Smartphones and Planned Obsolescence
The Role of Smartphones in Attention Economy
A concerning effect that may be tied with particular smartphone designs and other products is the idea of planned obsolescence, whether it be through hardware or software. According to a 2017 survey conducted by Counterpoint Research, people replace their smartphone every 21 months on average.
An example of this effect occurring through software was with Apple, which had been throttling their devices for a number of years. It was in 2017 and 2018 that they had admitted to slowing down devices through updates when lawsuits were filed against them, according to Bloomberg (2020). On the other hand, planned obsolescence through hardware design is a more passive approach. This is seen with smartphones becoming increasingly hard to repair, especially with the sealed back covers that are riskily attached with glue that requires heat to melt, and can result in damage if the rear panel is made of glass. Such a measure dissuades people from opening up and replacing batteries or other inexpensive but crucial components that wear out over time, rendering the whole device useless if not repaired (Yuan, 2020). Other design trends may even help with indirectly damaging the device, such as the cumbersome large size that makes them unwieldy at times, or the curved glass screen edges that don’t cater for full cover by adhesive screen protectors.
Google had unveiled plans in 2014 on the development of a modular smartphone called Project Ara. This could have been a potential game changer, not only to tech savvy smartphone users, but also towards other competing companies, and might have thrown planned obsolescence out of the scene for a while. However, for unknown reasons the project was cancelled in 2016, with no further comments from the developers.
This effect can be a frustrating prospect to most that enjoy their device and don’t mind hanging on to it for longer than the average consumer, but it also is a strong contributor towards pollution. It already takes a number of precious metals and plastics to create a smartphone, and the wasteful discarding of a device before it has reached its proper lifetime means that there is a strain on the environment. According to McMaster University (2018), smartphones are sufficiently damaging to the environment, and 85% of their emissions impact is sourced from their production.
A remedy to the short lifespan of smartphones could be by equipping one’s device with a standard set of accessories to protect it. A good silicon case should be enough to stop most drop damage, however if taken outdoors often and used in activities like mountain biking, one could find a suitable rugged case. More so, the classic adhesive tempered glass screen protector does a good job at absorbing energy on impact and protecting the screen behind it, similarly a lens protector is offered for some devices if more protection is required. With this in mind, it is ideal to check in stores or online beforehand if the device you wish to buy has available compatible accessories in the first place.
Whilst the premature obsolescence of people’s smartphones seems unavoidable today, some companies are making a shift to developing reliable products. Some of these are Fairphone and Puzzlephone, that include the use of interchangeable parts. This creates an easy platform for customisation and leads to a happy customer, and also helps stop the needless waste from throwing away an entire device that would only have a single component affecting the whole product.
References:
Bloomberg. (2020). Apple’s $500 million iphone deal warrants approval, plaintiffs say. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/product-liability-and-toxics-law/apples-500-million-iphone-deal-warrants-approval-plaintiffs-say
Counterpoint Research. (2017). Smartphone users replace their device every twenty-one months. https://www.counterpointresearch.com/smartphone-users-replace-their-device-every-twenty-one-months/
McMaster University. (2018). Study shows smartphones harm the environment. https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/news/study-shows-smartphones-harm-environment#:~:text=Among%20all%20the%20devices%2C%20trends,emissions%20impact%20comes%20from%20production.&text=%E2%80%9CCommunication%20and%20data%20centres%20have%20to%20go%20under%20renewable%20energy%20now.
Yuan, E. (2020). Combatting planned obsolescence for mobile phones. The Millenia. https://www.themillennia.ca/posts/combatting-planned-obsolescence-for-mobile-phones#:~:text=Planned%20Obsolescence%20is%20extremely%20prevalent,putting%20stress%20on%20the%20battery.
This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.
