Blemish for smartphone manufacturers from Greenpeace

Anyone who has a smartphone, tablet or laptop from Samsung, Apple or Microsoft, will probably not be able to repair the device themselves. Even seasoned repairmen have trouble fixing them, getting spare parts or to upgrade them, Greenpeace and iFixit say.

Fairphone, Dell and HP perform well

Environmental organization Greenpeace and repair specialist iFixit examined whether one could repair the 40 best-selling smartphones, tablets and laptops from the past two years. Were there manuals, spare parts to repair or upgrade the system and if there were, how long would such a repair take?

The outcome does not look pretty: some devices have been created in such a way that they are hard to repair; it becomes increasingly difficult to replace batteries; equipment to repair with is very hard to come by and the same goes for manuals or spare parts. At the same time, the devices are increasingly fragile, according to Greenpeace. Apple, Samsung and Microsoft are apparently the worst of the class.

“Fairphone, Dell en HP prove it is possible to design devices in such a way they can be repaired”, Greenpeaces’s Elizabeth Jardim said. “Electronics companies can significantly lower their production process’ environmental impact this way. They will not need as many resources, will not have to use as many dangerous chemicals, nor the amount of energy required to manufacture these devices. That is even without considering the millions of tons of electronic waste every year.” More information can be found here.

Samsung reacted positively to Greenpeace’s request. “We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously at Samsung”, spokesperson Cella Sin told Belga.