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When I couldn't repair my Nokia and replace the 5 € USB-Port because there happened to be a small crack in the screen (of course you have to remove the glued on screen to accese the innards), I caved and bought a Fairphone 3.
Worst decision ever. The stupid thing refuses to break to let me even use the better repairability.
Fairphone existed for years now, and the title makes it seem like as if they made a new phone just now that is repairable.
Yeah, the Fairphone 2 is 7 years old and you can still buy all the important replacement parts directly from their store.
Does it still get OS updates?
Yeah, they're touting this as if it isn't old news. Yes, the phones are cool and yes, America can't have them. What else.
I do sometimes feel like what we really want is something a little bit more like how Framework are doing things. Yes it's easily repairable, but it's also easily upgradable.
Upgradability isn't really a design consideration for fairphone. So everyone is stuck with the kind of mediocre camera that they decided to put on it. It would be nice if the option was there to have something a bit better.
Actually, they do.
The Fairphone 3 was upgradable to the Fairphone 3+ by buying spare parts like the camera and installing them yourself.
The thing is that phones don't really need upgrades.
phones don't really need upgrades
Huh??? I went through 4 phones during the lifespan of my last PC
The main upgrade they need is the processor because the companies making those are not supporting newer Android-Versions and at some point that becomes a security-issue.
Problem is that replacing the processor to a newer generation usually means the whole mainboard is obsolete, too and then is very quickly doesn't become easy to upgrade anymore
just switching between different types of cameras, screens etc. wouldn't be as big of a problem but that's also not part of the main-problem either
It's a great thing, and I hope the industry (with motivation by EU) will follow a trend towards repairability and sustainability. However I think the most sustainable way is buying used devices.
Unfortunately you need something with long firmware and software support. Qualcomm is your enemy, they stop updating the firmware of their chips after about two years and that's why android phones often stop getting updates less than 2 years after you buy them.
That's true. I use LineageOS to get at least OS updates, but firmware is definitely problematic. I just wished mobile hardware would be more generic like in Desktop PCs, that would solve a lot of problems.
Used devices still break and end in landfills, though, used might be better than new for carbon output today, but repairable is gonna win out in that regard long term
Hopefully in the future repairable and used can go hand in hand! Those are not mutually exclusive attributes.
Own a 4 had to replace the screen, and it was refreshingly easy with the modular system. My only issue is parts availability at times.
My wife and I got new phones earlier this year, because her battery wasn't holding a charge anymore. The FP5 looked awesome and had everything we wanted, but they won't release it in the US. So we were stuck with the usual suspects. I understand why FP can't bring all of their stuff here, but it still sucks.
I'm the US... Literally a new phone every one or two years.
If you're thrifty like me, it's every four years. And watch as that phone suffers from bad battery life, then incredible slowdown, then apps not updating/working, or worst... your phone provider refuses to support your device any longer. You Feel forced to upgrade your perfectly workable mobile device.
We pay a subscription fee for both the service AND the hardware.
My current phone is 5 years old. Could use a battery (which I can buy for $10). It runs faster than any phone in my circle (running a fork of Lineage, currently Android 13, and it will get the update to 14 any day now).
No reason phones can't last a long time.
Oh, and I paid $100 for this phone, so I have 3 them, one for testing and one as a hot spare, and still spent less than buying new.
I believe the concept behind Fairphone sounds interesting, but I think this thing about being environmentally friendly shouldn't be focused on high-end devices, if the Fairphone 5 costs the same as 10 cheap devices(considering cheap devices have a lifetime of 1.5 years) and a biggest % of people would be able to afford a 60 bucks device vs a 600 bucks one I don't see the point here, maybe they should make a device focused on the cheap budget pocket to really fight with the devices consumerism who are the ones what mainly create the e-waste problem. I'm not an expert but this is my humble POV.
I wonder if its just cheaper to make the crappy disposable devices, either because just gluing shit together is easy, or because the existing business model & supply lines based on planned obsolescence are established and optimised.
Ultimately any business model based on chasing anything but the most money is going to be at a disadvantage under capitalism. Want to prioritise good products, less waste, human dignity, not destroying the ecology? Well, you're going to make less money, so you can spend less on capturing market share and you will always have a more niche and more expensive product that will be left behind by products that focus on money above all else.
Needs indefinite software support too. It has 8 years software support, which is the best that exists I think, but that means I'll have to trash it in 8 years for no good reason. The only reason I've had to get rid of old phones is because they weren't providing security updates anymore.
I've had a fairphone 4 running /e/OS (aftermarket) for a month now and im very happy with it. It consistently surprises me and exceeds my expectations in terms of flexibility and reliability (and of course privacy).
You should be aware that there are occasionally compatibility issues with common apps -- particularly proprietary ones. The worst incident was when the NordVPN app stopped working for me a few days ago... though this may have been a problem with /e/OS or the custom launcher ive installed rather than with Fairphone. I ended up switching to Mullvad VPN and i like it a lot more.
Also I have not been able to purchase any paid apps via the App Lounge... i get a google error message stating that my device isnt registered with the Google Play Store or something like that. not sure if its just me or a widespread problem. I suspect it is an /e/OS issue that might not present itself if u are just using stock Android. If you have some absolutely must-have google play store paid apps that you can't do without, I'd avoid /e/OS for now and some research to make sure this bug doesnt exist when using Android on FP4.
At this stage i cant recommend it for mom & dad or someone without any tech savvy whatsoever... but the privacy and flexibility make these minor setbacks absolutely worth it to me.
Overall i have no regrets and I can honestly say this is one of the most satisfying purchases I've ever made.
Sadly, their software QA sucks and thus the phone is buggy as hell.
Whitch is really frustrating because otherwise it's a pretty good (if oversized and overly expensive) phone.
Indeed. I own the 3 and it's ups and downs. In the end it is still good enough plus the aspect of more fairness in the whole process.
When are we going to get worldwide shipping Fairphone? Next year maybe?
This is total green washing marketing bs.
They purposely removed the headphone jack and started selling disposable earbuds. This one move alone will generate more ewaste than any swappable parts.
This company is full of it. They don't care about the environment and they certainly don't care about their customers.
While the headphone issue is problematic, it's a single issue amidst a deluge of ethical and sustainable practices by the company. Including, but not limited to:
Fairphone carefully sources the components in every device, and the workers who put them together have safe and healthy working conditions. Where possible, Fairphone uses recycled materials (plastic, tin solder paste, steel, and nickel alloy), sources Fairtrade gold, and buys cobalt and silver credits to support the improvement of working conditions for miners.
The factories that make the Fairphone pay a living wage to workers. It also employs 100 percent renewable energy. Fairphone invests in projects to reduce CO2 emissions, and to balance bringing a new phone into the world, Fairphone recycles the equivalent amount of e-waste. It has a B Corp certification, which means its claims have been independently vetted, and Fairphone regularly releases impact reports.
(As reported by wired.com)
Absolutely they should get push back on the headphone situation. But calling it "greenwashibg marking bs" is textbook "letting perfect be the enemy of good". Simply put, almost no other company even competes with Fairphone in the field of ethical phone manufacturing.
Are you going to back that up with something or stick to "my word is truth"? Because it doesn't take much to go to their site and see that the earbuds are discontinued. Or that for a company full of it they sure go to great lengths about being transparent. They even have a page explaining why they removed the headphone jack.
I get that their own site could all be "just marketing" but that's why I'm asking where's the proof that they're as shitty as you claim?
I mean, how many people still use wired earbuds? I'd be surprised if it is 5% of users
I would still us wired earbuds if my phone still had a headphone jack... It hard to find a good phone that still has a jack and this sucks
"I mean, how many people in this town eat hamburgers anyway? Ever since the only hamburger shop for miles around burned down I would be surprised if it's 5%"
Me, everyday. Bluetooth just doesn't offer the same sound quality.
I have three pairs of wired earphones (plus more regular headphones) and a portable DAC amp. I know what you mean though, Bluetooth headphones really are the norm these days. The tech in them also make them hard to repair.
I use a usbc dac and a 3d printed brace to prevent it from bending. For how infrequently I use the earbuds it's fine for me. Most of my phone based music listening is at work on an AliExpress Bluetooth device hooked up to the speakers pulled from my car before junking it. (Catalytic had been stolen and it had 400+ thou. km on it)
they certainly don’t care about their customers.
Yes, because if they did they would make sure to provide the security required by GrapheneOS.
I am happy with my FP3, only weaknesses I perceive are the low res camera and the almost never working finger print sensor. Besides that it´s a really good phone. When I got it I completely disassembled it and put it back together -just because- and it still worked!
Couldnt the fp3 camera be replaced with the plus camera? Or is it low res too?
Yes, the camera+ module is compatible and can turn an FP3 into an FP3+
I'm writing this on a Fairphone 5 right now, the hardware is great, the only slight issue is the USB C Port is a little looser than I would like, not enough for a problem, alas.
The main issue currently is the software, there's a few well known bugs that cause annoyances that the Fairphone forum widely know about, one of which requires you to hold the power button down and force restart the phone. I am confident that the developers and customer support are aware of these bugs and are working to fix them.
Overall I'm happy with it, £700 isn't too bad for a phone that I'm going to try to keep for the whole 8 to 10 years that have promised security patches. Sure its doesn't have flagship specs, but no day to day tasks for me require that power.
I have to say that in terms of software the team is amazing. They seem to listen to the community, and work super hard to keep up with the updates.
Very interested in repair but I also want software freedom, and I've not heard anything about avoiding proprietary drivers/software.
