"It’s everything you love. Plus more." Except a headphone jack, so no sale, sorry guys. The only compelling feature to me is that it is compatible with PostmarketOS really.
"It’s everything you love. Plus more." Except a headphone jack, so no sale, sorry guys.
The only compelling feature to me is that it is compatible with PostmarketOS really.
Around these parts, people like their repairability, but their most compelling feature is that it wasn't made from human exploitation. They sacrificed lots of affordability for that and so won't...
Around these parts, people like their repairability, but their most compelling feature is that it wasn't made from human exploitation.
They sacrificed lots of affordability for that and so won't ever be competitive with slave made phones.
But they have basically no competition in that niche.
But agreed that they benefit from this absence of competition to allow themselves some very questionable choices, like no headphone jack, no wireless charging, and very expensive replacement part (it is usually more expensive to buy a replacement screen (100€) to replace yourself than it is to have a professional replace the screen of other phones (can be as low as 50€, usually around 80))
I mean they still manufacture in China. Now, I think the degree to which anything is manufactured with "slave labor" is pretty exaggerated, it's not like anyone else can know if they use "slave...
I mean they still manufacture in China. Now, I think the degree to which anything is manufactured with "slave labor" is pretty exaggerated, it's not like anyone else can know if they use "slave labor".
Same with their rare earths. Supposedly conflict free, but its sourced from the democratic republic of the congo. I have my doubts on the degree to which you can really accurately audit your supply chain there.
I was using "slave" as a short for "modern slave"... No chains, still a slave. I'll admit to having no particular expertise as to the "typical" work condition of a chinese worker, I just watched a...
I think the degree to which anything is manufactured with "slave labor" is pretty exaggerated
I was using "slave" as a short for "modern slave"... No chains, still a slave.
I'll admit to having no particular expertise as to the "typical" work condition of a chinese worker, I just watched a few youtube documentary and news article which may have given me a biased opinion... Could you share with me the insight that makes you say most talk of slavery is exagerated?
We cann't ever be 100% certain of anything, but don't make perfect the enemy of good.
Sourcing rare earth elsewhere won't do much to help people in DRC, whereas setting up better supply chains can show it's possible.
Fairphone undeniably goes to much further lengh than any other company, they publish report of everything they do if you want. Approxinating their work to nothing just because the "made in ___ " label didn't change ... seems overly cynical.
Now if you ever get serious about being prepared to pay for manufacturing locally (assuming you're in the US), there is the liberty phone, but it'll cost you about 1800$. It has low specs but other than that ticks every boxes. It's repairable, has mic and camera off switch, and even the headphone jack!
So I can understand why FP went with a middle ground to keep the phones quite affordable by contrast...
I remember Fairphone caught my eye around the Fairphone 3 timeframe, which still had a headphone jack at the time. Then they released the Fairphone 4 which removed the headphone jack. Around that...
I remember Fairphone caught my eye around the Fairphone 3 timeframe, which still had a headphone jack at the time.
Then they released the Fairphone 4 which removed the headphone jack. Around that same time they released their first iteration of a wireless earbud which was no more repairable than any other buds on the market. (iFixit gave them a 1/10).
They've since released repairable earbuds, and I appreciate that the Fairphone brand fills a niche in the market for some people. But my impression hasn't recovered from the 3 to 4 transition.
I'm using usb-c headphones with my fairphone 5, works great. Only problem I can see is that I couldn't charge it at the same time as listening, but so far I've never had to, so in practice that's...
I'm using usb-c headphones with my fairphone 5, works great. Only problem I can see is that I couldn't charge it at the same time as listening, but so far I've never had to, so in practice that's ok =).
The bluetooth earbuds were ok, but I dislike anything bluetooth due to the fact that I think it very often ends up using the standalone speakers when I want earbuds, or earbuds when I just want the sound on the phone, etc...
Is it PostmarketOS compatible? This page doesn't list the 6 or 6+, with 4 as the only community build and 5 in testing. https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
Is it PostmarketOS compatible? This page doesn't list the 6 or 6+, with 4 as the only community build and 5 in testing.
I see, thanks! The extent of my exposure to these alternative phone OSes is checking if my phone is compatible and sighing when it never is, I figure there's more going on than those lists reveal.
I see, thanks! The extent of my exposure to these alternative phone OSes is checking if my phone is compatible and sighing when it never is, I figure there's more going on than those lists reveal.
Yeah I was hesitating to buy one. However I had found no other ethical alternative, to I went with Fairphone 4 back in the day. In the end it turned out I don't use headphones as much as I thought...
Yeah I was hesitating to buy one. However I had found no other ethical alternative, to I went with Fairphone 4 back in the day. In the end it turned out I don't use headphones as much as I thought I'll be, not even bluetooth ones. So I'm happy to have my FP, even without jack. Of course my mind would sit much more comfortable knowing that I have jack, but well, I don't need it that much.
I use them enough that I had to buy a DAP when my Pixel 4a finally died. I am kicking myself for not getting a 5a, but it just seemed wasteful when my 4a was doing fine. I hadn't anticipated the...
I use them enough that I had to buy a DAP when my Pixel 4a finally died. I am kicking myself for not getting a 5a, but it just seemed wasteful when my 4a was doing fine. I hadn't anticipated the battery problems and Google essentially killing the phone via firmware.
Be nice if I could get Graphene on this, but suppose it'd also be nice for it to be on T-Mobile bands. So I'm doubly unable to get this for those reasons.
Be nice if I could get Graphene on this, but suppose it'd also be nice for it to be on T-Mobile bands. So I'm doubly unable to get this for those reasons.
I don't understand why they made a phone that doesn't support Band 13 from Verizon's network. I assume something related to costs, but at the price point they are offering at, it's already not...
I don't understand why they made a phone that doesn't support Band 13 from Verizon's network. I assume something related to costs, but at the price point they are offering at, it's already not even a cheap phone anyhow. Seems like a lot of other phones support all major carriers in the US. I guess maybe even though they're selling Fairphone in the US, they probably designed it for other markets where maybe that band isn't relevant and it would hurt their market position for no gain elsewhere to increase costs to appease a small portion of the US market?
They're not a new company...They been around for quite a number of years (like since 2013 or 2015), selling to other, non-U.S. markets primarily...and this latest phone only now hits the U.s....
They're not a new company...They been around for quite a number of years (like since 2013 or 2015), selling to other, non-U.S. markets primarily...and this latest phone only now hits the U.s. market....so i'd guess the U.s. is a secondary market for them, or only now trying to hand at the U.s. market? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone
As a comparison point, I bought my OnePlus Nord 4 in 2024 for 450€ (iirc). It has the same amount of RAM (12GB) and the same CPU (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3) So, the Fairphone has the same specs for 200€...
As a comparison point, I bought my OnePlus Nord 4 in 2024 for 450€ (iirc). It has the same amount of RAM (12GB) and the same CPU (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3)
So, the Fairphone has the same specs for 200€ more. Considering the current RAM prices and the fact that a Fairphone will cost more, I think the price is relatively fair?
do they offer lighter-weight lesser-charge batteries? if i had the option to have half the charge capacity but knock off like 20% of the weight I think I would buy
do they offer lighter-weight lesser-charge batteries? if i had the option to have half the charge capacity but knock off like 20% of the weight I think I would buy
I've been eyeing Fairphone a little bit the past couple weeks because my Pixel 6a will reach end of life in 10 months but... Anyone else feel kind of underwhelmed with this Gen 6+? Compared to Gen...
I've been eyeing Fairphone a little bit the past couple weeks because my Pixel 6a will reach end of life in 10 months but... Anyone else feel kind of underwhelmed with this Gen 6+? Compared to Gen 6 it's 12GB RAM instead of 8GB and one generation up in CPU. I'm not a phone power user but doesn't this feel a little empty of an update? Or am I missing something?
Phones have plateaued for a while, so it doesn't seem especially bad to me -- they have a decent track record for OS updates and security updates, after all. As long as they support it, I'd rather...
Phones have plateaued for a while, so it doesn't seem especially bad to me -- they have a decent track record for OS updates and security updates, after all. As long as they support it, I'd rather they pick something lower power, to be honest. I think a lot about how the Pixel 3a and 4a had better battery than the flagship equivalents because the processors were less power hungry.
They've improved a lot, but are very slow to fix bugs. The forums are full of people reporting bugs and nothing being done about them. I have reported a bug, took 3 months of mails and I ended up...
They've improved a lot, but are very slow to fix bugs. The forums are full of people reporting bugs and nothing being done about them. I have reported a bug, took 3 months of mails and I ended up with a response along the lines of "thank you for reporting, we don't have the capacity to do anything about it". That means that I won't buy a Fairphone again sadly, I like their mission.
I have owned the 4, 5 and the 6. While I wouldn't say I regret any of my purchases (Worst was the 6 suddenly removing Desktop support so you can't connect it to a monitor easily. Which I think is...
I have owned the 4, 5 and the 6. While I wouldn't say I regret any of my purchases (Worst was the 6 suddenly removing Desktop support so you can't connect it to a monitor easily. Which I think is kind of bad for a company that prides itself on caring for the environment. Since using your phone as a laptop seems kind of a good idea for that.)
It has had a few really annoying bugs. My 4 had a issue for months where the microphone wouldn't function. With the support page stating that they didn't have a date for a fix (A few months before the 5 was released.) and the 5 had this weird issue where the touch screen wouldn't function and I had to put it into sleep. The 6 for me has been smooth so far however.
For me, the ability to just repair it without giving it away to a shop is amazing. The phone I had before the 4 was a Samsung one which had broken and when returned, apparently had a polish motherboard replacement since the boot up screen and standard apps had been changed. I could have made a fuss about it, but it's really annoying using a different phone while you wait for those repairs so I didn't.
Feels like a tease to list State/Province in the address section and then not ship to Canada. Oh well, one day...
"It’s everything you love. Plus more." Except a headphone jack, so no sale, sorry guys.
The only compelling feature to me is that it is compatible with PostmarketOS really.
Around these parts, people like their repairability, but their most compelling feature is that it wasn't made from human exploitation.
They sacrificed lots of affordability for that and so won't ever be competitive with slave made phones.
But they have basically no competition in that niche.
But agreed that they benefit from this absence of competition to allow themselves some very questionable choices, like no headphone jack, no wireless charging, and very expensive replacement part (it is usually more expensive to buy a replacement screen (100€) to replace yourself than it is to have a professional replace the screen of other phones (can be as low as 50€, usually around 80))
I mean they still manufacture in China. Now, I think the degree to which anything is manufactured with "slave labor" is pretty exaggerated, it's not like anyone else can know if they use "slave labor".
Same with their rare earths. Supposedly conflict free, but its sourced from the democratic republic of the congo. I have my doubts on the degree to which you can really accurately audit your supply chain there.
I was using "slave" as a short for "modern slave"... No chains, still a slave.
I'll admit to having no particular expertise as to the "typical" work condition of a chinese worker, I just watched a few youtube documentary and news article which may have given me a biased opinion... Could you share with me the insight that makes you say most talk of slavery is exagerated?
We cann't ever be 100% certain of anything, but don't make perfect the enemy of good.
Sourcing rare earth elsewhere won't do much to help people in DRC, whereas setting up better supply chains can show it's possible.
Fairphone undeniably goes to much further lengh than any other company, they publish report of everything they do if you want. Approxinating their work to nothing just because the "made in ___ " label didn't change ... seems overly cynical.
Now if you ever get serious about being prepared to pay for manufacturing locally (assuming you're in the US), there is the liberty phone, but it'll cost you about 1800$. It has low specs but other than that ticks every boxes. It's repairable, has mic and camera off switch, and even the headphone jack!
So I can understand why FP went with a middle ground to keep the phones quite affordable by contrast...
If they made a 5.5" Mini-sized phone with an aux jack, I'd forgive any price. Unfortunately they simply don't make a phone that fits in my pocket.
I remember Fairphone caught my eye around the Fairphone 3 timeframe, which still had a headphone jack at the time.
Then they released the Fairphone 4 which removed the headphone jack. Around that same time they released their first iteration of a wireless earbud which was no more repairable than any other buds on the market. (iFixit gave them a 1/10).
They've since released repairable earbuds, and I appreciate that the Fairphone brand fills a niche in the market for some people. But my impression hasn't recovered from the 3 to 4 transition.
I'm using usb-c headphones with my fairphone 5, works great. Only problem I can see is that I couldn't charge it at the same time as listening, but so far I've never had to, so in practice that's ok =).
The bluetooth earbuds were ok, but I dislike anything bluetooth due to the fact that I think it very often ends up using the standalone speakers when I want earbuds, or earbuds when I just want the sound on the phone, etc...
I was actually in exactly the same boat. The lack of headphone jack and lack of official US support were the only reason I didn't buy the 4.
Is it PostmarketOS compatible? This page doesn't list the 6 or 6+, with 4 as the only community build and 5 in testing.
https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
It is supposed to be compatible from what I was reading, but that it isn't officially ready to go yet.
I see, thanks! The extent of my exposure to these alternative phone OSes is checking if my phone is compatible and sighing when it never is, I figure there's more going on than those lists reveal.
Yeah I was hesitating to buy one. However I had found no other ethical alternative, to I went with Fairphone 4 back in the day. In the end it turned out I don't use headphones as much as I thought I'll be, not even bluetooth ones. So I'm happy to have my FP, even without jack. Of course my mind would sit much more comfortable knowing that I have jack, but well, I don't need it that much.
I use them enough that I had to buy a DAP when my Pixel 4a finally died. I am kicking myself for not getting a 5a, but it just seemed wasteful when my 4a was doing fine. I hadn't anticipated the battery problems and Google essentially killing the phone via firmware.
Be nice if I could get Graphene on this, but suppose it'd also be nice for it to be on T-Mobile bands. So I'm doubly unable to get this for those reasons.
Unfortunately there's no interest from Fairphone to improve their phones' security and no interest from Graphene to collaborate with them on that
https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/114874684738751793
https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/24134-devices-lacking-standard-privacysecurity-patches-and-protections-arent-private
I don't understand why they made a phone that doesn't support Band 13 from Verizon's network. I assume something related to costs, but at the price point they are offering at, it's already not even a cheap phone anyhow. Seems like a lot of other phones support all major carriers in the US. I guess maybe even though they're selling Fairphone in the US, they probably designed it for other markets where maybe that band isn't relevant and it would hurt their market position for no gain elsewhere to increase costs to appease a small portion of the US market?
They're not a new company...They been around for quite a number of years (like since 2013 or 2015), selling to other, non-U.S. markets primarily...and this latest phone only now hits the U.s. market....so i'd guess the U.s. is a secondary market for them, or only now trying to hand at the U.s. market? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone
Writeup is here:
https://www.fairphone.com/stories/the-fairphone-gen-6-is-all-about-giving-you-more
As a comparison point, I bought my OnePlus Nord 4 in 2024 for 450€ (iirc). It has the same amount of RAM (12GB) and the same CPU (Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3)
So, the Fairphone has the same specs for 200€ more. Considering the current RAM prices and the fact that a Fairphone will cost more, I think the price is relatively fair?
do they offer lighter-weight lesser-charge batteries? if i had the option to have half the charge capacity but knock off like 20% of the weight I think I would buy
I've been eyeing Fairphone a little bit the past couple weeks because my Pixel 6a will reach end of life in 10 months but... Anyone else feel kind of underwhelmed with this Gen 6+? Compared to Gen 6 it's 12GB RAM instead of 8GB and one generation up in CPU. I'm not a phone power user but doesn't this feel a little empty of an update? Or am I missing something?
Phones have plateaued for a while, so it doesn't seem especially bad to me -- they have a decent track record for OS updates and security updates, after all. As long as they support it, I'd rather they pick something lower power, to be honest. I think a lot about how the Pixel 3a and 4a had better battery than the flagship equivalents because the processors were less power hungry.
They've improved a lot, but are very slow to fix bugs. The forums are full of people reporting bugs and nothing being done about them. I have reported a bug, took 3 months of mails and I ended up with a response along the lines of "thank you for reporting, we don't have the capacity to do anything about it". That means that I won't buy a Fairphone again sadly, I like their mission.
I have owned the 4, 5 and the 6. While I wouldn't say I regret any of my purchases (Worst was the 6 suddenly removing Desktop support so you can't connect it to a monitor easily. Which I think is kind of bad for a company that prides itself on caring for the environment. Since using your phone as a laptop seems kind of a good idea for that.)
It has had a few really annoying bugs. My 4 had a issue for months where the microphone wouldn't function. With the support page stating that they didn't have a date for a fix (A few months before the 5 was released.) and the 5 had this weird issue where the touch screen wouldn't function and I had to put it into sleep. The 6 for me has been smooth so far however.
For me, the ability to just repair it without giving it away to a shop is amazing. The phone I had before the 4 was a Samsung one which had broken and when returned, apparently had a polish motherboard replacement since the boot up screen and standard apps had been changed. I could have made a fuss about it, but it's really annoying using a different phone while you wait for those repairs so I didn't.