Nokia seems intent on climbing the summit again telephony – albeit in a different way from what we were used to 20 years ago – and it does so with the Nokia G22, smartphones that owners can repair themselves.
Nokia G22 presented at Mobile World Congress 2023
The usefulness of a smartphone that can be repaired directly with a do-it-yourself kit could be underestimated by many, but the purpose is as noble as possible: help the planet.
We are now well aware of the polluting emissions emitted to produce electronic devices, so why not focus on smartphones that can also be repaired at home? Nokia is certainly not the first to have taken this path: Samsung has also inaugurated an identical policy and soon other big names in the sector will follow the same example.
Nokia’s G22 is placed in the medium-low range of smartphones, which can be purchased for only 189,00 euro. Made in recycled plastic and with a 6.53-inch screen, it has a 50 MP and a storage memory equal to 128GB+4GB RAM. It is also updated to Android 12more three years of monthly security patch updates e two for the operating system.
How can you fix it yourself
90s-early 2000s nostalgia, brace yourselves, because the back shell of this smartphone is removable! The interior comes with screws to access the main components and repair them in case of failure.
The repair kit is easily available at 5,00€ thanks to the collaboration between iFixit and the “new” Nokia parent company, HMD Global. The latter will make the “quick fix” guides and original spare parts available for 5 years at an affordable price.
For example the screen will cost 49,95€battery 24,95€ and the charging port 19,95€. Last but not least, if the repair is done using the tools and spare parts provided by iFixit there will be no problem with the warranty, as the repair is officially authorized.
The G22 represents a new watershed for Nokia. As they let HDM know “starting with the Nokia G22, we will design and build smartphones that you can repair from home more easily”, but not only.
HDM intends to produce the next Nokia smartphones directly in Europatrying to reaffirm the brand where it was born and to reduce its carbon footprint.
“The Nokia brand has a proud history in the European market and with this move we continue to strengthen our position as Europe’s single largest smartphone supplier,” he said. Jean Francois Barilco-founder and managing director of HMD Global.
If things were to really go like this, there would only be one thing left to say: welcome back Nokia, we missed you!