[thumbsup-_-]

Even a case can be made for not charging for software maintenance and upgrades since the customer has already paid for that cost while buying the device (or just include it in the device cost). Take Apple as an example. Software upgrades are free. It actually works in their benefit to give free software since they don't need to be backwards compatible for decade(s). Charging for actual recurring fee services like data makes sense though.

[WalterBright]

I was forced to upgrade my 2015 iPhone because apps started "winking out", one at a time. No error message, they just wouldn't open anymore. It was surely the automatic free upgrades to the OS and the apps that broke them.

I was surprised, though, that it would "upgrade" my phone to apps that wouldn't work anymore and didn't bother to say it wouldn't work.

Bought a new phone, transferred my setup over, and they started working again.

[thumbsup-_-]

Yes that is also a problem. The best software is the one which is stable and isolated entirely such that no dependencies change and is also never upgraded. Nothing usually breaks in it. As an owner you buy the entire package hardware + software in its stable form and you can keep it running as long as you want.

With new cars, what I dread the most is scenario where something breaks after an upgrade, especially after car is out of warranty. Would that mean I need to get an expensive repair, or an entirely new car just because my 5yr old hardware isn't compatible with latest software?

I want a car which is reliable enough (including the software) to run as long as I want to keep it even if it's decades. May be keeping cars for decades is about to become a distant reality