this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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I agree, that repairability is highly overrated when it comes to e-waste. iFixit did a good job convincing people of that.
But to be fair (no pun intended) Fairphone uses some obscure automotive QCM6490 in their Fairphone so they can offer software updates until 2031. So they did a pretty good job on the in my opinion by far the biggest contributing factor when it comes to smartphone e-waste, offering long software support.
"Highly overrated" how?
It is not green to repair a phone, it is green to get a case for your phone so you don’t destroy it in the first place.
Also I saw way more phones and laptops go into the trash because I could not buy a replacement part (2,5y old Acer Laptop, according to Acer end of life, could not find a new battery) or because software support ended (Windows 10 support will end 2025, lots of laptops don’t meet the hardware requirement for Win11, or smartphones like Galaxy S20 only getting 3y of security updates) is a WAY bigger factor than „easy repairability“.
I also don’t agree that something is difficult to repair, just because you need some tools or have to peel of some glue that prevented water damage of thousands of smartphones. I also don’t agree with the iFixit conclusion that it is anti consumer that the iOS tells the customer if the screen, battery or something else was replaced, which could potentially be of worse quality. As long as the device does not block these parts (which it does not to my knowledge) I think it is pro consumer because it prevents second hand ripoff’s.
I think I see where you're coming from, but a few points don't stick. I think ease of repair, availability of replacement parts and software support are often used in combination to dissuade the continued use of a product. I ended up ditching my (at the time new) Samsung S8 because it was so difficult to repair, well before it's scheduled end-of-life. It had a case, but shit happens.
And I think the more recent Iphones do actually block certain functionality if a part is replaced by a 3rd party, genuine article nonwithstanding. Having the part identified as genuine, 3rd party or non Apple installed in the settings or something would probably be fine, but that's not what's happening.
And for the last point, mostly agreed, but a business profiting from a customer's desire to do good doesn't disqualify the good that a business might do while also profiting. It would be great if there was some not-for-profit/governent run rating on device longevity/repairability, as some countries do for electricity/water useage, but I'll take the imperfect solution until then.
I think that is exactly what is happening, but I am very open to new evidence.
God no, and I hope that my writing did not come off like that. English is not my native language. No, I think they do an excellent job, I just take what they say when it comes to repair regulations with a grain of salt.