I do think that this is a lot of electronic waste which we should be avoiding, but the marketing / promotional activities are quite interesting in that the pitch to consumers is around it being comforting.
> Even if you’ve done one before, taking a pregnancy test is a very emotional time – you can feel a real mixture of conflicting emotions, ranging from nervousness to anticipation which can make for a pretty stressful experience. Those few minutes of waiting for your pregnancy test result can feel like the longest of your life, and time seemingly stands still.
> Clearblue DIGITAL Pregnancy Test with Smart Countdown is the only pregnancy test which reassures you from start to finish. With its robust, 50% wider sampling tip, integrated unique Smart Countdown to your result and clear Digital ‘Pregnant’ or ‘Not Pregnant’ results in words you will be reassured right up until your result.
I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!).
> I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing
Yes - by ensuring the education system (both school and continuing adult education) is actually capable of producing residents who are able to follow instructions and is run by competent educationist instead of letting local marginally qualified busy bodies control it. Making instructions easily accessible eg. through a QR on pack linking to video on unmetered network. Widely teaching people how to use QR etc.
In many developed countries with good education systems, most people - even elderly and school students seem to have no problems correctly self administering Covid Rapid Antigen tests which is likely same order of magnitude stressful.
Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments.
Of course, education is gonna help and reproductive health and contraception are incredibly important. But up to the point where problems in this department are eradicated, some women will need easy-to-read tests.
> Especially women in shitty situation do do those tests in secret in badly lit environments.
Not that I'm not sympathetic but many problems in the US that common people face seem to be either a result of continuation of either hyper-local governance that seems to be a relic of "settling the continent" era OR an extreme form of capitalism that seems to be a relic of the "robber baron" era.
> it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version
Let's be real 2 seconds here, the only reason this "upgraded" test exist is because it's more profitable than the regular one, this isn't a problem to solve (from the company's perspective). The entire thing revolves around the existence of an "inferior" version. They're going for 10x+ times more than a "dumb" test. It's pure marketing, they're preying on emotional people going through an emotional phase of their lives by selling them a pee stick that's supposedly going to "reassure" them.... this is marketing 101
> I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!).
There is none, because the "assurances" are there to explain why is the device needed. The whole point of them is to explain to you that you might be confused by non-electronic test and therefore you need to buy this device instead.
Otherwise said, it is not about reassuring you nor about showing you how to read the test. It is meant to make you doubt your ability to read the traditional test correctly.
> Even if you’ve done one before, taking a pregnancy test is a very emotional time – you can feel a real mixture of conflicting emotions, ranging from nervousness to anticipation which can make for a pretty stressful experience. Those few minutes of waiting for your pregnancy test result can feel like the longest of your life, and time seemingly stands still.
> Clearblue DIGITAL Pregnancy Test with Smart Countdown is the only pregnancy test which reassures you from start to finish. With its robust, 50% wider sampling tip, integrated unique Smart Countdown to your result and clear Digital ‘Pregnant’ or ‘Not Pregnant’ results in words you will be reassured right up until your result.
I do wonder if there is another way to provide these assurances and comfort without having to put electronics in the thing - it feels like all of this could be solved just with good design in the normal standalone version (particularly as everyone has been practicing on lateral flows for the last few years!).