• TheBroodian [none/use name]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I'd love to see phones transformed into a platform of components that can be swapped, repaired, and maintained individually rather than having to toss the whole phone if one little piece of it breaks.

    • viva_la_juche [they/them, any]
      cake
      ·
      4 years ago

      there was a company/group that attempted that but of course it got no traction because it's necessary that we spend 800-2k on new phone every year even though they barely change from year to year.

        • viva_la_juche [they/them, any]
          cake
          ·
          4 years ago

          could be. I dont remember much I just saw it on a kickstarter somewhere at some point and thought "that'd be cool if only there weren't serious pressures from tech companies to do the exact opposite."

          • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            The second one was released at the end of last year. I was considering getting one, but ended up going Chinese for cost/performance. Definitely a cool concept and they support non-android os out of the box

    • alcoholicorn [comrade/them, doe/deer]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I mean they are if you have the tools and knowledge. Street vendors in Shenzhen will upgrade your iPhone's memory infront of you and update the OS accordingly.

      • TheBroodian [none/use name]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        That's not a platform though - I mean a system of design and physical standards so that the average person could disconnect a component with nothing more than a phillips head screwdriver. Something that brings that minimum knowledge bar low enough for average people. Getting those tiny NAND memory modules to resolder correctly is fucking hard, even for folks who work on electronics for a living, and requires a fuck load of specialized hardware

    • acabforcutie [comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      thanks lmao

      i got an iphone 7 when my last phone broke a year ago and the phone is super fucking slow from their updates. apple is a particularly shitty company.

      • bubble6066 [she/her]
        ·
        4 years ago

        my iPhone 7 was an absolute nightmare too, literally didn’t last a year before breaking down. battery completely shit the bed to the point it had to be plugged in all the time + slow as fuck

      • bewts [he/him,comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I was obsessed with death cab back in the day. Their earlier albums are still some of my favs :af-heart:

  • sebastian [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    i know phones are worse because they become toxic bricks when you throw them out but like, shoes too? i hate buying new shoes and i know those asshats can make shoes that last a lifetime :angery:

    • SoyViking [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      The problem with shoes that lasts a lifetime is that they require high quality materials and lots of craftsmanship so they are really expensive. Only the rich can afford them while the rest of us mere mortals have to buy the cheap ones that only lasts for two years. Probably we will end up paying more for shoes in a lifetime than the rich guy who can afford the nice quality shoes.

      The same thing with furniture. Back in the old days when a middle class couple got married they would buy furniture that was really expensive but would last the rest of their lives, often longer. They would have it repaired, have worn out upholstery replaced etc.

      An ecologically responsible economy would incentivise a return to repairable quality products over cheap disposable ones.

      • sailorfish [she/her]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Probably we will end up paying more for shoes in a lifetime than the rich guy who can afford the nice quality shoes.

        The Sam Vimes "Boots" Theory of Socioeconomic Injustice!

      • Sealand_macronation [none/use name]
        ·
        4 years ago

        The same thing with furniture. Back in the old days when a middle class couple got married they would buy furniture that was really expensive but would last the rest of their lives, often longer. They would have it repaired, have worn out upholstery replaced etc.

        Yes, labor was expensive in the world before the industrial exploitation of the 3rd world with the globalized economy made furniture/etc cheap. Buying things from Walmart rather just going down to the local artisans to get a hand build crib or whatever

    • ElGosso [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I have like humongously wide feet (4E in American shoe sizes) so finding comfortable shoes has always been a challenge and ofc they fall apart in a year because they're made of cheap trash, so I feel this one

    • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
      ·
      4 years ago

      There have been numerous design attempts and several working models, but they just can't seem to get traction in the United States for mysterious reasons.

  • sailorfish [she/her]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I'm replacing my 5 year old phone this month and I'm honestly so sad about it. The only real problem with it is that the battery runs down asap and the memory is low (32gb) for the amount of videos and pics people send me nowadays. I got this phone right around when mainstream phones stopped having easily opened backs and microSD card slots and I'm still seething over it

    • kristina [she/her]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      get phones with huge batteries in it. i dont have a replaceable one on mine but it had the largest battery of any smartphone at the time for around 100 dollars. its lasted me 9 years and im thinking of replacing it soon because its battery life is only 6 hours now (lol, when i first got it i could use it on and off for a week and have 50% charge left on it). also get wireless charging the biggest reason why im replacing my phone is i have eroded the microusb connector through constant unplugging and replugging, i think wireless charging will extend the longevity of batteries and connectors quite handily.

      • sailorfish [she/her]
        ·
        4 years ago

        (lol, when i first got it i could use it on and off for a week and have 50% charge left on it)

        Holy shit, jealous.

        I've heard mixed things about wireless charging - like some people say it actually damages the battery more? But I'm not great at keeping up with tech developments, idk if they've fixed that/it only applies to specific phones

      • sailorfish [she/her]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Haha too late, I already ordered a new one the other day (a OnePlus 8t) :') Tbh I'm intimidated by the thought of doing something myself and I live in a small city in a small country, where finding someone to do it for me is complicated. I'll see how the OnePlus is, I've wanted to try one of the Chinese phones for a while now

  • Coincy [they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Under communism all phones will be those cool modular ones that were a thing in like 2015

    • acabforcutie [comrade/them]
      hexagon
      ·
      4 years ago

      remember when you could actually replace the battery in your phone without having to use a bunch of specialty tools or go to a shop? we really didn't know how good we had it.

  • CthulhusIntern [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Real talk: Why isn't there a Nokia smartphone? Like, the indestructible brick, but give it a larger screen and have it run on Android.

  • TheSaltan1312 [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    If you're interested in a smartphone that goes out of its way to buck planned obsolesence you should peep FairPhone. Their mission statement is maximum repairability as well as ethical and sustainable production.

    They're dedicated to total transparency of their production and supply chains, and seem to be meeting their company ethos pretty well between ethically sourcing their minerals and paying their workers fair wages, all good shit.

    I don't have one yet but I'm planning on copping one when this android finally craps out.

  • TankieTanuki [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    My Android got hella slow and I'm convinced it's planned obsolescence. Will rooting it fix it?

    • TheBroodian [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Will rooting fix it?

      Not automatically It may not be planned obsolescence, but if it were, you would first need to know what specifically was causing the slowdown to be able to meaningfully do anything about it with root authority

  • kristina [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    this is why i buy cheap 100 dollar phones with gigantic batteries in them. ive been using one for the past 9 years and its only just now starting to get too shit to manage (i avoid app updates because the increase in processor requirements can brick your phone, but sometimes you have to). im just sad they stopped removable batteries from being a thing, i have a feeling they knew it was affecting their bottom lines so they decided to make batteries small and hard to remove

    rn the problem with my phone is i have plugged the microusb in and out so many times that it has eroded the connector. what im gonna do to try to prolong the life of my next phone is im gonna get wireless charging on it to avoid having that issue.

      • kristina [she/her]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        some of the new phones have better fast charging tech for it, but yeah, the reason mostly im thinking for it is im gonna grab it to extend the longevity of battery life because constantly having it getting a charge is good for the battery and can extend it for years and its a hassle to constantly unplug and replug it to keep the charge going. so if you really need it charged hardcore you should plug it in and leave it on top of a wireless charger for intermittent use later.

        generally speaking, your battery will last waaaay longer if you dont drain it to 0 all the time so keeping it above 50% by any means necessary is crucial