07-29-2022, 08:29 AM
As others have pointed out in general (and I pointed out in regards to the PineTime), we need products to be more repairable, as well as sustainable (both being able to repair the devices, as well as have what to replace if need be), and this is a huge issue nowadays, though finally starting to be taken seriously (Framework, Fairphone, Puri.sm (to a degree), and some of Pine64's products come to mind).
Pine64, for the most part, does a great job on that front (the larger devices, such as the PinePhone, PineTab, PineNote, are built brilliantly) although there are some shortcomings, mainly with the smaller devices (the PineTime's construction hindering repairs, especially the soldered battery, however the Pinecil manages to avoid this and be a repairable device, that is also sustainable (more on that later)), and this does bode an ill-omen for things that are even harder to design with repairability in mind, like the PineBuds (even Fairphone failed to put a battery that is not soldered to the board, although they did manage to make opening the device relatively easy, when considering the challenges).
Puri.sm's Librem 5 development was (and still is) fraught with issues (mostly management issues), and despite not being as suited to be a daily driver as the PinePhone is, they got something right, and that is that there should be a way to easily replace the wireless components (not in the way they did, and less in regards to the specific component that thought about, that is more suited for a development unit in a lab), since despite the main issue there is the quality (Realtek is long known for their garbage quality and inefficient networking), the advantage of being able to replace the module, is that, if designed correctly, this could also alleviate the issues with broken antennae connectors (this will require a rethinking of how the modules exists, since the closest equivalent is M.2 1216, which only exists in soldered form in consumer-ready products, however even that form factor would be a step-up, although protocols other than PCIe should be considered for chipsets that cannot provide PCIe).
Regarding sustainability, I believe that Pine64 is working hard on that, and are on the right track, however we already have a situation where a Pine64 product is not sustainable, the PineTime (though this was probably because it was meant as more of an experiment, I have high hopes for a potential PineTime successor). The obvious examples of sustainability done right are Fairphone and (probably, we need more time for verification) Framework. I hope we see that level of sustainability, where replacement parts are available long after the device is no longer being sold (the Pinecil is already showing great promise in that area, and I believe, though not having the budget, I am not as knowledgeable about the state, of the PineBook and PinePhone and the other devices between those device classes, that something similar should be there as well.
Pine64, for the most part, does a great job on that front (the larger devices, such as the PinePhone, PineTab, PineNote, are built brilliantly) although there are some shortcomings, mainly with the smaller devices (the PineTime's construction hindering repairs, especially the soldered battery, however the Pinecil manages to avoid this and be a repairable device, that is also sustainable (more on that later)), and this does bode an ill-omen for things that are even harder to design with repairability in mind, like the PineBuds (even Fairphone failed to put a battery that is not soldered to the board, although they did manage to make opening the device relatively easy, when considering the challenges).
Puri.sm's Librem 5 development was (and still is) fraught with issues (mostly management issues), and despite not being as suited to be a daily driver as the PinePhone is, they got something right, and that is that there should be a way to easily replace the wireless components (not in the way they did, and less in regards to the specific component that thought about, that is more suited for a development unit in a lab), since despite the main issue there is the quality (Realtek is long known for their garbage quality and inefficient networking), the advantage of being able to replace the module, is that, if designed correctly, this could also alleviate the issues with broken antennae connectors (this will require a rethinking of how the modules exists, since the closest equivalent is M.2 1216, which only exists in soldered form in consumer-ready products, however even that form factor would be a step-up, although protocols other than PCIe should be considered for chipsets that cannot provide PCIe).
Regarding sustainability, I believe that Pine64 is working hard on that, and are on the right track, however we already have a situation where a Pine64 product is not sustainable, the PineTime (though this was probably because it was meant as more of an experiment, I have high hopes for a potential PineTime successor). The obvious examples of sustainability done right are Fairphone and (probably, we need more time for verification) Framework. I hope we see that level of sustainability, where replacement parts are available long after the device is no longer being sold (the Pinecil is already showing great promise in that area, and I believe, though not having the budget, I am not as knowledgeable about the state, of the PineBook and PinePhone and the other devices between those device classes, that something similar should be there as well.