Newsletter
We have entered 2024 and it’s time for the 2023 smartphone awards. We got some self-repair-friendly ones, some good-looking, some with intricate hardware, and some with structural design flaws, that lead to catastrophic damage in JerryRigEverything’s durability tests and may face the same in real-life accidents as well. So let’s take a look at some of the notable contenders in the different categories from last year.
The Pixel 8 Pro and the Pixel 7a came after the modular Fairphone 5 in terms of smartphone repairability for 2023
Starting with repairability, the Google Pixel 8 Pro emerges as one of the best repairable phones in 2023. Google has worked with iFixit to make the repair parts available for self-repair. As the host of JerryRigEverything Zach Nelson mentions, the screen repair for the Pixel 8 Pro still requires a heat gun. But since it’s a flagship from 2023 and needs ingress protection, the use of glue is justifiable. Other than that, Google has also promised seven years of software and hardware support for the Pixel 8 series devices.
However, there’s another contender that wins the most repairable smartphone award for 2023 from the creator. It is the Fairphone 5 with removable parts. Fairphone directly avails the replacement parts as well.
But 2023 didn’t only offer some eco-friendly or consumer-friendly devices, but it also some that still motivate you to get a new one. The least repairable smartphone award for 2023 from JerryRigEverything goes to the ROG 7 Ultimate. Notably, this phone also gets another honor of the most innovative smartphone of 2023, thanks to its motorized flap and copper fins inside for cooling.
The folding phones are seen as comparatively fragile. But interestingly, some of them performed really well in the durability testing. The Galaxy Z Flip 5 successfully survived all the tortures from the outside and remained functional after being completely torn down and reassembled.
2023 offered foldable devices that defy the perception of fragility
Unfortunately, the Google Pixel Fold didn’t survive the durability test. Google achieved the IPX8 rating for this foldable by separately sealing both halves with the hinge in the middle. It leads to a construction where the halves don’t meet each other on the back while unfolding. When bent from the back, they don’t support each other and it caused the failure in the durability test.
For those who are waiting for the latest Pro iPhones, they won the smartphone award 2023 from JerryRigEverything for their best-looking inside, with visible electromagnets around the main sensor for stabilization.
With all said, Zach honors the affordable contender from the Pixel 7 series, the Google Pixel 7a as the most durable smartphone from 2023. The reason is the plastic back which won’t break and the repair parts are available from iFixit, same as the Pixel 8 series devices.