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.
One big problem is that pretty much all of these devices have major downsides. For example, I don’t know a single repairable or rugged phone with an actually really good camera or a flagship SOC.
They also usually have a huge markup and are often produced by small boutique manufacturers with terrible support (like Fairphone) and/or really bad software (like Fairphone).
So if you have the choice to e.g. pay €600 for a Fairphone with its terrible camera, battery life problems, inexistent support, huge amount of bugs and frequent issues with network providers (e.g. VoLTE not working), or you pay €300 for a comparable Samsung with similar software support duration (6 vs 10 years) and it just works without issues.
If there was something like a Samsung A56 or even a Samsung S25 that’s nicely repairable and costs a maximum of €100 more than the regular version, that might be worth it.
But the way it is now, it’s much better to buy a regular phone and spend the €300 you saved on 1-2 professional battery replacements down the line.
There are tons of rugged smartphones out there, also some brands that focus on easy to repair phones.
The fact that they’re not well known kind of shows that the majority of the market doesn’t really care about those things.
One big problem is that pretty much all of these devices have major downsides. For example, I don’t know a single repairable or rugged phone with an actually really good camera or a flagship SOC.
They also usually have a huge markup and are often produced by small boutique manufacturers with terrible support (like Fairphone) and/or really bad software (like Fairphone).
So if you have the choice to e.g. pay €600 for a Fairphone with its terrible camera, battery life problems, inexistent support, huge amount of bugs and frequent issues with network providers (e.g. VoLTE not working), or you pay €300 for a comparable Samsung with similar software support duration (6 vs 10 years) and it just works without issues.
If there was something like a Samsung A56 or even a Samsung S25 that’s nicely repairable and costs a maximum of €100 more than the regular version, that might be worth it.
But the way it is now, it’s much better to buy a regular phone and spend the €300 you saved on 1-2 professional battery replacements down the line.