Mechanical calculators and slide rules are still available for those that fear electronics. I have several of each.
Worse. Some stuff is actually designed for a specific lifetime. It is possible to predict the average lifetime of components by knowing their operation parameters, thermal cycles, and specs. For example:
I've seen minimalist design, where the voltage ratings on most of the caps are intentionally selected so that they all fail at roughly the same time.
However, the warranty was never intended to protect the consumer. Warranties are designed to drive the independent repair shop out of business. Shops don't make money on what the factory pays to do in-warranty repairs. They only make money on out-of-warranty work. The longer the warranty, the less profitable the independent shop.
Most buyers of extended warranties never use them. It's a cash cow for the dealers and manufacturers selling them. The initial infant mortality failures are covered under the manufacturers warranty. Unless the device is suffering from severe quality issues that have a delayed reaction, such as bogus low-ESR electrolytics, you should not see any problems until long after the product is obsolete.
Incidentally, the average lifetime of a cell phone is currently 18 months. The typical laptop is 2 years. The typical desktop about 3-5 years (depending on brand). Why bother designing anything to last longer?
My mechanical calculator and slide rules will work longer than your Brownie. I find it difficult to determine quality on initial inspection. I have to tear something apart, look inside at the components used, get some idea as to how it's built, and play with it a while to see if it does everything it claims. Tearing apart a DVD player or camera in the store is usually discouraged. I usually grab the FCC ID number, and look at the inside photos on the FCC site. I also read reviews and user experiences. Despite this, I still manage to have problems. I have about 4 cameras and *ALL* of them have been either repaired under warranty, or had some fundamental defect that required a class action suit and subsequent warranty extension. I don't do much better with computers. Everything requires firmware and driver updates. Some are so bad, that the vendor had to extend the warranty for free (BGA failure):
However, I have more than the average clue as to what it would cost to make consumer electronics sufficiently reliable. It's not just better components. It also requires better testing, design overhead, more lead time, reparability analysis, etc. Offhand, my guess(tm) is that it would at least increase the retail cost about 50-100%. Wanna pay double for better quality? Most people won't.