Why it is possible that you will notice subtle changes to the design of your smartphone
Why it's possible that you'll notice subtle changes to the design of your smartphone
The smartphone season has begun, and the headlines will almost certainly be the same as they have been in the past: thinner, sleeker, and faster models are on their way to consumers' hands.
However, if a new push from the United States government is successful, future smartphones may be required to include an additional feature: the ability to be repaired in whatever manner the device owner chooses. It could also encourage companies to be more creative in other ways, such as by offering incentives for upgrading devices.
A week later, the Federal Trade Commission pledged to "root out" illegal repair restrictions on various products, including phones, after President Joe Biden urged the agency to establish rules prohibiting manufacturers from imposing restrictions on independent device repair shops and do-it-yourself repairs, a principle known as "right to repair." Similarly, regulators in Europe have begun to take notice of this initiative.
Many companies, including Apple, have been criticized for employing strategies that make it more difficult for independent repair businesses to access devices, such as the use of non-removable memory and batteries, as well as the use of special glue to seal devices. A new regulation would most likely prohibit this practice and require smartphone manufacturers to make parts, tools, repair manuals, and diagnostics for out-of-warranty repairs more readily available to third-party businesses. (The companies argue that this is done to ensure that the products are properly repaired.)
"In many cases, the cost of repairing a smartphone or computer is comparable to, if not greater than, the cost of purchasing a new device entirely — a strategy that encourages people to purchase new devices rather than repair them," Pedro Pacheco, a senior director at market research firm Gartner, told CNN Business. "Manufacturers will have to make design decisions in order to keep the cost of repairing devices down."
Phones that are less difficult to disassemble
Even though smartphone manufacturers aren't the only ones who have come under fire for obstructing repairs, the order specifically singles them out for practices that make repairs "more expensive and time-consuming." Regulatory pressure could influence not only how consumers choose to repair their devices, but also how manufacturers design them in subtle ways.
In the United States, current right-to-repair legislation has no effect on device design, but a focus on repair opportunities could incentivize manufacturers to swap screws for more standard ones or make the battery easier to remove, according to iFixit CEO and founder Kyle Wiens.
Even the tiniest changes, according to David McQueen, research director at the market research firm ABI Research, could have an impact on the manufacturing of smartphones on some level. For example, the addition of new screws or the creation of additional holes may have an impact on a device's IP ratings — the degree to which a device's components are protected from dust and water.
According to McQueen, "Smartphone vendors have worked hard to achieve these high levels, but if devices do have more screw holes and must be easier to disassemble, would these ratings be compromised or would they have to be lowered?"
When it comes to right-to-repair legislation, McQueen speculated that some smartphone manufacturers might face a dilemma: "Would some companies continue to use high-end components across all of their models if they know that repairing or replacing those components will be simple?"
On the one hand, companies may discover that a greater number of their customers could replace these parts with lower-cost alternatives. However, he asserts that "it could harm a vendor's brand value if they're selling products with noticeably inferior components in order to combat this possibility."
Owners of smartphones now have more options
Consumers would ultimately have more control over how they modify or repair their smartphones and other electronic devices if regulations were implemented. The owner of Rossmann Repair Group, Louis Rossmann, is a right-to-repair activist with 1.6 million YouTube subscribers. "If a $12 chip stops working when your computer battery dies, I could charge a couple hundred dollars to repair it, rather than the $1,500 Apple charges to fix it," he said.
The current agreements in place between manufacturers and suppliers, according to Rossmann, prevent suppliers from selling that chip to independent repair shops such as the one he owns. In his words, "[new rules] would mean that if a company is planning to use a specific chip phone, I could purchase it so that if a customer's device fails, I could repair it."
As a result of safety and reliability concerns, Apple said during a hearing before the Congressional judiciary committee in 2019 that it controls the repair process and that it loses money on repairs, which critics characterized as a "absurd" and "misleading" claim that the company is not profiting from repairs on some level.
Apple declined to provide specifics on how much money it makes from its repair businesses or whether the company intends to rethink product design in light of the repair push in the United States and around the world. In response to a request for comment, Samsung pointed CNN Business to its 2020 environmental progress report, in which the company stated that it is committed to "providing convenient access to safe and reliable repair services for whenever they may be required."
It's also unclear how the right-to-repair movement will affect Apple's in-store Genius bar, which is critical to the company's retail experience, if people begin to turn elsewhere for their repair needs as a result of the right-to-repair movement. However, the more pressing question may be how companies such as Apple can persuade customers to come in and buy new phones as frequently when repairs are easier to come by and significantly less expensive than purchasing a new model of phone.
"Depending on how the regulation is put forward, it will most likely either extend or prolong the lifespan of the device," Gartner's Pacheco said of the regulation. In order to encourage consumers to switch or upgrade smartphones, companies will need to use better specs and other approaches, and they will need to refocus their efforts.
