personal 3D printer will cost thousands. You can’t afford it. Well, perhaps some of you can, but really, most people simply can’t upgrade.
The manufacturers must be counting on selling a majority of their new models to brand new 3D printer owners, leaving those with last year’s models with a bit of disappointment. Ultimately everyone will upgrade, but it may take years instead of months.
