The Nokia G22 is one of three smartphones that HMD Global brought to Mobile World Congress 2023. And the most interesting, as it is the first of a new series of phones designed from the ground up to be repairable and they have a long life.

Until now, it has not been possible to fulfill the right to redress, no matter how many “rights” have been declared. This is because of the way the current industry works and planned technological obsolescence which is generally practiced and which is binding accumulate more and more devices increasing technological waste when its lifespan could be increased very easily. The European Parliament has approved a rule that will force manufacturers to create products that last longer and can be easily recycled or repaired, even by third parties.

The new law prescribes eco-design for laptops, phones and tablets and sets certain technical standards regarding repairable and replaceable parts. Broadly speaking, the rule wants to limit single-use products, address “premature obsolescence” and ban the destruction of unsold durable goods to make sustainable products the norm. Simply, the current consumption model is unsustainable.

Nokia G22, a breakthrough for the right to repair

HMD Global commits to sustainability with this new Nokia G22, made from recycled plastic packaging designed to be repaired by its owners. To that end, it has teamed up with specialist iFixit to create repair guides and sell the tools and parts needed to replace the battery, charging port or screen. Nokia promises to manufacture and maintain spare parts for the next five years. It also ensures that performing a repair according to the instructions and parts, even by the user, will be considered an authorized repair, so it does not void the terminal’s warranty.

During his presentation, Adam Ferguson, product manager of HMD (the Finnish company that owns the rights to the Nokia brand), disassembled and replaced the battery of the Nokia G22 in less than five minutes and assured that screen replacement wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes and can be performed by any user. Not bad in an age where component integration and spare parts shortages make these repairs almost impossible to perform.

For the rest, let’s say it’s a typical mid-range HMD model. It has 6.52 inch LCD displaywith a refresh rate of 90 Hz. It is powered by a Unisoc T606 SoC with two A75 cores and six A55 cores, 4GB of RAM and a choice between 64GB or 128GB of storage.

Its camera system has a triple sensor, a 50MP main one flanked by a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth sensor, while the selfie camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels and is located on the front in a teardrop-shaped notch. There is also a jack as an audio connector and a 5,050 mAh battery (three days according to the manufacturer) with 20 W fast charging. of 179 euros.

HMD also announced two other phones at the Barcelona Congress, which do not have the mentioned degree of repairability, but will be from Nokia C32 and Nokia C22 they are intended for the basic level of the Android platform. The Finnish group also announced plans to start manufacturing some of its equipment in Europe this year.