Most phones and laptops are built to be replaced when one important part fails. The Fairphone Gen 6+ and Acer Vero 16 take a different approach: both devices are designed to stay useful through repairs, upgrades, and part replacement.
The Fairphone Gen 6+ focuses on simple access. You can fully disassemble it in about 20 minutes, and users can replace 12 different parts with just one screwdriver. That includes the 6.31-inch OLED screen, which is fully replaceable, giving the phone a repair path when the display breaks or stops working.
That design reflects Fairphone’s larger goal. Chandler Hatton, CTO of Fairphone, said, “We’re doing something that was long thought to be nearly impossible.” He also described the company’s target in direct terms: “Our goal is that every single person that purchases a Fairphone uses it for at least five years, and we track that as a KPI.”
A phone designed to outlast its battery
The Fairphone Gen 6+ is mostly plastic, with an internal metal frame. Its construction is designed so that anyone can replace parts, which can reduce electronic waste and potentially save consumers money. Instead of treating a broken component as the end of the phone, the design separates that component from the rest of the device.
The phone is designed to last longer than a battery, which typically lasts about three years. That difference matters because a battery can wear out long before the rest of the phone becomes unusable. A replaceable battery gives the device a way to keep going without forcing users to replace the entire handset.
Fairphone also designed the Gen 6+ to be disassembled and reassembled during development, with tests for robustness built into that process. The goal is not only to make parts removable, but to make sure the phone can handle the repeated handling that repair requires.
The result is a phone built around a simple idea: the owner should be able to reach the parts that need attention. The 12 replaceable components, one-screwdriver design, and fully replaceable OLED screen all support that approach while matching Fairphone’s five-year use goal.
Acer brings the same thinking to a laptop
Acer’s Vero 16 applies repair-focused design to a larger device. The laptop has removable port covers, a detachable external hinge, and a latch on the bottom that can be opened without tools. An engraving on the exterior shows the location of the battery and motherboard, making those key components easier to identify.
The battery and SSD are user-replaceable, and the laptop can be upgraded with new processors for at least two generations. That gives the Vero 16 more than one way to stay useful: owners can replace worn components and upgrade processing hardware instead of treating the whole computer as fixed.
Its chassis uses MIL-STD-810H certification and is made primarily from low-carbon aluminum. The Vero 16 can ship with up to a 16-inch 3K OLED display and a 71Wh battery, while configurations can reach an Intel Core Ultra X9 processor 388H, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage.
The laptop also includes a 5MP IR camera with a built-in privacy shutter, an SD card reader, an HDMI 2.1 port, and two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports. Those features sit alongside the repair-focused hardware, so the design is not limited to access panels and replaceable parts.
Acer plans to make the Vero 16 available early next year in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, known as EMEA. The company also listed two other laptops: the Acer Swift Air 16, powered by up to an Intel Core 7 processor 350 and scheduled for early 2027, and the Acer Swift Blade 14.
The Swift Blade 14 weighs 1.76 pounds and measures half an inch thick when closed. It can also be outfitted with up to an Intel Core 7 processor 350, putting the focus on a thin and light design rather than the Vero 16’s repair and upgrade features.
Repairability changes the replacement cycle
The Fairphone Gen 6+ and Acer Vero 16 approach longevity at different scales, but the idea is the same. A phone with a replaceable screen and battery can stay in use after individual parts fail, while a laptop with a replaceable SSD, battery, and upgradeable processor can avoid becoming outdated as soon.
Neither device removes the need for new hardware. Instead, both designs give owners more control over what happens when a component breaks, wears out, or needs an upgrade. That can reduce e-waste and potentially save money, while Fairphone’s five-year target puts a clear time frame behind the promise of longer use.
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