With a year filled with pressures on our wallets, comfort, and weather, technology took a backseat in 2022. But change for the better is happening slowly as big tech companies take notice of consumer demands that they want something better, more durable and more sustainable. devices.
The trends established in the last two years continued to gain pace. Recycled material has become mainstream. Devices that contain at least some recycled plastic, metal, or minerals are available in almost every category. The range of materials being reused is increasing, an important step towards a circular economy, even if it is a long way from being fully realized.
A side effect of the tightening economy was the acceleration of the trend towards device reuse. Trade-ins for new purchases skyrocketed in availability as manufacturers and retailers sought to boost sales, often offering deep discounts in exchange for old devices that were then refurbished, resold or recycled to recover any residual value.
Design changes to aid repair
Ensuring that devices stay in use for as long as possible is the best option for both the planet and the wallet. People keep their phones for an average of 4.2 years, according to data from CCS Insight, making access to affordable and effective repair options crucial.
Apple took a surprise step in the right direction this year. The exterior of this year’s iPhone 14 looked identical to previous models, but a new internal design allows you to open it from the screen or from the back. That makes common repairs like replacing a broken rear glass or battery faster, easier, and cheaper.
It’s not exactly the ideal of user-repairable modular design demonstrated by the Fairphone 4 in 2021. But Apple’s change is a big deal because the iPhone sells in greater numbers than any other phone, and typically where it goes, the industry follows.
Apple also expanded its DIY repair program to the UK and Europe in December. Disassembling an iPhone or Mac is not recommended for beginners, but the move provides easier access to genuine replacement parts and repair manuals for technicians. Apple is still using digital locks to hinder unauthorized repairs, so there is more work to be done.
Other manufacturers too made changes to help repairs this year. Among them, Microsoft promised to provide service guides and spare parts for its Surface laptops and tablets, and made some parts, like the solid-state drive (SSD), user-upgradeable. valve provided easy access to authorized and DIY repairs for your Steam Deck Gaming Notebook PC, including spare parts, instruction manuals, and tools. In the meantime, France Repairability Index he went on to force the release of more official repair documentation from reluctant manufacturers.
One of the highlights of the year was the Framework Laptop, which actually delivered on its promise of a laptop that you can take apart to not only repair but upgrade yourself. Not only was the first version a surprisingly good laptop, but the company delivered on its promise and made components available to upgrade its 11th-gen Intel chips. to the latest 12th generation models. May it continue for a long time.
However, true wireless earphones are still a low point. Many are excellent products that are extremely convenient, durable, and last a long time. But very, very few are repairable, making replacement of your consumable batteries impossible and ultimately making them disposable. It’s particularly disappointing given the volume in which they sell, with more than 252 million sold last year and 170 million in the first nine months of 2022, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) device tracker.
longer lasting devices
While hardware generally lasts longer, as long as you don’t drop it, batteries typically only hold 80% of their original capacity for about 500 charge cycles. That’s why your phone’s battery life gets shorter towards the end of its second year.
Improving efficiency so you don’t have to charge your battery as often is one way to make it last longer. But changing the construction of the battery and implementing systems to preserve its health during charging can also prevent degradation for longer. OnePlus put a battery in the recent 10T that can hold at least 80% charge for 1,600 full cycles, making the phone last for at least 6.5 years.
Unfortunately, the company only supports the 10T with four years of Android updates since launch, which means that while the hardware may work for longer, the phone shouldn’t be used after August 2026 due to potential security issues. .
Software support remains a particular problem for phones. While Apple, Google, and Samsung provide at least five years of security updates for their high-end and mid-range phones, there are many more that are limited to as little as two years, which is unfortunate. The longer a phone receives software support, the longer it can stay in circulation, even if it means having a second or third owner.
More efficient for the planet and the wallet
The drive to improve the battery life of portable devices has also had a ripple effect on the efficiency of plugged-in devices, as they generally use similar chips and technology.
Tasks that used to be demanding and required power-hungry processors can now be accomplished with cheaper, more energy-efficient chips. That usually means the newer devices are more efficient and cost less to run. Sky’s new satellite-free Stream TV box is a good example, consuming a third of the electricity of your satellite-powered Sky Q box when you watch TV.
With the cost of living crisis putting energy use in the spotlight, this is a positive trend that will continue.
