Nokia launched a new smartphone that users can fix themselves.
Developed by Finnish manufacturer HMD Global, the Nokia G22 is a standard smartphone with a 6.5-inch screen and a 50-megapixel main camera. But the outer cover of the phone and the internal parts are what make it special. The phone includes a recyclable plastic backing that can be easily removed to replace broken components.
The phone also comes with tools and repair guides from iFixit, as the user can remove and replace the phone’s back cover, battery, screen and charging port, according to CNBC, and Al Arabiya.net reviewed it.
For his part, said the head of product marketing at “HMD Global”, Adam Ferguson, that this process will cost an average of 30% less than replacing an old phone with a new one.
Smartphone companies are increasingly making phones last longer amid pressure from regulators to make electronic devices more sustainable.
Lawmakers in the European Parliament are also calling for legislation that would force manufacturers to give users a “right to repair”.
The European Commission’s new green transition plan also seeks to make the bloc a so-called circular economy by 2050, making it able to repurpose, repair, reuse or recycle almost all material goods to reduce waste.
This comes after repairing phones, in particular, has become more complicated due to how tightly the battery and other components are sealed with glue.
For its part, Apple, which has long been reluctant to change its repair policies, decided in November 2021 to launch a self-service repair program that allows customers to purchase spare parts to repair their own devices.
In December, the iPhone maker expanded this program to 8 European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
“As consumers increasingly demand more durable and long-lasting devices, the ability to easily and affordably repair smartphones will become a key differentiator in the market,” said Ben Wood, senior analyst at CCS Insight.
It is scheduled that the release of the Nokia “G22” phone will begin in the United Kingdom on March 8, at a price of 149.99 pounds sterling ($ 179.19). The replaceable parts can be purchased individually from iFixit. The battery costs £22.99; For the screen, it costs £44.99, and for the charging port, £18.99.
Nokia, which once controlled more than two-thirds of the global mobile phone market, sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft for €5.4 billion ($5.8 billion) in 2014. The unit was later bought by HMD, which he formed. Nokia executives in Finland, for $350 million.
