Repairable electronics often sound like a good idea until the design meets real life. Fairphone and Acer are taking that challenge directly with two new devices: the Fairphone Gen 6+ smartphone and the Acer Vero 16 laptop.
The Fairphone Gen 6+ can be fully disassembled in about 20 minutes, and its design lets users replace 12 different parts with one screwdriver. That list includes the battery, camera modules, USB-C port, and display, so owners do not need special tools or advanced repair skills to keep the phone working.
“We’re doing something that was long thought to be nearly impossible,” Chandler Hatton, CTO of Fairphone, said.
A phone built around long-term use
The Fairphone Gen 6+ has a 6.31-inch OLED screen that is fully replaceable. Fairphone designed the phone so anyone can replace its major parts, rather than sending the device away or replacing the entire handset after one component fails.
That approach comes with a small physical trade-off. The phone is a millimeter or two thicker than most glued-together phones, but the extra space supports a design that can come apart. Fairphone builds the device mostly from plastic with an internal metal frame.
Fairphone also introduces tests for disassembly and reassembly to ensure robustness. That matters because a repairable phone needs to survive more than its first opening. The design has to remain dependable after parts come out and go back in.
The company has set a clear target for how people should use the device. “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,” Hatton said.
That goal changes the focus from a single purchase to the full life of the phone. A replaceable battery can keep the device running, while replaceable camera modules, a USB-C port, and a display can address common reasons people might otherwise move to a new phone.
Acer applies the same idea to a laptop
Acer’s Vero 16 brings repair-focused design to a larger device. The laptop has removable port covers, a detachable external hinge, and a latch on the bottom that does not require tools to open. An engraving on the exterior shows the location of the battery and motherboard, giving users a clear guide to the parts inside.
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 a path for updates beyond its first configuration, although the available processor options remain part of the device’s hardware design.
The Vero 16 has a MIL-STD-810H certified chassis made primarily from low-carbon aluminum. It weighs 1.76 pounds and is half-inch thick, combining a repair-oriented structure with a thin laptop design.
Acer offers the Vero 16 with up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 processor 388H, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. It ships with up to a 16-inch 3K OLED display and a 71Wh battery, giving the laptop a high-end configuration alongside its replaceable parts.
Repairability meets everyday hardware
The Vero 16 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 connections cover the main features listed for the laptop without requiring extra adapters for every task.
Together, the two devices show two different ways to approach longer product life. Fairphone makes the phone’s key components accessible with one screwdriver, while Acer provides a tool-free bottom latch, visible internal locations, and replaceable laptop parts.
The details also show why repairability can affect the shape and construction of a product. The Fairphone Gen 6+ is a millimeter or two thicker than most glued-together phones, while the Vero 16 uses a chassis built primarily from low-carbon aluminum and leaves its battery and motherboard locations marked on the exterior.
The Fairphone Gen 6+ and Acer Vero 16 information is dated Sept. 2, 2026 and Sep 4, 2026. Acer plans to make the Vero 16 available early next year in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, giving the laptop a clear launch window in those regions.
For buyers, the main promise is simple: a broken or aging part does not have to end the life of the whole device. Fairphone’s five-year goal and Acer’s two-generation processor upgrade plan put that promise into specific terms, with designs intended to keep phones and laptops useful for longer.
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