Refurbished Tech at CES 2026: Back Market Sparks Change
Back Market, the world’s leading refurbished tech marketplace, sparked a new conversation at CES 2026. The event focused on the cost of America’s obsession with constant upgrades, not the latest devices. At The Slow Tech Awakening, a standing-room-only offsite event in downtown Las Vegas, leaders from repair, climate policy, journalism, and technology challenged the country’s fast-tech model. They called for a shift to longer-lasting, repairable devices.
While CES traditionally celebrates rapid innovation and annual replacement cycles, speakers argued that short device lifespans, locked-down repair, and forced upgrades reflect structural failures in the US tech system rather than genuine consumer preferences. The discussion took place during Enough Already!! How America Got Trapped in the Upgrade Economy and What Comes Next. The panel traced how US tech culture came to prioritise speed and replacement. It also explored why consumers, regulators, and the climate crisis now put that model under growing pressure.
Panellists challenged the idea that rapid replacement is inevitable. They pointed to design decisions, software restrictions, and market incentives that quietly shorten device lifespans in the United States, even as other regions move towards repairability standards and durability requirements. Speakers stressed that intentional business choices drive forced obsolescence. They highlighted soldered components, restricted access to parts and software, limited documentation, and annual refresh cycles, including CES, that discourage repair. These choices often decide whether a device will be repaired, refurbished, or discarded long before it ever breaks.
Elizabeth Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability at iFixit, stressed that repairability is set at launch. "If repair isn't considered during design, the device is effectively disposable from day one," she said. Chamberlain highlighted growing momentum behind the Right to Repair movement. She noted that seven US states have passed Right to Repair laws, every state has now introduced legislation, and manufacturers now engage more with repair advocates than they did a decade ago.
Sandra Goldmark, Associate Dean and Professor at Columbia Climate School, stressed that extending the life of existing electronics delivers some of the largest and fastest climate benefits available today. With circularity accounting for just 7 per cent of the global economy, she argued that climate targets require a significant increase in repair, reuse, and refurbishment. "Extending the life of the devices we already have often delivers far greater climate and material impact than releasing marginally more efficient new ones," Goldmark said.
Joy Howard, Chief Marketing Officer at Back Market, addressed the consumer impact of constant upgrades. "People are waking up to the reality that the upgrade cycle delivers frustration, not progress," she said. "Back Market's nearly $5 billion valuation and $3 billion in global GMV show that durability and repair are not niche ideas, they're real business. And in the US, we're just getting started as more consumers question the upgrade treadmill and look for tech that actually serves them."
Moderator Molly Wood, Journalist and Investor, described CES as a powerful coordination point for narratives and capital. She argued that, "What gets framed as 'next' on the CES show floor doesn't just predict the future, it determines it. Those signals shape what gets funded, built, and replaced, often without regard for long-term consumer value." As a longtime CES insider, Wood criticised the lack of meaningful progress on sustainability at the show. She also called on CTA to take Right to Repair seriously ahead of CES 2027.
Panellists also highlighted the economic upside of circular tech. Repair and refurbishment create local, hands-on jobs. They reduce material extraction and help manufacturers lower service costs while building longer customer relationships. Several speakersdirectly challenged the industry’s annual upgrade model, calling for a 10-year smartphone as a new industry benchmark.
The panel concluded that meaningful change will require external pressure. Speakers pointed to strong Right to Repair laws, extended producer responsibility, recycled-content requirements, and cultural demand for products designed to last. As speakers agreed, "If the business models change, the market will follow."
"Americans have been pushed into believing that the fastest upgrade or the latest product hype is the best tech decision, but that system is finally being questioned," said Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO and Co-founder of Back Market. "We're here to show that durability and repairability are not niche alternatives; they're the future of personal technology."
The conversation also drew focus from the US premiere of Dandora. This 17-minute short documentary traces the journey of discarded electronics from the US and Europe to Dandora, Kenya, one of the world’s largest e-waste sites. The film grounded the discussion in the real-world consequences of short device lifespans and restricted repair.
Back Market also partnered with iFixit to host live voting for the People’s Choice category of iFixit’s annual Worst in Show Awards. The vote gave CES attendees the chance to call out the least repairable products unveiled at CES 2026.
"Americans have been told that faster upgrades and newer devices mean better technology," added Hug de Larauze. "But durability and repairability are essential to our climate goals, our wallets, and our trust in technology. CES is the right place to say enough."