Amazon Pulls Support for Perfectly Fine Older Kindles

Amazon is discontinuing software support for Kindle devices released in 2012 and earlier, preventing these devices from accessing the Kindle Store despite remaining fully functional—a practice increasingly common among major tech companies that raises concerns about device lifecycle management, customer lock-in, and e-waste. For IT leaders, this exemplifies the strategic risks of vendor-dependent ecosystems and highlights growing regulatory and reputational pressures around planned obsolescence and sustainability. Organizations should evaluate their own device support policies and customer communication strategies to avoid similar backlash while considering broader implications for IoT and connected device management within their enterprise infrastructure.