Fairphone was literally my top choice before I bought my current smartphone, until I found out I couldn’t get it. So this is great, hopefully they still sell it whenever I update my phone (which won’t happen for a few years). Several other people have already commented something along these lines, but I’m just happy about it.
Also interesting that it ships with /e/OS!
/e/OS is a de-googled version Android. Most Google services are replaced with Nextcloud integration, but somehow all apps are still available through a software store that bridges to the Play Store while letting you browse for free apps anonymously. Google Play Services are replaced with the wonderful microG.
I used it on my Fairphone 3 for around half a year, and for the most part it was a very pleasant experience. And whoever doesn’t like it can of course (re)install stock Android. :)
I have a Fairphone 4 and I’m very happy with it. Strong recommend.
Dangit Fairphone where were you 6 months ago when I was looking for a new phone.
This is pretty exciting. I wish it would have happened sooner though. It was at the top of my list when I was looking at phones last year, but it was still unavailable when I decided to go with the Pixel 7.
That’s a step in the right direction, hopefully in the future phones will be more like computers, where you can buy parts and build your own. At least that’d be my dream.
Well not all computers can be upgraded unfortunately. Looking at you MacBooks with SSDs welded to the motherboard…
Well, that’s not a PC, it’s a Mac :P
There aren’t lots of compact devices that are upgradable, even on windows. Most use soldered ram and flash storage.
Then maybe it’s time we changed that!
It’s already happening:
Framework devices are cool as heck, but damn are they expensive…
Maybe if you spec them out.
But it’s like $1000 for the midrange model with the latest hardware, which is in line with the competition.
And the first upgrade you do will end up saving money, since you won’t have to replace the whole laptop.
the most sustainable smartphone is the one that you already have
Funny coincidence: Fairphone has a blog post titled exactly that. And they say the same thing on their shop page. You’re going to replace your phone eventually, but Fairphone is the only phone company I know trying to stretch that out.
yay!!!
This is true. When the original Fairphone came out I didn’t get it because I had a working HTC. My next phone was purchased as an emergency when my current phone fell into water, so I had to walk into a phone shop and buy an immediate replacement. But that was the day that I decided to buy the Fairphone 3… Because the phone that fell into water was sealed and glued together, and there was no way to remove the battery or dry it out. It buzzed and beeped to death in my hand taking all of my data with it (internal memory only).
I’ve been rocking the FP3 since then. Upgraded the camera, replaced the battery twice, and once replaced the lower assembly because the usb3 port got damaged and couldn’t hold the cable.
My wife has the same phone now. So I could upgrade to the FP4 and use my FP3 for parts, in case she ever breaks a screen or needs a battery. But why bother? This works just fine.
I support the idea, but I’m really skeptical. I bought the fairphone 2 when it came out and it just couldn’t keep up anymore after 2 years. My understanding was that there would be upgradable modules but the only thing I got was a little bit better camera and case.
It would be great if there wouldn’t be the need for more and more models but simply better modules to upgrade with the time.
Ohhh, I go between Europe and the US a lot and own one of these. Hopefully this means US companies will offer more support for the fairphone 4!
I have a Fairphone 3 for several years now and if it dies I will probably get another Fairphone. The camera could be better but I’m alright with it. The audio is broken when recording concerts. But I actually like my phone and it’s pretty robust too.
I love my Fairphone 3. This is great news.
Great news. The more sustainable options the better. Hopefully it will do well
I love Fairphone’s mission, but no headphone jack equals no purchase from me.
Does anyone know why they don’t have a headphone jack?
The fact that even they don’t include one actually makes me respect the existing phone manufacturers a lot more. I always assumed that Apple did it to sell airpods, and then the others did it just to copy Apple or sell their own dongles/headphones.
But if even an organization like this chose not to include one, then maybe not including it really does make the phone a lot smaller or cheaper or waterproof or whatever.
That being said, I can’t believe cars don’t have aux ports anymore. Surely the cost and size isn’t significant on that scale.
Disclaimer: both for cars and my phone, I’m generally happy with Bluetooth. But I want the option to use a headphone jack without needing to buy or remember a dongle. It’s insidious because the kinds of things that you would need a headphone jack for are uncommon enough that you won’t get into the habit of bringing a dongle for them (e.g. road trips, full day of phone interviews)
The CEO claimed it’s because the USB C port can withstand more than the 3.5mm so it’s more sustainable to use that. I honestly don’t buy that argument because now you’re putting all of that load from 2 ports into 1. Also, if they were truly Fairphone, I should be able to buy a replacement headphone jack if it does break.
I think he eventually admitted it was a mistake, but it turned from a definite purchase to a zero for me.
I though the official response was that they couldn’t fit one without making the phone larger than it already is and that it was a hard decision.
The concept is cool but I think it is more sustainable to have a high end “normal” android phone. The Fairphone ships with a lowend chip that is already older. It may be usable now but it won’t be in a few years apps and OS will be more ressource-intensive. A high-end chip of a “normal” device (8gen1/2) is way more powerful and will surely be enough for the next 5 years. The SD750G will propably not.
Not to mention that the software updates will be more reliable on big brand phones.
I have the fairphone 3 and it’s still doing fine. I don’t game on it but map navigation and 1080p videos run well.
I’d like one of these but I’m not sold on De-Googled
You can also use normal android on it, it does come with stock option too
I make regular use of software that requires both SafetyNet and up to date security patching unfortunately. I’d love to run something like Lineage on Fairphone if it could meet those requirements.
as I said, you can buy a Fairphone that isn’t degoogled, the degoogled version is an option is not mandatory. If you have those requirments but still want to use a Fairphone, you can buy one that fullfills them.
The article says only the De-Googled version will be sold in the US, for now anyways
Oh I didn’t know, but I would think that you could regoogle it
