There was hope Samsung had turned a corner in repairability, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a step backwards iFixit – an organisation with a toddler-like proclivity for breaking phones – today published its teardown of Samsung's latest and greatest: the Galaxy S21 Ultra. While the phone itself has managed to impress reviewers, things are less rosy from iFixit's perspective and the right-to-repair outfit complained about the …
...to 2.5-2.8 years. That's just shocking - what's wrong with you(*) all? Money to burn?
Currently running a 7 year old phone here (S5 + LineageOS) which was second-hand when I bought it. Currently on at least its third battery(**) and otherwise fully functional, although just starting to feel like it's struggling as apps gradually bloat over time.
(*) doubtless there are exceptions around here
(**) last of the Samsungs to have a removable battery
> "(**) last of the Samsungs to have a removable battery"
I think that is maybe "last of the S series"
The J series has had replaceable batteries up to 2017 (maybe 2018 also?), but not since.
I've got a J710 (2016). I like the replaceable batteries so I can replace them on a long bicycle ride.
Going the way of the Dodo though.
> There was hope Samsung had turned a corner in repairability, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra is a step backwards
Will "Right To Repair" laws ever extend beyond white goods to phones? I bloody well hope so! It's absurd that the damn things can't be repaired easily using basic tools found in the kitchen such as toothpicks, wallpaper paste and porridge.
This article is at least eight years too late. Ever since the Note 4 Samsung has not produced one single viable phone that is repairable and not all glued together and made out of pressurize curbed glass on the front screen. Samsung screens are about the most fragile screens on Earth. The few phones they make with flatscreen are much more durable but lack quality internals. Samsung needs to revive some of the older designs and update the hardware inside of them rather than peddling the junk they have now
There are many factors here and it is useful that people like iFixit do this sort of exercise but currently there are huge issues around how we consume "tech" that need to be addressed as well.
A lot of devices now have some sort of IP rating an that needs it to be sealed. People also want them to be thin and relatively light (although the trends for ever-larger devices makes this worse) so you are limited in how you can seal them. This pretty much leaves glue as the only option. The main gripe is replacement batteries, now that can easily be fixed however you can only do that by making the devices bigger. The battery can no longer be a thin, barely protected package wedged in the chassis. You need contacts and a robust case all taking volume. You also need re-sealable access to the entire device to be able to swap the battery. These are simply not compatible with current design or consumer trends.
Now add in that most people see these things as consumables. If they do care then alongside the contract or they will have insurance so if they do break it, as long as it is replaced it does not matter to them that it just goes in the bin.
Now you come to the final killer, the software, it is almost irrelevant for 99% of consumers if the item is repairable or has a replaceable battery because after 2 or 3 years the software is no longer updated, the latest and greatest gadget etc. The lifecycle where most of the waste occurs is actually driven by software, something that is entirely fixable and utterly unjustifiable in the way that bits of tech become obsolete. All are to blame for this, Apple may provide updates for longer but increasingly the Apps that run on IOS are not supported on older versions so it becomes irrelevant. Samsung are committing to 3 years of updates but that really does not improve much if you run into the same issue with the Apps.
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