Make a repairable smartphone with removable battery: the head of Fairphone criticised OnePlus for dropping 7-year support

There seems to be a heated debate among smartphone makers about whether to increase the support period for devices to 7 years, as Google and Samsung have done.

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Recently, OnePlus president Kinder Liu said that the company is not going to extend support for its smartphones as it is pointless. He believes that hardware and deteriorating user experience are obstacles to long-term upgrades. Among other things, the phone's battery may not even survive those 7 years.

Fairphone co-founder Miquel Ballester responded with a statement. According to him, there will be no obstacles if manufacturers start producing easily repairable gadgets with removable batteries that can be replaced on their own at the end of their lifespan.

"As the ‘bakers’ of Fairphone 2, the longest-lasting Android device to date, and the still oven-fresh Fairphone 5, offering eight years of guaranteed software support and aiming for ten — we wholeheartedly agree that non-repairable, glued-shut devices aren’t an excuse for mediocre software support commitments. It is high time the industry as a whole embraced a more repairable design for their devices", the Fairphone chief stated.

He also personally addressed the OnePlus president:

"To Mr Liu, and anyone else worried about their phone’s battery being outlasted by its software, the solution should be obvious: Make it replaceable."

For those who are not aware: Fairphone devices are characterised by a modular design and good repairability, and the company itself is trying to reduce the amount of electronic waste in this way.

Source: Android Authority