Hardware products with next-generation philosophies
It is really hard to find good user-focused tech products that at least try to make a difference when it comes to repairability, upgradeability, sustainability.
Here is a selection of my personal favorites. I have no affiliation with any of the products.
| Product category | Alternative | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | Framework Laptop frame.work | Laptop with repairability and upgradeability in mind Absolutely awesome philosophy. A laptop built to be as easy to repair and upgrade as possible (most repairs and upgrade you can even do yourself – guaranteed). This is what we need in all products really. Hope other companies go this direction with their products too. In 2022 they are still a new-ish company trying to make it in this very competitive space. Please make sure to read community or reddit forums before committing to a purchase. There still might be minor quirks that might throw casual users off their expectation. From what I gathered the majority of laptop owners see it primarily as an investment in the philosophy and to allow the team to succeed in the long run. I really love the laptop and it is very polished and I have had much worse laptops from well established brands. But please be sure to do some research. |
| Smartphone | Fairphone 4 fairphone.com | Smartphone with repairability in mind Similar philosophy concerning repairability and sustainability to Framework. Might have even been a bit of an inspiration to Framework as a company. The product is already on Gen 4 and looks awesome. Might be a bit higher priced than comparable phones from the big brands, but it really is an investment in a philosophy and you (and our planet) are much better off if anything needs replacement. Full disclosure: do not own a Fairphone yet, but it just needs to be mentioned in this list. |
| Cycling computer | Hammerhead Karoo 2 hammerhead.io | Cycling computer with continuous software upgrades After a ton of frustration with Garmin, Sigmasport and other devices somehow discovered this gem. Immediately fell in love with their software philosophy. The second version of the Karoo cycling computer is just awesome and the great thing about hammerhead: you receive continuous software upgrades… even for the older product generations. Of course the focus has somewhat shifted to features for the newer hardware generation but it is just so refreshing to see firmware and the user experience continuously improved. Hope to see this mindset more and more. Update: In January 2022 SRAM announced the acquisition of Hammerhead. As of 2023 the Karoo 2 is still the latest model and receives continuous software updates. |