German Engineering on the test bench

Shift’s priority has been on conflict-free components. Even though it was designed in Germany the repairability suffered under the use of standard components and its 6/10 is only placed in the middle of our repairability scores.

Shift5.1 highlights:

• At 2000 mAh the Shift5.1 has the same capacity as the Fairphone 1, along with its ease of removal.
• Only 10 standard Phillips screws are used throughout the device, this makes a repairer’s heart rejoice.
• We uncovered a nasty surprise when removing the daughterboard: A soldered cable connects it to the motherboard, making replacements of either component a lot more expensive.
• Unlike the Fairphone, that has its credentials literally printed on it: Until now Shift has not provided any proof of the social and ecological goals they want to achieve with their devices, despite being their priority.

And here we have the heart of the shift5.1:

• Mediatek MT6582 SoC with an ARM Cortex A7
• Samsung KMR820001M-B609 2GB LPDDR2 memory
• Mediatek MT6627 Diplexer QVL for WIFI/BT/GPS
• Mediatek MT6166V RF transceiver
• Mediatek MT6323GA PMIC
• AIROHA AP6684 quad-band GPRS front-end module

Wiko Pulp 4G The Wiko Pulp 4G delivers similar specs to that of the Shift5.1, but Wiko’s goal was to deliver the best cost/performance ratio. The Pulp 4G’s solid 7/10 on the repairability scale proves that a low price does not necessitate low repairability.

Wiko Pulp 4G highlights:

• Removing the Li-Po battery requires just the move of a finger. The 2500 mAh capacity outweighs the 2000 mAh battery in the Shift5.1.
• No glue and only standard Phillips screws used in the device allowing a straightforward teardown. Any repair will benefit—thumbs up!
• Most of the components are modular, including the motherboard and daughterboard. The only drawbacks are a few soldered parts, requiring the replacement of the whole board and thus increasing repair costs.

This is what makes the Wiko Pulp 4G tick

• MSM8916 CPU with an ARMv8 Cortex-A53
• SK hynix H9TQ17ABJTMC 2GB eMMC RAM storage
• Qualcomm PM8916 power management
• Skyworks 77648-11 multimode multiband power amplifier module
• Qualcomm WTR4905 RF transceiver
• Qualcomm WCN3620 wireless connectivity IC
• SGM3140B 500mA buck/boost charge pump LED driver

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