A lot of consumers in many parts of the world are unhappy about the way smartphones are produced. The want them to last longer and thus lessen their environmental footprint, a new Greenpeace study has shown.
A vast majority of respondents in the US, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, China and Germany aged 18 to 75 said production processes should be changed so as to considerably decrease the negative ecological impact of smartphones on the environment.
"The humble smartphone puts enormous strain on our environment from the moment they're produced, often with hazardous chemicals, to the moment they're disposed of in huge e-waste sites," Greenpeace East Asia Global IT Campaigner Chih An Lee said in a press release on Monday.
How Smartphones Changed the World
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Waste of resources
"Over half of respondents across the countries surveyed agree that manufacturers are releasing too many new models, many designed to only last a few years. In fact, most users actually want their phones to be more easily dismantled, repaired and recycled."
Four in five respondents said it was absolutely vital for smartphones to be easily repaired, if damaged - a feature that's hardly ever seen right now in phones from major producers such as Samsung or Apple.
Nearly half of those polled believed phone manufacturers should be more responsible for an efficient recycling process. The sentiment was strongest in Germany (61 percent in favor).
"If tech brands want to lead us into the future, they need to move towards closed-loop production and embrace the circular economy - something that can be good for their profits, for people and for the planet," the study noted.
The rapid rise of the smartphone
Billions of people the world over couldn't imagine life without a smartphone. It's been 20 years since the first such gadget hit the markets. Here are some quirky facts and developments you might not have known.
Image: DW/M.Bösch
Impressive dinosaur
This is what the world's first smartphone looked like. The Nokia 9000 Communicator had the features of a PC, complete with office software, Web browsing and fax function. Sales started on August 15, 1996. It cost around 1400 euros - or around half that with a contract.
Image: dpa/Nokia
Lightweight, but powerful
Modern-day smartphones have come a long way. But the fact that they weigh a lot less than earlier models does not mean they can do less. In fact, today's devices have millions of times the computing power of the computers used by Apollo 11 to land on the moon.
Image: Getty Images
Unexpected side effect
There are tons of apps to ensure smartphone users never have a dull moment, but some pieces of code can also be extremely useful for authorities. Indonesians are using donated devices to detect illegal logging through software that listens for the sound of chainsaws and then triggers an alert.
Image: Getty Images
Phone turned weatherman
Researchers from networking group OpenSignal have discovered that the sensors in Android-based smartphones designed to measure battery temperature, light intensity and pressure can also be used to come up with really accurate weather reports.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Pee power
Scientists from Bristol, England, have developed a fuel cell that can generate power for smartphones "from a single visit to the toilet." You can get three hours of phone calls from 600 milliliters of urine, with bacteria turning the liquid into electricity. On a somewhat related note, close to 100,000 smartphones are dropped into toilets annually by Britons alone.
Image: Imago
Roaming about
Celine Aarons from South Florida made headlines a couple of years ago when she received the biggest ever smartphone bill. She had to pay $201,000 (180,000 euros) after a message texting marathon while on holiday in Canada. Ever heard of roaming charges?
Image: Imago
Irreversible success story
There are now about 1.9 billion smartphone users globally, and that number is still rising steadily. Worldwide 349 million units were sold in the first quarter of this year alone, marking a 3.9 percent increase over 2015. The hottest-selling phone was Samsung's Galaxy S7, with Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus coming in a close second.
