Samsung self-repair program is a bold step toward smartphone sustainability

Earlier this year, Samsung made a lot of noise about its most recent effort in reducing its negative impact on the environment. The world’s largest smartphone manufacturer decided to use recycled plastics rather than reduce its production. This would have led to a decrease in the number of smartphones it makes each year. However, responsibly sourced materials are only part of the sustainability equation. Reducing the number of smartphones and smartphone parts thrown out each year is an equally important part of that formula. This would mean that phones can be repaired as long as possible. Samsung has taken the bold step to allow people to fix their smartphones on their own.

Designer: Samsung

When it launched its new Galaxy S22 phone series, Samsung also boasted about the big change it’s making in its future phones and tablets. These plastics will not be manufactured from new material, but will instead come from recycled fishing nets. This kills two birds, as it decreases the production of plastic for new phones and also provides a home for thousands of fishing nets that have been discarded over years.

Although it’s an important and significant step forward, it is still just one step. This doesn’t solve the issue of smartphone parts and phones being thrown away on a frequent basis. Sometimes it is because they are too expensive to repair or because it is cheaper to buy new smartphones than first-party repairs. The fix here is to actually encourage a stronger culture of repairing phones rather than discarding them, and part of that means giving consumers the permission and the tools to repair their own devices without having to pay anyone, especially Samsung and its partners.

This “Right to Repair” is gaining strong momentum among consumers, businesses, and legislators, and Samsung is following Apple’s bold announcement last year that creates an official program to help owners repair their phones on their own, should they choose to go down that route. Samsung is pairing up with iFixit for guides on how to do exactly that, while the company will also provide tools and replacement parts for supported devices. At the moment, only the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S21, and Galaxy Tab S7+ have been named to be included in this program.

Images courtesy of iFixit

It is just as crucial to be able to replace and repair damaged parts. You also have the responsibility for properly disposing of them. Part of this self-repair program involves sending those broken or irreparable pieces back to Samsung, who will then dispose of or recycle them as necessary.

This is just the latest step in Samsung’s attempts to reduce its negative impact on the environment, going beyond reducing its carbon emissions. Although it initially ridiculed Apple for it, Samsung eventually jumped on the bandwagon and removed chargers from many of its smartphone boxes. The company has reduced its use of plastic in packaging for smartphones and also decreased the box size. Although it may not seem like much, when you consider that Samsung is the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, each little thing adds up over time.