Consumer electronics used to break down all the time, but in almost all cases that was due to manufacturing defects, which were much more frequent, because many operations that are now automated were still done manually then.
The consumer devices which survived infant mortality, because they were free of manufacturing defects, had a negligible aging rate after that.
Modern electronic devices have far fewer initial manufacturing defects, due to automated production, but all age much quicker, due to very small component sizes, lower safety factors, surface semiconductor devices (MOS transistors) instead of bulk semiconductor devices (bipolar transistors), lead-free soldering and other similar changes in technologies.
The consumer devices which survived infant mortality, because they were free of manufacturing defects, had a negligible aging rate after that.
Modern electronic devices have far fewer initial manufacturing defects, due to automated production, but all age much quicker, due to very small component sizes, lower safety factors, surface semiconductor devices (MOS transistors) instead of bulk semiconductor devices (bipolar transistors), lead-free soldering and other similar changes in technologies.