A reader posed an interesting prediction, that Dewalt will be “abandoning FlexVolt in the next several years altogether,” and I’m not quite sure what to think of this.
In a comment to my post about whether Dewalt will be updating their cordless miter saws in 2021, Greg makes some very strong arguments to support his theory.
Advertisement
It’s been out for 5 years now with not much traction if you compare it to other brands and lines out there.
This is true.
Of all the tools I bought you can only still get the circular saw, the angle grinder, and possibly the 12″ dual bevel. The problem is the dual bevel is still listed deep in the Dewalt website but nobody has it in stock, either in bare tool, battery kit form, or battery kit + 120v corded adapter form.
Hmm. There are a lot of tools on backorder from a lot of brands these days, due to high demand, parts shortages, and shipping delays, but it’s uncertain as to whether one of these is the reason for the increasing scarcity of FlexVolt tools.
Since 2016 there’s been about 20 or so actual different Flexvolt tools which isn’t a lot.
That is also true.
Advertisement
See Also: All of ToolGuyd’s Dewalt FlexVolt Tool Coverage
Dewalt has not come out with any additional 120V Max cordless power tools since the platform first launched 5 years ago in 2016. At this time, there is a 12″ sliding miter saw, with the non-slider having been discontinued.
Dewalt has been bringing an increasing number of tools from the FlexVolt platform over to their 20V Max cordless power tool system. Why?
We also have PowerDetect core cordless power tools, as well as 20V Max with FlexVolt Advantage. While not quite as powerful as the FlexVolt tools, these special 20V Max tools deliver improved performance when paired with higher capacity batteries.
However, before anyone gets too concerned, consider this: Dewalt recently came out with a new FlexVolt modular cordless outdoor power tool system. Attachments are on the way as well, right now only the trimmer and power handle have launched so far.
Dewalt will also be launching a new massive FlexVolt and 20V Max-compatible 15Ah battery. I would expect that this could usher in a new tier of FlexVolt cordless power tools and equipment.
They have also updated their FlexVolt rotary hammers.
It’s not quite clear what Dewalt is doing with their FlexVolt cordless power tool system, but I don’t think there’s any risk they they’ll “abandon” the platform.
After all, they did discontinue their 40V Max cordless outdoor power equipment lineup in favor of FlexVolt, and they seem to be putting continued energy into this and certain other FlexVolt product segments.
It seems that 20V Max brushless motor and battery tech has gotten to a place where you don’t need FlexVolt’s 60V Max battery to power higher performance tools, at least not the types of tools that they launched a few years ago. BUT, this seems like a good time for Dewalt to take FlexVolt to the next level, which could be where the new 15Ah battery comes into consideration.
Dewalt seems to be making changes to FlexVolt, and the emergence of comparable tools in the 20V Max system is certainly confusing things, but I don’t think they’re giving up on the system.
Jared
Those are interesting points. If Dewalt can achieve Flexvolt-like performance with “Flexvolt Advantage” tech, it really blurs the reason for Flexvolt to be its own separate line.
Flexvolt batteries are expensive. I would certainly have bought a Flexvolt Advantage chainsaw over a straight Flexvolt, had that been an option. While the 60v power is nice, it would be great to be able to pop in a lower-pwrforming 20v pack if I ran my flexvolts dry.
That tech could be advantageous for other tools too. Imagine a new big impact wrench for example, able to achieve new performance highs by being Flexvolt compatible- while also manageable for regular duty with a co.pact 20v pack when you don’t need the extra juice.
MM
I think you’re right that the flexibility of a Flexvolt Advantage system is great, but there are a couple issues thus far.
First, with their existing tools the Flexvolt Advantage tools seem to be able to perform better than normal 20V tools when equipped with the Flexvolt battery, but they do not match the power output of the full-on Flexvolt tools.
Second, many tools would simply be disappointing, period, with a 20V battery. I like the 9″ cutoff saw but I can’t imagine it would perform adequately with a 20V batt. So I think that while Flexvolt Advantage makes a ton of sense for, say, a drill-driver or a recip saw I don’t think it matters much for the big power draw tools which Flexvolts tend to be.
Now if they can come out with Flexvolt Advantage tools which can match the power of a full-on standard Flexvolt? Yeah, I’d take those every time.
Lance
I don’t see why every single 20v tool shouldn’t/wouldn’t be a FV Advantage tool.
FVA is just marketing jargon for a motor controller that increases current availability to the motor proportional to the connected battery’s ability to provide it. Bigger battery = more current.
Every tool already does this, usually just limiting the current to what the motor can handle or battery can supply (“protection” circuitry). Larger motors and batteries just have higher limits, so more power to the business end of the tool.
Every company markets the same thing in different ways, and the average consumer is left reading into what’s being claimed.
For the record, I despise most marketing. It treats people like idiots who don’t know any better. For example I love my Milwaukee M12 tools but despise the company’s idiotic marketing.
alex
Larger motors and windings are heavier and more expansive though. It doesn’t make sense to add this weight to the more compact tools (4.5 grinder, compact sawzall, compact drill, …)
MM
Bingo.
Lance is correct about how Flexvolt works, but in order for a “Flexvolt Advantage” tool to be of any benefit over a base-line 20V tool it needs to come equipped with a bigger, heavier, motor and, perhaps, more or bigger transistors in the speed control electronics in order to handle the higher voltage and current.
I think Lance has a great point that it would be nice if many the 20V capable tools suddenly became more powerful once equipped with a flexvolt batt, but at the same time it would mean that all those tools would be more expensive and heavier….that’s a tradeoff to think about. If I had to go buy a new circ saw, recip saw, or drill right now I’d buy Flexvolt Advantage for certain. But for a random orbit sander, OMT, impact driver? Or any sort of “compact” tool? No, I wouldn’t buy those in Flexvolt Advantage even if they did exist.
Jared
In reply to MM:
My thought is to come at this from the other end – i.e. make Flexvolt tools 20v compatible, not 20v tools Flexvolt compatible.
Rather than releasing any more tools as Flexvolt-only, have them be compatible with either pack ala Flexvolt Advantage.
Perhaps this can’t be done for some reason. E.g. maybe they can make Flexvolt-only tools more powerful than Flexvolt advantage (i.e. if adding 20v compatibility somehow waters down the tool). Or maybe Flexvolt advantage tech is more expensive than just straight Flexvolt.
My idea is just that if all Dewalt 20v & 60v pack are compatible with any 20v and 60v tool, this would eliminate Milwaukee’s competitive advantage.
MM
@Jared
Making all the flexvolt line backwards-compatible with 20V and accepting the drop in performance which comes with the smaller batteries isn’t a bad idea for some tools and from the perspective of a skilled tool user who knows what to expect. But I doubt Dewalt will do this because surely some fools will try and run big tools on a small 20V battery, get frustrated when the tool doesn’t perform well, and then blame Dewalt rather than their own poor battery choice. This can end up giving the tools a bad reputation very quickly even though the real fault lies with the operator.
Alex
No way they are discontinuing flex volt tools. My guess is that it will go the same way as the 12v/20 atomic lines. Mos tools in that category will be released in both the 20v flexvolt advantage and 60v flexvolt version so you can stay on the 20v line if you want.
MM
I don’t think they’re going anywhere either. Sure flexvolt is overkill for the average DIYer tool like an impact driver, OMT, drill, etc, but Dewalt loves to compete on specs, and the 60V platform is what’s giving them a marketing edge on the big rotary hammers, circ saws, etc. No way they’re going to give that up.
Also OPE is a big deal now and Flexvolt offers a lot more power for those tools as well.
Plain grainy
I guess I’ll take a wait and see stance on this. The air compressor supply stats could just be a supply chain issue(or a higher percentage of profit vs the Flexvolt).. I’m still impressed with the mighty Flexvolt, and probably feel anything less than a Flexvolt is less.
Dcl
DeWalt is always too focused on where the money is at the moment rather than where it will be in the future. A classic quarter to quarter company too interested in short term earnings. If they think they can sell more 20v tools that is where they will put their money. Their 12v stuff when it came out originally was probably the best on the market, and then they just let the whole line languish for years. The same thing is happening to flexvolt. A great system, but their management is too meek to weather the short term hit to their financials that investing heavily in it would entail. It’s far easier to drag their old system along and hope it all works out in the end.
Michael
Like the 18 volt batteries
Chris S
I’ll throw my 2 cents in.
I think Dewalt will let it die on the vine, just like several of their other platforms over the years.
https://toolguyd.com/is-dewalt-phasing-out-18v-tools-and-batteries/
https://toolguyd.com/dewalt-40v-max-cordless-outdoor-power-tools-discontinued/
Couldn’t find an article to reference the 18V Li-ion stick battery platform that lasted a year in between 18V Ni-cad and *20V slide packs.
The abandoned 8V platform.
My other 2 cents says that whichever “atomic” lineup sells worse will be abandoned next.
Makita abandoned 36V, but at least that doesn’t really affect anyone in that tool lineup since they’re just 18V batteries already…40V on the other hand…we’ll see.
I recommend Milwaukee to anyone who asks which brand to get out of the “big three”. M12 and M18 have been around since the beginning of the Li-ion battery platforms, have the largest selection, and show no signs of slowing down.
I’d recommend Ryobi over Dewalt if budget is at all a concern. Ryobi has a massive lineup and is now becoming one of the most diverse homeowner lineups ever.
They didn’t screw over their Ni-cad owners when Li-ion became a thing.
They also have 120V corded options on more tools than any other brand (even when other brands act like it’s not feasible and have only caved on the fewest of tools…Dewalt, cough, Milwaukee, cough.).
philip s john
But you cant use batteries in cold. Milwaukee HO is worst performing. M12 and m18 amazing… dewalt 20v just as good and 12v has just as good potential. Need to know if dewalt plan to update impact guns and go full on mechanics tools. Milwaukee way ahead… but again dewalt has potential with 60v which just eats mil HO.
Chris S
Not sure what the cold has to do with anything I said…
Dewalt 20V and 12V do have potential, but that doesn’t mean Dewalt will capitalize on that potential. They just reintroduce everyone to a slightly stepped up version of the same tools periodically.
60V be slightly better in power to Milwaukee’s HO but that still doesn’t stop me from getting the same amount of work done. Dewalt’s engineers could take a page from Milwaukee’s and Makita’s and learn to innovate more designs. Instead they copy the pages…just look at their tripod stand light (a blatant copy) and the hole hog (the first was a design mess that cant fit between studs for electricians, so they “revised” it by straight copying Milwaukee’s design).
This also comes down to the truck argument, sure everyone wants these stupidly oversized trucks but what’s the point if you only use it 10% of the time. It has the potential, but it’s a waste the rest of the time.
18V and 20V (which is still 18V) will handle 90% of anyone’s needs. So for most people, the 60V platform is a waste.
It will never be a big seller like the more common lines and hence why I think Dewalt will drop it after a while. They’ll just do it quietly, like they did their other platforms. Let everyone keep buying their inventory and don’t scare everyone from buying it until Dewalt hands over the bag for someone else to hold.
philip s john
Roybi and cold. Don’t work.
philip s john
Lol to guy above. Flexvolt is amazing … I have red too. The problem with red HO is voltage… and flexvolt clearly did it right with 60v. Makita followed suit with 40v after they said the would only do 2x 18v. Toolguyd should have no worries about flexvolt… and instead should have an article about Milwaukee HO and if the users are truly happy or impressed.
Chris S
I see your trying to troll. We had flexvolt…the batteries are crap. They didn’t engineer them to last, the control/charging circuit was built in such a way that the individual cells can’t be load balanced properly. As a contractor, we had several batteries die in the first year. That is just bad business practice to buy those overly expensive paper weights when 18V batteries are far more common, more interchangeable, and last for literal years. Our hole hawgs and super hole hawgs are several years old and still work great. The batteries have been great as well. They would have the best ROI of almost any tool we’ve ever used if it were not for theft on job sites.
You should try a super hole hawg against the flexvolt hole hog and see that they can both drill a 6″ hole. Flexvolt will do it slightly faster, but both will be stopped by the odd screw, nail, knot, etc. Both also have clutches and overload/lockout protection. Both can tear your arm off because the human element is the first thing to fail, hence the clutch. They’re impressive, and I’m sure users are happy, or else they wouldn’t be crushing Dewalt and every other SBD product on the market.
Jon
I have not yet had a single problem with any of my flexvolt tools or batteries. I have not had an issue with any dewalt tools or batteries for that matter. I rather like having the 60v higher power options, there just are not that many tools that you want to carry around where 60v is helpful.
The competition and different tactics between brands is better for all of us.
JMG
The 12” miter saw will eat batteries at a high rate if you do not pay attention to the error light flash, which happens to trigger at about 50% charge on mine. This is not an optimal situation imo, and lends credence to the statement that the batteries are problematic.
The tool itself might be to blame as well, but I don’t have an interest in wasting the batteries I have in testing that supposition.
Chris I
I’m a DeWalt and flexvolt guy. I’m talking chainsaw, grinder, circular, lawn mower, drills, sanders, heat gun, blowers, you name it. Would love to have a flexvolt mower. Had both my 12ah batteries completely crap out like two months before the 3yr warranty excited, DeWalt replaced them both lickety split no issues. IMO, they’ve just simply put out way too much crap that are essentially the same tool, must be a nightmare for the everyday diy’er to navigate.
Mike
Do you know why batteries crap out because people d rain them to far, once I feel the performance of the battery start go down I change them, that’s the number one killer of batteries draining them to much or all the way very bad for batteries and doesn’t matter what brand of battery dewalt Milwaukee, Makita etc…
philip s john
It’s a good point. Amazingly people don’t know how to boost them either
Travis
I woke up not worried about the Flexvolt platform at all but now you have me thinking. I only have the compressor and a grinder but both work fine and have good runtime – it would be a shame if they did not continue to develop this line. Also, I am always surprised to see people so down on the Milwaukee HO platform. I only use it in connection with the outdoor power tools but I have never had a problem with the 12 or 8 version of the batteries. I need one of each to complete the trimming on my property and then blow off the driveway and sidewalk. I also use the 12 in the chainsaw with no problems and I am working in a warm climate.
philip s john
Little time has proven Chris wrong about a lot!
X lu
DeWalt is a brand that is adrift in the cordless world. Fine enough tools but zero vision. They lost their way and it is clear Milwaukee’s rise has come from their hide among others. Cordless requires platform thinking not tool thinking because heavy spenders buy the platform not the tool. Corded buyers buy the tool, notwithstanding a brand preference. When you don’t focus on platform as key, the platforms are treated as disposable which of course corrodes trust and loyalty.
I suspect this analysis is true and they are keeping this tech on life support to minimize the damage to brand.
Jared
Do you even like tools X lu? 😛
It seems like your comments are consistently critical of what every brand is doing. Who is doing it right in your opinion?
Say Dewalt transitioned from “Flexvolt” to “Flexvolt Advantage”, i.e. releasing the new high power tools with both 60v and 20v compatibility – would that be “life support to minimize damage”? I think that could really put the screws to Milwaukee. Milwaukee has oft touted the all-battery compatibility as a significant advantage of the 18v HO tools. Flexvolt Advantage accomplishes the same thing – but has a higher potential performance limit.
You still might not want to put a 12ah Flexvolt pack on your palm sander, nor a 1.5ah pack on a table saw, but the same is true for Milwaukee.
Even a year ago, I probably would have given the nod to Milwaukee as the slightly superior brand because of the compatibility and the seemingly just-as-powerful tools despite the voltage handicap. As new high power tools come out and Milwaukee HO struggles to compete because of heat issues, the scales are tipping.
X lu
Not true. I believe Milwaukee is far and away the best cordless brand today followed by Ryobi for the more occasional user. The reasons are high quality for the respective price point, easy purchase access for the line AND both robustness and completeness of vision. My broad point is cordless is a system not a tool. Bosch, Mikita and to a lesser but significant extent DeWalt, and each for different reasons, are either out or deep out of the money esp on vision. Corded tools do not require a robust vision.
It remains to be seen whether you are correct on how battery tech plays out. I suspect 18/20 volts covers 80+ pct of the day to day use cases. But nothing stands still and today’s winner can quickly become tomorrow’s loser. And since I believe the future of power tools lies in software and tech which will drive quantum user productivity gains, I’m not so quick to conclude merely more power will drive who wins.
Randy
Dear X lu
I am truly intrigued by your comments and insights ….
“And since I believe the future of power tools lies in software and tech which will drive quantum user productivity gains,”
Please expand your insights regarding ANY 2 of the following common scenarios:
1. A day hanging drywall with a cordless screw gun
2. A day framing a house with a cordless circular saw and cordless nailer.
3. A day plumbing a house with a cordless drill, replicating saw and PEX swaging tool.
4. A day trimming a house with a cordless miter saw, cordless compressor and pinner, or a cordless pinner
5. The day of an automotive technician using a cordless ratchet, mid torque impact wrench, impact driver and grinder.
Expand how your vision of how power tool software and tech will drive and achieve “QUANTUM” user “PRODUCTIVITY” gains. Ie. More value added work done in the same amount of time. Be specific. Very specific. Not a bunch of blah, blah, blah babble. Use whole sentences and complete thoughts. IE. The use of xxxx tech will allow a drywall installer the ability to increase the installation of Sheetrock panels from 8 to 8x per hour by ……….
Also note. Any improvements in battery tech will have limited impact on any of these sceneries. Battery life is not a constraint and would only have very marginal impacts on daily productivity. True experienced Tradesmen start their day prepared and have access to chargers and multiple spare batteries to complete their day.
Looking forward to your reply.
philip s john
Milwaukee OPE. Chainsaw. hole hog. Roto drills. Metal grinders. All out performed by flex. Lower took bit capacity.
Milwaukee also willing to make HO that trips out on heat causing permanent damage. 14 chop saw new mower 9 inch grinder. 9 inch construction saw all cant work continuously from heat over load. Damage to largest battery. The cost for these are crazy. This is what so many users at HO arnt happy. Great tools… but 18v at HO is a mistake.
Big Richard
Just a side note, the 20v FlexVolt Advantage air compressor is rated at 140 psi with a FlexVolt battery, but only 125 psi with a 20v battery. and either battery is only good for 1.0 SCFM at 90psi. While the 60v FlexVolt is “only” rated at 135 psi, but 1.2 SCFM. Maybe a sign that a new larger 60v FlexVolt model is on the way. Maybe a 6gal version? Still portable but 2.4x the capacity.
Your thoughts mirror mine, in that some of the OG FlexVolt tools were not possible on an 18/20v platform at their time of release. Now they are, so yes I think you may see some FlexVolt tools go away, since they would be more practical/marketable as a 20v option, if viable. But when one door closes, another opens. With the 15Ah battery on the way, the next gen of FlexVolt will be bigger and more powerful. It’s not going anywhere.
Nathan
I think you also picked the tools that really didn’t make the most sense – and I don’t know that the flexvolt mitresaw sold that well.
I mean I wanted one – specifically the non slider with the AC pack – but it was going to run on the AC pack nearly all the time. why pay the extra when I can just get the 716xps. and I think alot of people saw that a 12 inch mitre on batteries – while neat as hell – has limited use because it’s not that portable.
flexvolt circ saw has a lot of positive sales out there. They have quite the market with their joist drill. I do see them expanding the OPE side – look at that new attachment trimmer set they make.
I have to say I haven’t seen that compressor until now but again that is a tool that wold indeed benefit from an AC adapter option. still neat – is the 20 volt model a 20V Flexvolt advantage device?
I hear good things about that flexvolt table saw – but I’ve not seen anyone use one. simlar thing – where is the 1 flexvolt battery 8-1/4 blade mitre saw. I think that would have a useful slot. maybe not a 10 – but close enough as a slider.
Not to say I don’t want a flexvolt x 2 tablesaw with ac adaptor. And not to mention the concrete/masonry rools that flexvolt will need to be around for.
Greg
Agree with you Nate! If you look at my comment on Stuart’s last article though if you combined either the non slider or the slider miter saw with Dewalts rolling miter saw stand that folds up into a hand truck shape its the absolute most convenient miter saw system out there. Honestly Dewalt should have included the stand with either saw as a marketing thing instead of asking for another $299 on top of the $599 or $799 for each saw kit.
Without that miter saw stand you’re absolutely correct why bother with batteries when it’s not that portable. With that specific stand there’s nothing like it. I can pull the whole rig out of my truck and be cutting dimensional lumber before anyone even finds a power cord. It literally “gets out of your way” so to speak and I love it for that.
Farid
I don’t know if this has anything to do with slow roll out or delays, but a lot of our name brand electronic components are running anywhere from 42 to 67 week lead time. The components I am talking about are basic building blocks for a lot of electronics power supplies and power management. I can’t even do some repairs for customers.
John Fal
If Dewalt does away with Flexvolt? I’m moving over to Milwaukee!
Mike
Flexvolt is Dewalts heavy duty line, 20v mid to light heavy duty and 12v is light duty to mid duty
ZacB
My local Tractor Supply has the flex volt power head with the trimmer attachment as a kit and has three other attachment sold individually all as a display. The available attachments were the pole saw, brush cutter, and leaf blower.
Corey Moore
Sure, SBDC is gonna torpedo their heavy duty tool platform with many class topping tools, their professional OPE line that they already dropped 40v for out-performing, and their highest retailing batteries, which are what they actually make their profits on, and rather successfully compete in the HD arena as a simple solution for best performance between 2 platforms. All after redesigning a beefed up connection just to re-release two existing rotohammers. I’m assuming a company as corporate minded as SBDC, with the lead on cordless rotohammers already, doesn’t do that because the existing 4 were selling badly.
Maps Bam
The Dewalt power tool lineup is total chaos right now. There are too many different lines. They certainly need to consolidate their offerings.
X lu
Well I’ll bite, a little. My Dad was a highly skilled Tool and Die maker. Then CNC machines replaced nearly the entire US workforce with the labor retained portion shifting to Portugal, SA and China. Tech ate labor.
Of course you listed a series of stick build/craft problems, many of which will move to prefabs in a factory where technology will finally make it work where it has failed before if in field productivity doesn’t grow markedly. Retro fit/in field will always be craft work but a lot of it will be designed out ~eg hvac equipment.
I am not an inventor but adding gyros, laser maps and hands free cut to drawn line (that is draw a line and your saw cuts it while you are drawing the next one) all will reduce labor and improve quality. CIA level tech to see inside buildings applied to finished walls which eliminates the risk when you open it up on your bid. I get the smugness implied by your post. Sadly the same things were said about power tools replacing hand tools and craft work and cordless replacing corded-indeed I’m sure you were once extolling why cordless would fail.
What I know with certainty is the solutions to many of the situations you detailed won’t come from inside the industry. Your post highlights the close mindedness of being trapped with a traditional mindset.
And of course pex is all technology which replaces a traditional high labor method yielding quantum productivity improvements and transferring the value to the tool. But of course you knew that. Look at the productivity gains by merely adding an LED to tool. A light! Precise measurements and precise cuts driven by tech based ‘measuring ‘ tools will vastly improve productivity.
Think bigger. And let’s regroup in 10 years. Tech eats high value labor for breakfast. So if it doesn’t eat what you do, it is because it is or will become irrelevant.
If you compare tool technology to a baseball game, the managers haven’t even exchanged the starting line ups. 100’s of millions of labor hours are up for grabs. And some other time I’ll tell you about a surgeon who shaved 12-18 hours out of life threatening vascular surgery using tech-he didn’t get to have a punch list.
MM
I completely agree with you that there will be huge changes in future fabrication and homebuilding technology that will make current methods obsolete. No doubt about it.
But I don’t think anyone is talking about that kind of tech here. We’re talking about software updates to handheld power tools–the same sorts of tools people use today. For example, updating the firmware in a cordless drill-driver or circular saw.
In that case I don’t think there is much potential for anything beyond superficial benefit to the customer. Software updates can only work with whatever hardware is already in the tool; as such they cannot add a light were there was none before, or enable a kickback brake if the sensor wasn’t already present, etc. That limits the benefit of software updates to relatively minor things, like playing around with the acceleration curves of the motor controller or fine-tuning current limiting, etc. Perhaps it can add some minor feature, like the various torque modes that some impact wrenches have, or give minor efficiency, power, or runtime improvements. But it’s not going to do much else to benefit the user.
Now the potential disadvantages are huge. First there are the costs involved, both in R&D and for the extra hardware on the tool, all of which are ultimately borne by the customer. Second there are security concerns: Can my tools be hacked? Is there any personally identifiable information that can be stolen or snooped? Is some kind of DRM going to be foisted upon the tool owner now? Perhaps a drill only “lasts” 2 years before the software turns itself off unless the owner pays a renewal fee? Are there going to be RFID tags in consumables so in the future my Brand X grinder won’t turn on–or maybe it just limits its power–unless I’m also buying Brand X discs? Maybe the tools are sold full-featured but you have to pay extra to “turn on” certain options by enabling them in software? No thank you. In this particular context the potential disadvantages far outway the “advantages”.
Tech is great in general. The specific application of firmware updates to handheld power tools as we know them today is not. Perhaps in the future my tricorder will benefit from updates but my palm sander doesn’t.
TonyT
Automation is a lot harder than most people think – I’ve seen plenty of failures. Creating software that works well in the real world is also a lot harder than many people think.
For an example of the unexpected difficulties of pre-fab modular buildings, read this article:
https://wolfstreet.com/2021/05/31/modular-construction-not-there-yet/
So, yes, maybe we will see improvements, but it probably won’t be in the way tech evangelists predict.
TonyT
This is for X lu
Oleg K
Dewalt needs to stick with a single platform, I believe they will either end up introducing a whole new battery system or abandoning 20v tools because, seems to me, they’ve squeezed everything they could out of this power system and, just like Milwaukee, Makita and many others who recently introduced 80v tools Dewalt will end up consolidating its power tool platforms, same as everybody else.
If you ask me, 54v tolls can be made more compact, which actually makes the case for keeping the platform but there is no reason to keep both, I’m sure Milwaukee and Makita will end up getting rid of their 18 and 36v platforms and introducing less professional-oriented tool lineup, with the legacy systems dying off within a decade after that.