A critique of the fragility and impracticality of modern smartphones, urging a
shift toward more durable, repairable designs, and a call for manufacturers
and users alike to prioritize function over aesthetics.
That doesn’t match my experience with phone hardware. Everyone i know has a bunch of old phones that’ve been handed down to kids and even more sitting in junk drawers, because they all still work. Yes a couple of them have cracked screens, but even with those the only reason why the screen wasn’t repaired is because people wanted or already had a newer phone.
Software is a totally different matter though. The OS and apps stop getting updates at some point even though the hardware is still totally capable of doing what most people want their phone to do. And even worse, many companies don’t allow a phone to revert to an older OS version, so the company pushes out an update that slows the phone down and then there’s no way to fix that.
The HARDWARE isn’t designed to fail, because the SOFTWARE is designed to let the company force the device to fail at whatever exact moment the company later decides on.
The hardware was certainly designed to be less repairable and phones less upgradable. Gone are the days with user-replaceable batteries and MicroSD card slots.
A 20 minute video on how to replace your battery with batteries that are glued down and you need a pry tool to remove them and hopefully not puncture them is not exactly what I would call user-replaceable batteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFxS5wQ5Bhc
I’m talking about ones like the Samsung Galaxy S3, Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS, etc had where you could just open the cover, take the battery out, and then put the new one in.
My favourite argument for these things is always: but it has to be water tight. It has to be aesthetic and thin. Okay cool, then make phones for people who use them as a fashion statement or throw them into the water and make one that you can just crack open. I know it’s something completely different but my first phone was an alcatel where you could take out the battery and throw in 4 AA’s in case you ran out of juice.
Re: But it has to be watertight, so it can’t have any ports or buttons or doors or hatches or a replaceable battery!!!
Uh-huh. Sure.
Feel free to trot this one out the next time some glassy-eyed Apple apologist is making that argument at you. That one annoys the shit out of me, too. This has been a solved problem for thirty years. Probably longer.
That doesn’t match my experience with phone hardware. Everyone i know has a bunch of old phones that’ve been handed down to kids and even more sitting in junk drawers, because they all still work. Yes a couple of them have cracked screens, but even with those the only reason why the screen wasn’t repaired is because people wanted or already had a newer phone.
Software is a totally different matter though. The OS and apps stop getting updates at some point even though the hardware is still totally capable of doing what most people want their phone to do. And even worse, many companies don’t allow a phone to revert to an older OS version, so the company pushes out an update that slows the phone down and then there’s no way to fix that.
The HARDWARE isn’t designed to fail, because the SOFTWARE is designed to let the company force the device to fail at whatever exact moment the company later decides on.
The hardware was certainly designed to be less repairable and phones less upgradable. Gone are the days with user-replaceable batteries and MicroSD card slots.
Just bought a Motorola 5g 2025 stylus. It has a micro SD slot, 1/4 " audio jack, and the battery is replacable
A 20 minute video on how to replace your battery with batteries that are glued down and you need a pry tool to remove them and hopefully not puncture them is not exactly what I would call user-replaceable batteries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFxS5wQ5Bhc
I’m talking about ones like the Samsung Galaxy S3, Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS, etc had where you could just open the cover, take the battery out, and then put the new one in.
My favourite argument for these things is always: but it has to be water tight. It has to be aesthetic and thin. Okay cool, then make phones for people who use them as a fashion statement or throw them into the water and make one that you can just crack open. I know it’s something completely different but my first phone was an alcatel where you could take out the battery and throw in 4 AA’s in case you ran out of juice.
Re: But it has to be watertight, so it can’t have any ports or buttons or doors or hatches or a replaceable battery!!!
Uh-huh. Sure.
Feel free to trot this one out the next time some glassy-eyed Apple apologist is making that argument at you. That one annoys the shit out of me, too. This has been a solved problem for thirty years. Probably longer.
Funny enough, my old Galaxy S3 is exactly as “thin” as the Oneplus 9 but has replaceable battery (even now) and a microSD slot.