Repairable smartphone

[Danny McG]

I've just been reading about a new "right to repair" smartphone, the Nokia G22.

Apparently it's been designed so, with a small screwdriver, you can easily change the charging port, the screen or the battery.
The components are to be readily obtainable and reasonably priced.

Here's hoping other manufacturers follow suit.

 

[mosaix]

It’s a reasonable price as well.

 

[mosaix]

Nokia launches DIY repairable budget Android phone

Nokia G22 has removable back and standard screws allowing battery swap in less than five minutes at home

www.theguardian.com

 

[SilentRoamer]

Ok so I work in the tech industry and planned obsolescence is obscene in my opinion.

The problem will be largely due to the software, the hardware lifecycles are not condusive to repair considering that they mirror the OS cycles. This phone will only be repairable and functional (as in all recent apps will work) for the time it takes for the OS provider to stop releasing an OS that works on that chipset.

So with the exception of meaning you don't need to have parts repaired by a 3rd party, I don't think this will do much to extend the lifespan of the hardware.

 

[mosaix]

Ok so I work in the tech industry and planned obsolescence is obscene in my opinion.

The problem will be largely due to the software, the hardware lifecycles are not condusive to repair considering that they mirror the OS cycles. This phone will only be repairable and functional (as in all recent apps will work) for the time it takes for the OS provider to stop releasing an OS that works on that chipset.

So with the exception of meaning you don't need to have parts repaired by a 3rd party, I don't think this will do much to extend the lifespan of the hardware.

Apparently they’re guaranteeing OS and security upgrades for three years.

I’ve had my iPhone for 4 years and it won’t run the latest IOS which is needed to run or upgrade some useful apps. In addition the battery is starting to run down in less than a day and it’s starting to run slowly - no doubt intentional on Apples part. The replacement costs over £700.

In comparison this Nokia costs about £150, runs the latest apps on Android that I need (I’ve checked) and the battery lasts 3 days and can be replaced for £25 when it degrades.

I could replace the thing every three years and it would still cost less than an iPhone.

 

[Danny McG]

could replace the thing every three years and it would still cost less than an iPhone

My thinking as well.
Plus I had a fairly basic smartphone but last summer the screen cracked.

The cheapest repair I could find was £110, so instead I spent another £90 and got a better phone ....if this type of phone had been available it would have been repaired for £45 and given me a couple more years!

 

[mosaix]

I changed to a Nokia G22 last Monday. It cost me £149.99 from Argos.

The packaging was basic recycled cardboard and it came with a usb-c charging cable. I was quite impressed with the high-grade packaging of my iPhone when I got it but, on second thoughts, why was I paying a fortune for packaging?

Transferring info from my iPhone was a bit of a faff but it's all done now. The apps I used before are all available although one or two take a minute or two to login - not sure why. The 'swiping' is different from the iPhone but I'm just about used to that by now.

I'm using non-Google stuff for browsing and email and Ghostery seems quite effective at keeping the constant Google ad pop-ups at bay.

The way I use my phone gives a battery life of two days rather than the 3 days advertised but that's better than the 8 hours I was getting before.

All-in-all I'm impressed and I think this is the route for me in the future.