With a 6.2-inch Gorilla glass screen, four cameras, a 90Hz refresh rate, and lengthy three-day battery life, the G22 rivals today’s mainstream smartphones. But its appeal isn’t just in its hardware; it’s in what users can do with the phone’s outer shell. As demonstrated by HMD Global product marketing head Adam Ferguson during a press briefing, users can replace the G22’s 5050mAh battery in about five minutes. They can also replace the smartphone’s back cover, screen, and USB-C charging port in under 20.
Smartphone users have historically been required to take their broken devices to authorized repair shops. Not only is this inconvenient (users are left without a phone while it’s in the shop, after all), but it’s expensive: Having an iPhone 14 screen replaced, for example, costs around $279. It also creates an air of exclusivity and secrecy surrounding a device’s inner workings when a manufacturer makes it difficult for users to repair their smartphones themselves.
(Image: HMD Global)
This is becoming a little less common thanks to the growing right-to-repair movement. Users of everything from John Deere farm equipment to US Marine Corps vehicles have stressed the importance of being able to fix their machinery to avoid lengthy repair timelines and ridiculous costs. Some smartphone manufacturers, like Google, Samsung, and Apple, have responded by reluctantly implementing DIY repair options in partnership with iFixit, which sells affordable tool and hardware kits and publishes tutorials online.
Nokia’s release of the G22 signals a more enthusiastic, collaborative response to the right-to-repair movement. Starting at just $189, the G22 is financially accessible; the phone’s iFixIt repair kits run from $25 to $55. Nokia says some parts of the G22 are made with recycled plastics, too.
Despite mainstream manufacturers’ foot-dragging, there’s a market for DIY- and Earth-friendly smartphones. Fairphone, currently on its fourth-gen device of the same name, produces net-zero e-waste phones with recycled plastic and aluminum bodies. It’s easy to fix at home, earning it a perfect score on iFixIt’s repairability grade sheet. It’s also guaranteed to last at least five years, which is (unfortunately) an eon in smartphone years. Whether Nokia plans to compete with Fairphone long-term is hard to say, but the G22’s release is promising.
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