HMD Global has unveiled the new Nokia G22 smartphone, which will be easily repaired by future owners with their own hands. The company has partnered with iFixit to provide replacement parts, tools, and instruction.
The Nokia G22 will be unveiled in the United Kingdom, most of Europe, and several other countries outside the United States in two weeks. It costs around $180.
Samsung and Apple have partnered with iFixit to sell replacement components, while Apple has launched its own self-repair program. HMD, in turn, is focusing on facilitating the repair process itself.
Adam Ferguson, HMD Product Manager, replaced the Nokia G22 battery by himself, using a special plastic spatula, and then took about five minutes to complete the process. A similar battery swap on a previous-generation HMD phone or many competitor phones would take about 90 minutes, according to him.
Nokia G22 replacement parts cost from $23 for a new charging port to $54 for a new display on iFixit. The tools required for the repair will cost approximately $6.
The Fairphone 4 has a 10.5mm body thickness, a smaller 3905mAh removable battery, and a fourth generation of reliable, repairable phones.
Although HMD expects that the Nokia G22's battery life will be extended to five years, it will only receive two years of Android updates and three years of security updates (the phone will ship with Android 12 2021). Likewise, Google and Samsung offer up to five years of security updates (and three-4 four years of Android updates respectively), while Fairphone supports its Fairphone 2 for over seven years (the final software update will be released in March 2023).
Nokia G22 in grey. Image: HMD
The Nokia G22 has a 6.52-inch 90Hz 720p display; an 8MP front camera, a 50MP main camera, a 2MP depth sensor; and a fingerprint scanner for unlocking.
The Nokia C22 is $115 while the C32 is $137. Both smartphones include HMD's standard Android 13 software.
HMD Nokia devices have traditionally been manufactured in a partnership with Foxconn in Taiwan.
