Mastodawn

Nubito Gesavu May 20

Gaël Duval - /e/OS & Murena

The real smartphone (and environment) killer? The Operating System.

Read my latest blog post 👇👇👇

https://gaelduval.com/the-operating-system-the-real-hardware-and-environment-killer/

The Operating System. The real hardware (and environment) killer. - Gaël Duval (blog, Murena, /e/OS my data is my data, Mandrake Linux...)

What’s a smartphone in today’s world ? It’s the object in everyone’s pocket that gets thrown away in 2.7 years lifespan. It’s a little bit more for an iPhone but that’s the industry average. And as everyone already strolls around with it glued to their hands, increasing the number of sales for this product, could mean … Continue reading "The Operating System. The real hardware (and environment) killer."

Gaël Duval (blog, Murena, /e/OS my data is my data, Mandrake Linux...)

Hieronymus May 20

@gael I'm really up for longevity of smartphones and since I have a Fairphone, it matters to me.

1)
I would just like to make a reference to Bialetti (Italian coffee pot manufacturer), which has just been sold to China due to excessive debts (if I am correctly informed). Their product was mega high quality, the Bialetti pots were passed down within the family (my girlfriend has one of her grandma's), the market seemed saturated, everyone has a working pot, nobody buys anymore.

Hieronymus May 20

2)
Of course, that's not the case with electronics. But that might be an issue itself, if the quality is too good, capitalism isn't working :(

@Hieronymus @gael maybe the problem is not to make great quality product to avoid planet pollution who is damaging capitalism, maybe the problem is just capitalism

Capitalism system push company to always grow and make more money. Shareholder have to learn to be satisfied with a non growing company, which give the same money every year in average without increasing it

The brand can also make money on parts, or by selling maintenance for the professionaly oriented product.

@Hieronymus @gael

Peut-être qu'ils n'ont pas su diversifier leur activité.

Søren Ladegaard May 20

@Hieronymus @gael If I remember correctly Volvo almost went out of business at one point because one of their cars could run “forever” and noone bought a new one 😊

Eugenia L May 20

@gael Well said, the amount of unused, old (and still working) phones out there is staggering. There should be a law that requires all drivers to be open source at least, so we can port OSes to these phones, to keep them working for a long time.

Gaël Duval - /e/OS & Murena May 20

@eugenialoli Agreed Eugenia!

Rob_Oost May 20

@gael Looks like Pixii has not survived ?

Martina Neumayer May 20

@gael Reading this on my phone which is an almost 10 years old one device. And yes it is still running very fine, same as on the first day I unboxed it, years ago. Still have original battery inside and I don't experience any particular degradation of it, which surprises me very pleasantly. Phone works really good. Actually doesn't have android on board anymore. Is now SailfishOS powered. No goggle crap, no other junk, no battery drains, and it have best audio ever made for phones. I love it! 🥰❤️

Herbert Schwakoviak 6d ago

@MartinaNeumayer @gael my old Sony XA2+ runs much better on /e/OS than SailfishOS.

Martina Neumayer 6d ago

@schwakoviak Well yes that's fairly possible. I never written that it isn't. But "better" is an very individual term. Your better can be and probably is slightly different than mine or somebody's else. But that's okay. Every one chooses what's more usable for.
I would gladly try /e as well but sadly there are no builds for my phone available. So I chose from what I had to choose from. And I must admit that I do not regret it. I got used to it and I wouldn't trade it for anything else today
@gael

@gael I'm not sure where the 2.7 year stat comes from. Can we tell more about how the lifespan and reasons of abandoning phones have changed in the past? I agree that OS and software are the main drivers now. My guess is that historically (like 2010) the lifespan was more dictated by hardware evolving at an incredible pace, as well as battery and screen failures which seemed much more common. Would love to confront this with some hard stats.

Gaël Duval - /e/OS & Murena May 20

@CrowOnAKettle There are many studies that confirm this order of figure
One is:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/619788/average-smartphone-life/?__sso_cookie_checker=failed

U.S.: smartphones replacement cycle 2013-2027| Statista

In the United States, the average expected life span (replacement cycle length) of consumer and enterprise smartphones was similar in 2023, with smartphones in the consumer segment having a life span of around 2.67 and 2.54 years, respectively.

Statista

@gael Thanks! It's hard to say there is much progress in this area.

Benjamin May 20

@gael great blog! I think the same problem goes for PCs and tablets, though at a slower pace. But especially with Windows 11 just choosing not to support a lot of devices. That's going to be an environmental disaster if every unsupported machine is just thrown away.

Simon Justesen May 20

@gael Excellent post!

I installed PostmarketOS on an old Samsung S III Mini some years ago. Watching (Alpine) Linux breed new life into old hardware like that is the coolest thing I've ever seen. I am hoping we can reach a point where its possible to "Bring-Your-Own-OS" on phones someday

@gael I've been running e/OS on a Motorola One 5G Ace for a few years. Still runs great! Thanks for your work providing a way for people to use phones beyond manufacturer's planned obsolescence.

@gael Would love to know more about why the fair phone is so limited geographically. I would have bought one instead of the Pixel 7a I now have, and would consider it again in the future when necessary.

Antonin Roussel 6d ago

@gael illustration reminds me Edwards Burtynsky's pictures of tires mountains. There is also some of dismantled electronics
https://fr.pinterest.com/pin/edward-burtynsky-china-web-gallery--16747829846016490/

Edward Burtynsky CHINA Web Gallery

Photographs by Edward Burtynsky showcasing the beauty and impact of e-waste recycling in China. Explore fine art photographs capturing historical sites and the photographer's unique perspective. Visit the online portfolio for more inspiring works.

Pinterest

Antonin Roussel 6d ago

@gael
A more accurate link:
China recycling # 12
Waste sorting, Zeguo, Zhejiang province, China, 2004 https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/china

Photographs: China — Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky

Urs Naegeli 6d ago

I'm still using FP2, 9+ years old now, with e/OS/ 🙂

Henrik Hemrin 6d ago

@gael I added your blog to my RSS-reader (Thunderbird).

Michael Adeyeye Oshín 6d ago

CC: @gael@mastodon.social
Here is our latest effort - https://ngportal.com/panafricanssi/p/1747707095.367742 . One of our other efforts at https://ngportal.com/panafricanssi/p/17475 .

And according to your wiki, here is the lateest effort to intsall postmarketOS on the same device - https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Google_Pixel_(google-pixel) .
Is there anyone that successfully bundled it on Google or Nokia devices?

Making sure you're not a bot!

Amin Raaei 6d ago

@gael We fight them with our empty wallets, we stay hungry, we stay old, but we fight against bullying and abuse

@gael Read on my Fp3 running e/os. Lots to agree with.

Leonard Neamtu 5d ago

@gael Brilliant read!