Cordella Mauro, Alfieri Felice, Clemm Christian, Berwald Anton
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Directorate B - Growth and Innovation, Circular Economy and Industrial Leadership Unit, Edificio EXPO - C/Inca Garcilaso 3, 41092, Seville, Spain.
Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM, Dpt. Environmental and Reliability Engineering, Gustav-Meyer-Allee 25, 13355, Berlin, Germany.
J Clean Prod. 2021 Mar 1;286:125388. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125388.
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.
市场上的智能手机具有各种设计特点和购买价格。最近的趋势表明，它们的更换周期平均已短于两年，这带来了环境影响，而延长此类设备的使用时间可以减轻这种影响。本文分析了影响智能手机耐用性的极限状态和设计趋势，并确定了提高产品寿命的可靠性和可维修性措施。还讨论了可靠性和可维修性方面的技术权衡。智能手机常常由于社会经济和技术原因而过早被更换。特定的硬件部件（如显示屏、电池、后盖）以及软件都可能至关重要。提高智能手机的可靠性可以减少过早更换的情况发生。除了从电子设备可靠性方面的基本考虑之外，这可以通过设计如下设备来实现：i）能抵抗机械应力；ii）采用耐用电池；iii）对未来的使用条件（如在软件/固件更新、内存和存储容量方面）具有足够的适应性。然而，如果出现故障，维修必须迅速且在经济上可行。这可以通过模块化设计理念、关键部件易于拆卸、备件和维修服务的可得性来促进。作为这两种策略的共同要素，还需要易于获取的使用、维护和维修说明。对市场上设备的分析表明，有可能设计出可靠性令人满意的设备，而不过度损害可维修性。然而，这两个方面之间可能会出现权衡。在所有智能手机的设计中都应纳入对可靠性和/或可维修性的考虑。本文的研究结果可供有兴趣提高智能手机耐用性的决策者（如制造商、设计师、消费者和政策制定者）使用。考虑到欧盟层面在政策上对智能手机的关注，这一点尤为及时。
