Allison hurries down the sidewalk, her phone clutched in hand. It’s 4am and she’s navigating her way home after a late night out. Two minutes later she tries to check her screen, but the device simply won’t turn on. “No, no, no!” Allison mutters. Her phone just broke. “Not again! I bought you two years ago! My old flip phone lasted five years, and that thing belonged to my mum before I got it!”. She speeds up her pace the useless piece of metal still held dead in her palm, soon to be replaced by a new shiny model.

The phenomenon Allison experienced is what science calls obsolescence: the fact that many products do not last as long as they could in theory. Most often this issue focuses on phones since these are a necessity in modern daily life: Billions of people own and regularly replace their old models causing 7.3 kg of annual electronic waste per person. Satisfying this demand for new electronics requires an increasing number of materials. Scientists all over the world are thus researching obsolescence in connection with transforming the global economy to a more sustainable model using less resources.

But what is the reason for this high turn-over of phones? Multiple factors are responsible for cutting short the lifetime of these devices: Psychological as well as economic aspects play important roles. Psychologically, people want to own the latest technology as a status symbol and because it promises to include innovative new features, thereby increasing consumption. Moreover, for most electronic devices there is one main technical component causing early onset failure – the capacitors .

Capacitors are essentially flat irons for electronic currents: they smooth out ripples and provide a constant flow of power keeping the device running. The fatal flaw is that all other components making up a phone or laptop depend on these little helpers performing correctly. If they break, the whole device will die. To grasp why this happens it is important to understand the construction of capacitors.

Simply said, capacitors consist of three layers which are stacked on top of each other. This stack is then rolled up in a cylinder similar to how you would prepare sushi. More specifically, capacitors have two outer metallic layers that can transfer energy and a liquid layer in between them - the so-called electrolyte. This electrolyte stores the energy, hence enabling the smoothing effect.

The main reason why capacitors fail is that the liquid layer evaporates . And just as there is no sushi without rice, there is no constant flow of energy without this electrolyte. The lifetime of capacitors is therefore directly related to the temperature at which the device operates since liquids evaporate more quickly at higher temperatures. Compare the length of existence of a puddle in the height of summer to one in autumn. Next to that, the amount of electrolyte present in a capacitor has a large influence on its durability: more electrolyte means a larger storage of liquid until everything is evaporated.

Having the sinking feeling that electronics from two decades ago lasted longer is thus not far from the truth. These devices were much larger and thicker, leaving space for big capacitors with more electrolyte. Additionally, they had to perform and charge less quickly, translating into lower temperatures in the device. Their size and simplicity can hence explain why old electronics often still work.

With every new smartphone having to be thinner, faster and more high-performance, the strain applied to them increases. Smaller electronic components operating at higher temperatures are under more stress, which, for capacitors, represents an increase in electrolyte evaporation. Furthermore, the price you pay for thinness is that you cannot open most modern devices yourself to replace anything: The components are simply too small and intricately built in.

Is there an alternative then? What will the future of electronics look like? There are a few businesses focusing on repairability and durability instead of performance like Fairphone or Shift. Their phones lack the speed and slimness of competitors, but you can open them up and replace parts yourself. A downside is that these models also cost more in relation to what they can perform as the high price ensures that the company can still make a profit. This means while the devices will be more affordable in the long-term because you can repair its components, the initial costs will be higher.

Fighting obsolescence is therefore not as simple as only demanding of all companies to produce completely repairable products. The future of electronic device development will have to balance economic revenues for businesses, technological innovations, and the costs for consumers, alongside all the sustainability aspects. After all, Allison wants her new smartphone to last as long as her mom’s flip phone while still keeping up with the latest developments.