The so-called ‘right to repair’ movement, which seeks to address planned obsolescence, has been with us for quite some time. And, although there is still work to dohas promoted repairability initiatives that are translating into changes in the way electronic device manufacturers are managed.
There are companies that were born with the ‘right to repair’ in mind, such as Fairphone, which currently has the Fairphone 5 on the market, and others that are trying to adopt it. Nokia is one of them. The Finnish firm has the Nokia G42 5G in its catalog, a device that will allow us to switch from the screen to the USB-C port.
An economical device and, above all, user-repairable
The Nokia G42 5G arrives with a 6.56-inch IPS screen with a 90 Hz refresh rate. Internally it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480+ SoC in company 6GB RAM. And, if we talk about storage, we have 128 GB of internal space expandable using a MicroSD card.
The back of the mobile houses a photographic module with a 50 MP main sensor, a 2 MP depth sensor and a macro sensor, also 2 MP. The front camera, for its part, is 8 MP. Here we also find a 5.00 mAh battery with charging power of up to 20 W and Android 13 with updates for two years.
This is not the first time that the brand, which once knew how to be a market leader, takes a definite step towards repairability. Last year’s Nokia G22 inaugurated this effort. Now we just realized that it was no exception. The Nokia G42 5G points once again in a direction where the beneficiaries are mobile users.
Nokia has partnered with iFixit so phone owners can access replacement guides, tools and spare parts. That is, everything necessary to do certain repair jobs. Certainly, we will not be able to replace all the components, but we can replace the battery, the back cover, the USB-C port and the screen.
If we wanted, for example, to replace the device screen through this program, we would find ourselves with two options: buy only the component for $49.99 and use our tools, or purchase the kit with everything necessary for the procedure for $54.99. In both cases, the screen is original from Nokia.
Replacement of the battery, a component that inevitably degrades over time, is priced at $24.99 for the first option and $29.99 for the second option. We are also talking about an original battery from the manufacturer. And all the instructions for making the change are available on the iFixit website.
With this possibility on the table, it is in the hands of the user to decide whether to opt for a repair carried out by themselves or one in a workshop. Certainly, parameters such as the skills of each, time and cost. In any case, it is an existing option that some might be able to take advantage of.
At the repairability level, let us remember, work is being done on the repairability index. France has been a pioneer in implementing this system and Spain aspires to become the second nation to implement it. Although it is not yet available in Spanish territory, we can verify the index of the Nokia G42 5G in French stores.
If we focus on this case, the mobile has obtained a score of 8.1. As we can see, apparently, there is still work to do to reach a maximum repairability score. In the same price range we find, for example, the Honor 90 Lite with a score of 7.8 and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 with 7.5 points.
The Nokia G42 5G is available in Spain in its version with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage at a price of 249.99 euros. It should be noted that iFixit replacement parts and tools, at least for now, are not available in all markets where the device is sold.
Images: NOKIA