Is repairability enough? big data insights into smartphone obsolescence and consumer interest in repair

Abstract

A dominant narrative surrounding smartphone lifespans suggests that their objective functional capabilities \ndeteriorate rapidly and that if only devices were more repairable consumers would use them longer thereby \nreducing demand for new production and e-waste generation. Here we use a big-data approach to help unpack \nthis narrative and examine two related yet distinct aspects: smartphone performance and obsolescence, and \nconsumers interest in repair. Examining over 3.5 million iPhone benchmarking test scores, we reveal that the \nobjective performance of devices remains very stable over time and does not rapidly deteriorate as common \nwisdom might suggest. In contrast, testing frequency varies substantially. This discrepancy suggests that factors \nother than objective performance meaningfully influence consumers’ perceptions of smartphone functionality \nand obsolescence. Relatedly, our analysis of 22 million visits to a website offering free repair manuals revels that \ninterest in repair declines exponentially over time and that repairability does not necessarily prolong consumer’s \ninterest in repair. Taken together, our findings indicate that non-technical aspects, such as mental depreciation \nand perceived obsolescence play a critical role in determining smartphone lifespans, and suggest that focus on \nthe technical aspects of repairability as currently discussed by policy makers is unlikely to yield the desired \nextension in smartphone lifespan. We propose that sustainability advocates try to avoid narratives of planned \nobsolescence which might have counterproductive impacts on perceived obsolescence and consumer’s’ interest \nin repair, and instead highlight how well devices perform over time. More broadly, this work demonstrates the \npotential of using novel datasets to directly observe consumer behavior in natural settings, and improve our \ngeneral understanding of issues such as planned obsolescence and repair.

Topics & Concepts