24 Exclusive: Rising Technology Costs Change Consumer Behaviour — Is the Repair-First Era Beginning?

The electronics market is undergoing a clear shift as the rapid replacement culture declines in favor of extending and repairing devices, as a result of economic pressures, supply chain disruptions and rising prices.

Observers see that this reality could push consumers to adopt a new approach based on repair and maintenance of devices rather than buying new ones, thus easing the financial burden and reducing electronic waste.

This trend is linked to a surge in demand for AI data centers, which increases the pressure on chip and memory supply chains and raises production costs, reflecting on the prices of finished products, with major companies such as Apple raising the prices of some of their devices, while gaming and computers have seen remarkable increases, most notably raising the price of the Xbox Series X by about $150 and rises to $600 in some versions of Microsoft. It reflects a new wave of pricing in the technology sector globally.

Repair instead of replacement.

Observers see that this reality may push consumers to adopt a new approach based on repairing and maintaining devices rather than buying new ones, easing the financial burden and reducing e-waste, especially if one of the components fails, which does not necessarily mean that the device has expired entirely.

Global calls to promote the "right to reform" are also on the rise, with Oregon passing a law banning the use of replacement parts, while the European Union mandates, as of February 18, 2027, the provision of easily replaceable batteries in new devices, as part of its plans to reduce e-waste.

In cases where repair is not possible, the option to buy used or approved machinery after rehabilitation stands out as a cheaper alternative to buying new machinery, with the need to verify its source and guarantees.

From old phones to digital gold. When the UAE Turns Electronic Waste into Sustainable Wealth — 24. As countries race to secure raw materials and strategic minerals, the UAE is turning to a different resource found not in mines or quarries, but inside the millions of smartphones, computers and electronic devices that reach the end of their useful lives every year.

A skills crisis, not a hardware crisis.

In this context, technical expert Sami A Nour revealed in a special interview with 24 that the decline in modern machine repair processes is not due to its low repair capacity, but to a lack of specialized technical competence globally, prompting many parties to rely on replacement rather than repair.

He explains that modern devices have begun to follow the "Minimalist" direction in interior design, making their dismantling and replacement of core parts technically easier than before, so that the average user can learn basic skills and apply them himself, noting that repair takes much longer than replacement, making the latter the most practical option, despite the customer's cost.

The refurbished appliances… Caution and exceptions .

Regarding the feasibility of relying on refurbished devices as an economic alternative, Sami A Nour shows a strong reservation based on market previews, saying: "I never recommend buying refurbished devices unless it's through an authorized agent who gives a genuine official warranty. Most unauthorized stores buy damaged phones that are difficult to restore to their normal condition, or use poor-quality spare parts and sell them at high prices".

Instead, the technician suggests safer alternatives for consumers:

– Buying from a trusted environment: buying a used phone from friends or family members, checking battery health and maintenance records on official websites.

– Self-monitoring of maintenance: In case maintenance is required at an independent workshop, it is preferable to purchase original spare parts from reliable markets and request the technician to install them under direct supervision, with the store obliged to issue a detailed invoice that grants the customer his legal right before consumer protection authorities.

Guidelines for the protection of devices and extending their virtual life

Technical expert Sami A Nour offers a range of daily controls and practices that ensure the longest possible durability of devices and repeated postponement of replacement decisions:

– Battery charge management: keep the charge level between 20% and 80%, activate the power saving feature when low, and completely avoid using the phone while charging.

– Safety of charging accessories: use only original wires and cables approved by the parent company, and stay away from duplicate and poorly wireless charging for what constitutes a danger beyond damage to the device to explosion potential. Additionally, it avoids frequent charging in the car and replaces it with Bluetooth, and relies on portable charging only when necessary.

– Travel energy consumption: restrict the use of roaming data to only necessary applications, where excessive data consumption causes the battery's virtual life to be impaired.

– Environmental and climate consideration: Reduce the use of appliances in hot climates and open spaces to avoid the thermal stress resulting from attempts at self-cooling and to increase the brightness of the screen, while avoiding poorly manufactured heat-disguising covers and preservatives.

– Improve digital performance: periodically clean the device of viruses, delete unused applications, and refresh a little before installing major system updates to make sure it is free of software defects that could damage the device.

– Mechanical consumption guidance: Reducing quality during games, adopting reasonable video imaging quality (in case the user is not a professional content creator) to reduce load and pressure on processor and memory.

One last piece of advice to the consumer before buying .

At the same time, the technical expert stresses the need to refrain from buying at the moment only in cases of extreme necessity (e.g. complete discontinuation of security updates of the device), given the current high prices compared to quality, and to satisfy the actual required specifications without exaggeration.

When purchasing, it is always advised to contact the authorized agent and source within the country, and avoid unallocated copies for the domestic market avoiding technical problems and compatibility issues, noting that the UAE provides a clear accreditation system through the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and Digital Government (TDRA) that guarantees the consumer product quality and full compliance with the specifications.

Source: 24