I love using my phone. I also love sustainability. These two things don’t always go hand in hand, considering that e-waste, much of it consisting specifically of mobile phone e-waste, is the fastest growing contributor of waste on the planet and because of how often we replace our phones, these numbers continue to grow. I decided to explore the topic of fully modular phones as a means to help reduce e-waste and lead to a more sustainable future. While this is not a new concept in mobility, it has yet to actually be put to market and just remains a cool concept on paper.
My Canva presentation can be found HERE.
Should fully modular phones ever be released, would you consider buying one? Why or why not?
Enjoy!
Hi Tasneem, I think it’s kind of sad that this project would need to be mandated for environmental protections in order for it to take off. Like you said, it’s much more profitable to force the consumer to replace the entire device, especially when it’s usually only the battery that needs replacing. We’re headed in the right direction with right to repair laws and mandates in Europe for product quality, but I think that your modular phones are one of the most crucial elements that needs to be implemented as soon as possible. I hope that someday the hardware itself can be biodegradable as well, eliminating even more e-waste. I admire your focus on sustainability in this project, because myself, and many others I’ve seen, have been so focused on innovation and convenience that any thought of sustainability has been ignored completely. Our focus shouldn’t necessarily be on creating brand new mobile technologies, but expanding on ones that are currently producing too much waste. Thank you for this insightful OER!
Hi Tasneem,
I love this idea! I lament replacing my phone whenever I have to (same for my laptops and PC’s) and upgrading components is definitely preferable for me; I’ve stretched my 2012 Macbook Pro into 2021 (and hopefully 2022) by upgrading parts, but ironically my environmentalism and tech-savviness are incompatible when it comes to software. I find that I can endure tech with lacklustre performance as a matter of habit, but once the software no longer supports security updates, I finally relinquish them to their grave as I cannot justify putting my sensitive data at risk to preserve my environmental values. Phones are by far the worst at this, as components are seldom replaceable by end-users, but I’m hopeful that the right to repair movement and recent legislation in favour of it will begin to change that!
Hi Tasneem, I loved your presentation and think it is about time that this idea is put into action! Knowing the amount of money I spent on one new phone and then “throwing it out” in about 2 years, that cost does not justify it self! The biggest piece that won’t last as long is the battery. I love the idea of the modular phone because it makes sense. People customize or rebuild their desktops and laptops. Many people are customizing their own keyboards too. These are the items that we spend most of our time using and it has become a part of our lives. Why not make these items last longer? I can see only a few people will choose the modular function because of the lack of knowledge when it comes to pieces in the phone and how to change it and what is the impact of it to the overall performance. I’m hoping as this concept is more popular, that there will be videos or brands/stores that can help with the customization process! I’m looking forward to the day where we can have modular phones!
Hello Tasneem,
What an interesting presentation. Companies like Apple offer a set of devices for the same generation. So you can choose between the pro version, the large device or the smaller one. People are getting used to this concept of having to prioritize their needs when buying a new phone. So, your idea makes a lot of sense to me. My husband, for example, has had a laptop for around ten years. He uses it mainly for personal stuff, but he will probably need to change it because it does not support the new upgrades. And even if ten years seems a lot, I know he would rather prefer to change some parts to upgrade it than throw it out. It makes me think that people are more open to this idea than companies. We the increasing awareness of our impact on the environment, I believe companies will feel the pressure to contribute to reducing e-waste. The main issue to me is the physical aspect of devices. I hope we will find a solution soon. In short, I support your idea. Bravo!
Hi Tasneem, given the impact of e-waste now and in future, you’ve chosen an important and fascinating topic to investigate. I like how you demonstrated its relevance to your own life and how this was probably typical of many people’s experience. Filling in the backstory to modular development really helped put this issue into context and was an effective way to highlight some of the problems going forward. I was impressed by the amount of research you did and appreciated the video links that provided more background information however I did note that, when I followed up on the story of Apple using malicious code to intentionally slow down older computers, the original article reported only a failure to inform about side-effects so it’s always best, if tedious, to check every reference thoroughly. I’m glad you described in graphics what modular would actually mean as it helped us visualize the design challenges. It was definitely useful to see the pros and cons broken down separately as this made the advantages and drawbacks easier to see. From a design perspective, I found the Canva format and display crisp, clean and attractive; easy to navigate and with a harmonious balance of visual and textual information. It might have been useful to include some research supporting the general assumption that this will actually be a more sustainable option. To me, it’s at least plausible that being able to easily and cheaply swap out components would end up producing almost as much waste. You mentioned Fairphone and provided a link but it would be interesting to learn more about future developments and who’s doing what in this field. On the whole, I think it was a very good presentation that laid out the case for modular phones clearly and fairly.
Hi Tasneem,
What an amazing topic, certainly what I would consider out-of-the-box thinking and exactly where creativity happens. Looking at the Counterpoint Research stats that you have provided, I can certainly relate to those numbers. As I write this reply, I probably have 5-10 cellphones somewhere in the house, that were not broken and were fully functional, but have ended up in the drawer because I simply wanted a newer phone (usually due to hardware/software advancements such as battery, camera, etc.…). To be honest, the same applies to all my other electronic devices (laptop, PC, TV, music players, etc…). The electronic waste that I, as one individual have at home, is significant, now let’s multiply this by 8 billion people!!! No wonder why electronic waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world.
I think being able to build your own device, using common electronic components, is less wasteful and is actually fun, as it has elements of gamification to it. However, there are some angles to this that would make it quite challenging to implement. Consumers are constantly looking for lighter, smaller, and thinner cellular phones. Would a modular phone be able to support this trend? Would bulking up the phone for connectors, pins, latching mechanisms, etc., be unattractive to the users? How would new technology such as fingerprint scanners, etc.. be added to a modular phone? Having said this, I would certainly support a project like this, if implementation/execution hurdles have been addressed by a giant consumer electronics manufacturer before hand (e.g. warranty issues, etc..). Thank you for such a great presentation.
Hi Tasneem. This is a very interesting topic to explore, not to mention that we all may relate to it as everyone fancies a fully modular phone. Sadly, few are willing to take the risks or sacrifices to support the idea. One of the main drawbacks you mentioned in the presentation is “less profit”. I think that non-profitable products are doomed to fail unless they are heavily supported by giant international charities or funded by governments. Another issue is the “limited audience” which is true owing to human nature. I guess we are living in an age where most things are disposable. People usually like to think less and rely more on, so buying a ready-made phone with less modularity to worry about is a time-saver for seniors, businessmen, and no-techies. Then you have the performance issues which may be caused by a lack of compatibility. In essence, the idea is amazing for those who use their phones mainly for one or two purposes such as photography or data saving. However, as you said, it requires massive efforts from big companies collectively, which rarely takes place in the competitive market of smartphones. I have come across this webpage that mentions 7 attempts to create a modular phone: https://www.cnet.com/tech/best-cyber-monday-deals-still-available/. Do you think that people one day will see more value in technical customization than standardization?
Thank you for sharing with us this insightful OER. As I was reading through your Canva the biggest concept that caught my attention were your thoughts on controlling and minimizing e-waste through modular phones. Don’t you think the modular parts for the phone would still create e-waste? Just perhaps less of it. What if there were no physical parts at all to replace but instead only software to replace? A mobile holographic display could reduce e-waste even more! Checkout this website on the future of mobile devices https://community.arm.com/innovation/b/blog/posts/magic-behind-holographic-display
Hi Miguel! Thank you for your comment. I agree that a phone with no hardware components to replace would obviously be much more sustainable than a phone with modularity and actually did look into a holographic phone when researching possible future aspects of mobility for this project. I ended up going with modular phones because I wanted to focus on an aspect that I believe, with the right funding and demand, could be implemented in the very near future and isn’t too far-fetched given the technology we have today.
Tasneem
Great topic and apropos to the reality of the smartfphone world. it is truly amazing the power of media which seems to usurp all common sense re. practical issues such as COST. !1
Your questions and subject matter are so relevant and yet, how many really think about what e-commerce provides to us other than stimulation of consumerism. Yes, as a research component mechanism, undoubtedly, I would be the first to acknowledge its convenience. However, i dont think we have completely forgotten or been led down another path in that regard. I still enjoy mulliple search enginges for relevant research data at the source,as possibly many others do, secretly.
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So,thanks for a great topic, Joy
Hi Tasneem,
As I read your presentation, I reflected on why I updated my iPhone, and one of the reasons is that I want a new phone. I like the modular phone concept, and I agree that this is a niche market since not everyone will want this type of mobile. However, to cut down on e-waste, I would be willing to try a modular phone, but the shopper side of me would probably feel that I am missing something from the brand new iPhone, whatever version. I know I am not the only one with an old phone lying around as a backup or to be donated. I like the concept of modular, but how does it compete with the shiny new mobile being sold simultaneously? Would it be at a lower price? One of the hooks would not be contributing to e-waste. By the way, I am a heavy user of my mobile; perhaps that is why I update on average every 21 months. Very informative presentation!
Hi Anna, thank you for your comment! I would probably have the same exact dilemma as yours because I’m a big Apple fan, and it seems like a lot of people would be in the same position as well. In fact, when I was doing research on this topic, there were a lot of comments like “I’m waiting for Apple to do this” or “once Apple makes one, it’ll become popular” (which I really don’t see happening, considering how much Apple has actually moved away from modularity in their products within the last decade. RIP to my 2012 MacBook Pro with a third-party upgraded 1tb SSD and 16gb RAM). And if you’ve been on any social media platform, you’ve probably seen the Apple vs. Android debates where many people will defend their phone like their life depends on it. Brand loyalty and bandwagoning are definitely limitations I should’ve talked about more!
Hi Tasneem,
Just a little follow up. I have seen the Apple vs Android battle. I do not understand Androids and find them too complicated. Personally I live in an Apple world (mobile and iPad) but my laptop is PC have not made the complete leap. Old habits die hard.