Photo illustration: Intelligencer, Photo: Temu
Remember Juul? The company’s little e-pen helped popularize nicotine vaping in the US, leaving a trail of millions of discarded Juul Pods in US high school parking lots. Juul was kind of banned, then kind of unbanned, bought by Altria (formerly Philip Morris), then sold, and faced a lot of lawsuits. Juul still sells a lot of vapes, even in its scaled-down form, but according to Wired’s Louise Matsakis, teenagers and vaping adults are turning to newer, weirder, flashier, cheaper, more disposable atomizer technology.
Manufactured almost exclusively in China, these e-cigarettes feature colorful, eye-catching metallic finishes, soft silicone textures, and a round shape that fits comfortably in your hand. But what really sets them apart is the LCD screen, which makes the devices more environmentally harmful than regular disposable e-cigarettes. And like most e-cigarettes sold in stores, they’re technically illegal and not approved for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The early versions of these new imported vapes, typified by the Elf Bar, are more rugged and colorful than the Juul, and are typically disposable, even though they contain rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Wired describes a new generation of mostly disposable vapes that, in addition to being very cheap and very powerful, also allow vapers to play games on a tiny touchscreen and track the location of their vape, all for just $5 a pop. These devices are grotesque examples of e-waste, viral marketing, and the easily exploited idiosyncrasies of cross-border commerce in 2024.
Photo: Tem
But they are also examples of a larger trend that has been gaining momentum for years. If you’ve spent any time on the internet’s burgeoning discount retail platforms (Temu, TikTok Shop, Wish, etc.), disposable vapes with screens and logic boards almost sound reasonable. At Temu, for example, some of the best-selling items in the electronics department are Bluetooth earphones with touchscreens built into the cases, complete with interfaces of extremely questionable value that can be used to control playback, display screensavers, or simply tinker, some of which are under $10. There’s a $4 USB cable with a built-in screen that shows charging speed, a $7 cigarette lighter covered in LED lights and displays, a USB hub that doubles as an external display, a $65 dresser with a touchscreen, a $48 toaster with a software interface, a $16 rechargeable neck cooler with LED displays, a $100 motorcycle backpack with two LCD screens, and an $18 school backpack with a voice-activated flashing display.
The questionable touchscreen interface has long invaded pricier sectors like refrigerators, cars and various other appliances, where, while perhaps unnecessary, it tended to signify luxury, expensive or new. Now, the touchscreen interface has crept up from the bottom of the market, where the extra screen has become a symbol of cheapness.
Photo: Tem
If chemically addictive disposable computing devices are just an extreme example of the trend for ultra-cheap electronics, ultra-cheap electronics are just an extreme example of the kind of products being sold by the millions on cross-border commerce platforms. (Most of these platforms do not, however, stock e-cigarettes, which are banned for regulatory reasons, although persistent sellers may label them as soldering irons.) Temu, which sells astonishingly cheap products across dozens of categories, competes with Shein in selling disposable barely there clothing, as do TikTok sellers. A (somewhat) functional knock-off Airpods with noise-canceling and a unique touch interface selling for $20 is not much different from a $4 polyester shirt. The basic materials are the same, and both have negative externalities that likely exceed their sales value. But while decades of mainstream fast fashion have accustomed consumers to the latter, the former still feels like a novelty, even if it doesn’t last long.
Discount electronics isn’t a new trend, but in the past it has tended to focus on copying existing products at a lower price. In 2017, best-selling items on Wish included barely functional iPad-like tablets and $8 smartwatches. Now, at the lower end, screens, processors and batteries cost less than the plastic they’re housed in, leading to a strange new wave of product development that’s more creative than imitative, fueled by a combination of platform marketability and a flexible, underutilized manufacturing base. How about installing Tetris on an e-cigarette? How about allowing customers to tap “like” on TikTok videos from their earphone cases? Or, for a more recognizable electronics brand like Anker, how about putting a software interface on a portable battery that exists to charge and be charged?
Photo: Tem
Whether Temu and TikTok Shop can build sustainable businesses around super-cheap electronics is an open question. Both products rely on the generosity of much larger owners. Both products are hugely popular, and this popularity threatens Amazon’s success. Amazon clearly sees value in emulating these kinds of products and the companies that sell them, despite, or perhaps because of, its increasing reliance on less direct cross-border commerce. According to The Information:
Amazon plans to open a section on its shopping site featuring discounted products shipped directly from Chinese warehouses to consumers overseas, according to slides shown to Chinese sellers. It would be the e-commerce giant’s most aggressive response yet to the growth of discount sites such as Temu and Shein. The new marketplace will sell unbranded fashion, home and everyday items, and orders will take nine to 11 days to reach customers, according to the slides. Amazon told Chinese sellers in a recent private meeting that it will begin signing up sellers this summer and start accepting inventory in the fall.
For years, Amazon has been criticized by unethical sellers for selling low-quality products. Some cross-border commerce platforms have also been plagued by the (correct!) perception that many of the products they sell end up in landfills within a year, manufactured by invisible workers in squalid conditions. These perceptions are made possible by bizarre trade loopholes that would otherwise make no sense to ship a $5 product 8,000 miles to a customer’s doorstep. Temu may be a byword for low quality, and Wish may have relegated itself to a joke, but in some ways, their model is a success. In other words, vape computers are no exception. They offer a glimpse into the near future of American commerce.
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