Tag: repairable’
Nokia Launches DIY Repairable Budget Android Phone
Launched before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Saturday, the Nokia G22 has a removable back and internal design that allows components to be easily unscrewed and swapped out including the battery, screen and charging port. Nokia phones manufacturer HMD Global will make “quick fix” repair guides and genuine parts available for five years via specialists iFixit, in addition to affordable professional repair options.
“People value long-lasting, quality devices and they shouldn’t have to compromise on price to get them. The new Nokia G22 is purposefully built with a repairable design so you can keep it even longer,” said Adam Ferguson, head of product marketing for HMD Global.
The G22 is partially made of recycled plastic and has a 6.53in screen, large-capacity battery, 50-megapixel camera and a fingerprint scanner. It runs Android 12 and will be supported for three years of monthly security updates and two major Android version upgrades.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
The HomePod 2 Is Surprisingly Repairable In New iFixit Teardown
The second-gen HomePod is an interesting upgrade over its predecessor, boasting a handful of new or improved features and an almost reasonable price. But Apple failed to mention one of the HomePod’s biggest upgrades—a significantly more repairable design.
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Repairable laptop firm Framework introduces refurbished program
Framework is at the vanguard of a growing movement to make electronics more repair-friendly. Some have done so by choice and others have been…nudged in that direction by looming right to repair legislation across the globe. Framework, like Fairphone, is making that a core principle of its technology, without sacrificing the final project (check Devin’s […]
Repairable laptop firm Framework introduces refurbished program by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch
Framework’s repairable laptop just got Google-ified
The most customizable laptop around just gave users even more options.
Last year’s Framework Laptop was a godsend for “Right to Repair” enthusiasts because of its modular design, and now it can come with ChromeOS. Framework announced the Framework Laptop Chromebook Edition this week, bringing its high degree of customization to fans of Google’s proprietary laptop OS. You can pre-order it now for a pretty big (by Chromebook standards) starting price of $1,000, and shipments start in December.
For those who don’t know, the Framework Laptop (which defaulted to Windows when it launched last year) is rare in the laptop world in that it’s basically built to be torn apart. It comes with a screwdriver and simple instructions for disassembling the device and replacing each and every major component, like onboard memory and storage. The real kicker was the swappable port system, which let you put any combination of four USB, USB-C, HDMI, or Ethernet (among others) ports onto the device.
Credit: Molly Flores / Mashable
This new version comes with a 2256×1504 resolution display, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, but you can upgrade those latter two specs to 64GB and 1TB, respectively. Just like anything else with ChromeOS, you can install any app on Google’s Play Store, making it a decidedly Android-like laptop experience. Framework will also let you attach different-colored bezels around the display for some added personalization.
I’d still personally go with the Windows option, but the Framework Laptop is pretty nifty regardless of OS. Now, people who love ChromeOS can get in on the fun, too.
EU Wants Smartphones, Tablets To Be Repairable For At Least 5 Years
“The steep increase in the demand for smartphones and tablets, combined [with] their increased functionality, has resulted in increased demand for energy and materials needed to manufacture these devices on the EU market, accompanied by an increase in their associated environmental impacts,” Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen wrote in the proposal. “In addition, devices are often replaced prematurely by users and are, at the end of their useful life, not sufficiently reused or recycled, leading to a waste of resources.”
If adopted, the initiative would also usher in a new energy label for phones and tablets — similar to the ones already in place across Europe for TVs and large household items. The labels would indicate an expected battery life, and include details on water and dust protection, and rate the device’s resistance to drops and scratches. Those manufacturers, meanwhile, that can’t (or won’t) supply batteries for five years must instead meet a set of battery endurance tests that certify devices achieve 80% of a rated capacity after 1,000 full-charge cycles. They’ll also need to ensure software updates never negatively impact battery life.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iFixit Says Apple’s DIY Repair Program Makes MacBooks ‘Seem Less Repairable’
While the program’s expansion is good news for the right-to-repair movement, repair guide website iFixit is not entirely pleased with the implementation. (It’s worth noting that Apple is now a competitor to iFixit in this area of business.)
In a blog post, iFixit’s Sam Goldheart said Apple’s program manages to make the MacBook Pro seem “less repairable,” primarily because Apple’s current procedure for replacing a MacBook Pro’s battery is prohibitively expensive and time consuming.
The issue is that Apple’s program does not yet allow a customer to order a standalone replacement battery for the MacBook Pro. Instead, a customer must order a part known as the “top case,” which includes a glued-in battery. Then, the customer must follow Apple’s exhaustive 162-page repair manual to replace the “top case” in their MacBook Pro, as the procedure involves removing every other component from the case.
Top cases are an expensive part given that they include the keyboard, battery, speakers, and more. For example, Apple’s self-service parts store charges $527 for a top case for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, making it significantly more expensive to replace a MacBook Pro’s battery through the program in comparison to having an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider complete the job for $199.
“Apple is presenting DIY repairers with a excruciating gauntlet of hurdles: read 162 pages of documentation without getting intimidated and decide to do the repair anyway, pay an exorbitant amount of money for an overkill replacement part, decide whether you want to drop another 50 bucks on the tools they recommend, and do the repair yourself within 14 days, including completing the System Configuration to pair your part with your device,” wrote iFixit. “Which makes us wonder, does Apple even want better repairability?”
Apple says a “battery replacement part” will be available for the MacBook Pro at some point “in the future,” which could make the replacement procedure easier, although details remain slim. But even if Apple releases a standalone replacement battery, it will likely remain cheaper and easier to have Apple handle the task.
This article, “iFixit Says Apple’s DIY Repair Program Makes MacBooks ‘Seem Less Repairable’” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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