Smartphones within a circular society - investigating potential modular smartphone users

It is widely acknowledged that transitions towards a circular economy (CE) are based on the complementary development of circular business models and design strategies. One strategy to enhance the lifetime of products is modular design. Concepts for modular product designs have been around for a long time, but it was only with the rise of the CE debate that they have been linked to more sustainable consumption patterns. Much research on modular designs has focused on smartphones, as they are considered to be a suitable product to make use of the advantages derived from modular designs. Still, there currently is little research that looks at how modular design strategies fit into people’s existing daily practices and media ensembles let alone the competences and knowledge needed to do so. This paper presents new empirical evidence gathered through in-depth interviews with people about their daily practices with their smartphone and modular design strategies. We discuss opportunities for modular smartphone designs and related product service systems. Our results show that issues of convenience and optimisation play a key role when establishing domestic media ensembles in people’s daily lives where the reliability and ease of use of people’s smartphones are crucial. These meaning present challenges for an integration of modular smartphones into everyday lives. Modular strategies as part of transitions towards CE cannot be enabled through products and services alone but would need complimentary political regulation and standardisation to support these developments.