Durability of smartphones: A technical analysis of reliability and repairability aspects
Open accessAbstract
Smartphones are available on the market with a variety of design characteristics and purchase prices. Recent trends show that their replacement cycle has become on average shorter than two years, which comes with environmental impacts that could be mitigated through a prolonged use of such devices. This paper analyses limiting states and design trends affecting the durability of smartphones, and identifies reliability and repairability measures to extend the product lifetime. Technical trade-offs between reliability and repairability aspects are also discussed. Smartphones are often replaced prematurely because of socio-economic and technical reasons. Specific hardware parts (e.g. display, battery, back cover), as well as software, can be critical. Improving the reliability of smartphones can reduce the occurrence of early replacements. Apart from the bottom-line consideration of reliability aspects for electronics, this can be pursued through the design of devices which: i) are resistant to mechanical stresses; ii) implement durable batteries; iii) offer sufficient adaptability to future conditions of use (e.g. in terms of software/firmware updates, memory and storage capacity). However, if and when failures occur, repairs have to be rapid and economically viable. This can be facilitated through modular design concepts, ease of disassembly of key parts, availability of spare parts and repair services. As common elements of the two strategies, easily-available instructions on use, maintenance and repair are also needed. The analysis of devices on the market suggests that it is possible to design satisfactorily reliable devices without compromising repairability excessively. However, trade-offs between these two aspects can occur. Considerations about reliability and/or repairability should be integrated in the design of all smartphones. The findings of this paper can be used by decision makers (e.g. manufacturers, designers, consumers and policy makers) interested in enhancing the durability of smartphones. This is particularly timely considering the policy attention on smartphones at the EU level.
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A high level of technical knowledge is required to disassemble and reassemble high-quality smartphones, such as Apple, for repairs.
“Furthermore, a high level of technical knowledge is required to disassemble and reassemble [51] high-quality smartphones, such as Apple, for repairs [52].”
From Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos (2025) · cites this paper as [51]
The Results (Repairability analysis; page unavailable) say that removing batteries from recent smartphone models requires an experienced repairer and that disassembly and reassembly can be barriers to repair. The paper does not establish that a high level of technical knowledge is required for high-quality smartphones specifically, or identify Apple phones as an example. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Unveiling Environmental Potential in Smartphone Repair Practices in Vientiane Capital, Laos
Soudachanh, S., & Salhofer, S. (2025) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su17020711 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cordella, M., Alfieri, F., Clemm, C., & Berwald, A.
- Affiliations
- European Commission (BE)
- Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Cordella, Mauro
- Venue
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-03
- Volume
- 286
- Pages
- 125388
- ISSN
- 0959-6526 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7871336
- OpenAlex
- W3108895169
- Cited by
- 120
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 8
- FWCI
- 12.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Cleaner Production (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TECNALIA Publications (Fundación TECNALIA Research & Innovation) (submittedVersion, public-domain)
- Publikationsdatenbank der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Fraunhofer-Publica (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft) (submittedVersion)
- Joint Research Centre (European Commission) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- EPS
- European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (820331)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Sustainable Design and Development
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Green IT and Sustainability
- Keywords
- smartphones, product durability, reliability, repairability, modular design, product life extension, battery durability, environmental impact of electronics, spare parts availability, repair service, design trade-offs
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