Hey, where's that paratha/roti from at 8:19? I also live in berlin and am always looking for new restaurants to try and the paratha in the picture looks really good 😅
I believe Fairphone is still a huge win. Their objective is not to be an industry behemoth, but to prove it is possible to make a fair product. If the tech giants invested more in this sort of technology, we'd see the cost of "fairness" going down.
Yes, fairness would go up, but technology development would go down. If you think about the most current device being active for few years, the manufacturer has to lure you into buying a new one. This would mean better specs, processing power, technologies in the device(such as USB-C, more reliable Bluetooth, better batteries(denser batteries) and so on. So yes, consumerism has got a positive side of things. Not saying it is the best approach, just we all benefit from it.
But is it really that helpful ? Did you ever need this ? I had not a single damaged smartphone in the last 10 years. The easy way to swap batteries seems to be the best part. As batteries automatically degrades over time.
@@blablup1214looks like you answered your own question mate. my smartphones never get damaged either, as I take good care of them, but I'd absolutely love to be able to replace the battery when it inevitably degrades too much
The amount of transparency that Fairphone provides to the public is also very commendable. I am willing to buy one, if the price was a bit lower though.
My main problem with these kind of phones is the cost of the new parts. Seriously.. 100 euros for an almost low-end display (especially if the phone itself is already 2-3 years old) is simply a scam. If it was 30-40 euros, it would be "fair".. but i rather just save the 100bucks, and get a new midrange phone for around 200.. which is already better in every single aspect than a few years old phone.
I bought a Fairphone 4 at the end of 2021. After 2 years or so of use (mostly social media scrolling, browsing, listening to music and watching TH-cam) the battery is now a bit beaten up (now it lasts maybe 24 hours of idle, 7-8 hours of regular use, 2-3 hours of heavy use) and I ordered a new one for ~40€ incl. shipping. I don't plan to swap it right away, but I'd like to have a replacement at hand for when I'll want to retire the current one. The software updates have been constant so far (I believe we got at least 2 major android versions) and apart from an issue with the bluetooth driver (now resolved) my phone has never skipped a beat. The water proofing is not amazing. I have been very mean with it and I watched TH-cam in the shower several times, and let's say that it didn't like the humidity very much. But it survived, and it still works, despite me being a crappy owner. So far I consider myself a happy customer
Ensure you keep the new battery at around 45% for storage as lithium batteries don't like to be neither fully charged nor completely empty for long periods of time.
@@blablup1214 it's not. But as I said in my comment, the battery it's not dead, I don't plan to switch batteries right away, I wanted to have a replacement at hand. And I have been a careless owner (you are not supposed to take a shower with this phone, guys).
One thing to remember about companies like Fariphone or Framework is that by existing, having a profitable model and attracting a lot of people who are the "early adopters" and are often the "tech experts" in their family/social circle, they force other companies, like Apple, to at least acknowledge this is a desirable feature and make some token gestures towards sustainable and repairable devices. Something they wouldn't have to do if their only competition were Samsung and Google.
Yea sadly what they do still leads them to making more money and being worse for the environment, all while they are pretending to be better. It is no coincidence that the first time they removed the charger brick from the box, they also changed the cable so it wouldn't work with any of your older charging bricks.
I love what Fairphone is doing, as they give an alternative, but the big companies aren't really being shown anything. They are seeing that their disgusting business practices are paying off as they have a much higher profit margins and sell a lot more phones. That is why legislation needs to come in. Fingers crossed the EU can stop this non repairable non sense.
@@tinminator8905 Actually the problem is the government, who do you think makes it so hard to compete with apple and samsung? Who was it that decided that the increased tarrifs don't apply to pre existing consumer electronics brands.
Framework still fails at delivering the accessible, sustainable and repairable laptops to most of the world, while where I live I can buy HP, Dell, Lenovo etc. genuine replacement parts.
@@nonci6 Yea, but that is a temporary problem almost no company would be able to grow their supply chains fast enough to spread across the world in just a few years.
In my opinion it is still far too expensive for what you get. The only plus in my opinion is, that I can swap the batterie fairly easy which wouldn't be enough to buy a 700€ mobile phone.
I can happily say that the 4 already got there. It's a bit bulky but with how it is now i don't think anyone would raise an eyebrow if I handed it to them. This is fixing even the bulk, so if you can afford that price tag, is really recommend it.
That profitability percentage is a gutpunch, but in a refreshing way. They are throwing everything they have at giving the workers and the customers the best value they can while creating something better than the norm. I have massive respect for that, and seriously regret financing my current flagship phablet via my carrier. When it's time to retire/recycle this device, I hope Fairphone is still around and making products like this that are better in real ways.
I agree. This is part of the reason I am switching to only buying refurbished/second hand phones now that they’re so mature. (I’ve been doing this with tablets and computers for years because they’re just less cutting edge)
Remember that "profit" means the same thing as "How much we over-charged you" Profit is always a bad thing to see since self-investment should of been part of the primary budget before profit is calculated.
@@SkyboxMonster Profit also means money to invest more in new products. Profit is necessary (not always, not if you want to grow rapid) and generally a good thing.
@@sierraecho884 That's only true in the current economic system. If we had some other system, which didn't rely on just making products to make money, but making products because they are needed, it wouldn't matter if a company made "profits" or not.
The thing with fairphone is that, while a lot of manufacturers are now making similar sustainability, longevity and repairability promises It's just promises and statements, while fairphone has actually overdelivered with their own promises already
@@Daniel-qz8bp Yeah, actually not. At least in the short term. Companies still only want to do the bare minimum. Also, judging from the sales data, people buying Fairphones buy them for a reason other than performance, me included. Right now, no other phone on the market fulfills as much of my criteria as the Fairphone does.
One of my most used sayings is "Dont make Best the enemy of good". Fairphone is a small company, they cant be perfect, they wont be for a while, but even having the option to sacrifice (frankly overkill) performance for way better sustainability or fair work usage is nice.
If fairphone achieved similar pricing while doing all this now, then they have nothing to worry about. Certainly other companies will just increase their prices when they see revenue going down thanks to people using their phones for longer, after the new regulations come to effect. They can still have a market by keeping prices more similar to the pricing we have now.
You can’t just assume that companies can keep raising prices. There is a limit. If you look at Samsung’s flagships, they don’t sell as much compared to their budget line. There is a point where the market supports the demand, and companies will bring the supply. Customers are demanding to use their smartphones for longer. You can see that Samsung is now supporting five years of security patches, and Google announced seven years of support. Overall, the sales of smartphones have slowed down as well. If you look at the lineup of certain products, they aren’t even refreshed every year: iPad mini was released in 2021, and the MacBook Air M2 13-inch was released in 2022. Companies are smart and adjust to market demands. Most phones had removable batteries and were easier to take apart; over the years, people just bought unrepairable junk and signaled to the companies that those features were desired.
There's this disturbing thing with retributive ethics, that if a fair company is not better than perfect, they get outright labeled like TRAITORS to the"cause" more so than "honest companies" that just let you bleed the discount off the backs of children in cobalt mines, without even the DIRECTION to stop it or do les of the bad. It's disturbing if only because its ubiqutous, it ALWAYS comes up, and there's ALWAYS worse companies that get off scot free. It starts to look like the consumer has to pretend to be WAY stupider about it, than is plausible for an average person, when they keep saying "I just wnat to to close my eyes and consume the services, it's not my problem to vote on such things". So why DO we get a vote, in these low-populated global hegemon countries? I mean what FOR? Because I see what we ARE doing. Work for the work and consume for the consumption, and voting is when the dictator collective REALLY gets to consume, the entire world. That's when 340 Million Maduros reach for the empanada in the desk drawer, and say they're busy with more important shit than poverty. If a $700 price could push a $450 phone into ethical producton, that's a bit differnet ballpark than your own parents paying their $1600 upfront cost for a printer while you sit here crying about cartridge prices and the service model. While you're PROUD of healthcare with insurance-subsidized MRI machines, with pretty pitiful standard of care otherwise on things that actaully should matter. But everybody refuses to push that ethical production with a handful of hundreds every 5 years, for something as simple a smartphone, we can see what's THIS CULTURE will do to less important shit, like healthcare and education.
As a German, being able to support a European tech company instead of tax dodging corporations is already reason enough for me. Greetings to all my Dutch fellows, one love🥦 oh yeah, my work is also connected to FairTrade, so there's that. definately my next phone.
If the biggest concern about if they're "doing better than the competition" in terms of environmental impact is that "they don't have enough scale" I'd say helping them to scale up by getting their product is a good idea. Especially when it comes to the whole conflict minerals thing and fair working conditions! I've considered a Fair Phone as my next device for a while now, as the one I'm using is coming up on 5 years old next year, is about to go out of software support, the screen has some small scratches even behind the screen protector and is glitching out from time to time, and the battery life is abysmal these days. I was worried this video would reveal some "bad secret" in terms of fair/greenwashing, but it seems they are honest with what they're trying to do, the premium price I'm willing to pay if it means I contribute less to exploitation, and if the phone is perfectly usable, repairable and all that, I'm happy to say that this video made me feel validated in my choice! Thank you!
@@cc0767 no jack+starting to sell bluetooth earphones at the same time raised some eyebrows. In-ear bluetooth buds from any brand are generally considered disposable and impossible to repair. FP does sell spare buds and cases, but eventually they had a special discount and included free buds with every phone. Now they sell proper-sized "XL" headphones with all the spare parts available.
I'm in the same boat, I've been holding on my honor 9 since the fairphone 4 launch cause it wasn't as good as I could wish. The fairphone 5 will probably replace my almost 6 years old phone without update since 2019, still on android 9. Really bad support from honor, I don't want to be left alone after 2 years. Having a phone that get refreshed usage by software update is what makes a phone more desirable imo. Seeing the fairphone 2 getting android 10 in 2023 but my phone is still on Android 9 since 2019 is really frustrating. One of my app require android 10, I can't use it anymore.
i'm in the same boat. Tho i first want to get a new phone for games, i'm planning on getting a fairphone for college related things cause the repairability
I think their biggest problem is marketing. Most people have no idea there is a phone you can swap a battery out and can be repaired easy and cheap that is not made by slave labour.
I give them credit. Instead of just raging about how exploitative phone manufacturing is; theyve gone out and attempted to put their points into practice. Is it gonna be for the highest power users and "spec-snobs"? No; but most users ain't those, and a "Toyota" of phones will do what they need/want just fine.
My main concern is the hardware durability. Since the specs are just average, I'm afraid that the phone will be barely usable for regular browsing in 6 years from now, like it is for a 6 years old mid-range Android. (I can't imagine in 10 years) If I'm paying that much, I'd rather go for an Iphone or high end Android that I now will be perfectly fine in 6 or 7 years. Especially that for a device I'm gonna use that long and everyday, I want to have the best experience as possible (so I'd be less likely to give up on the phone and replace it) My today's Galaxy S7 from 2016 received its last update in 2018 but still works well. The "fairness" of a smartphone also depends of the way of we, customers, treat it. (and to my eyes it's the biggest issue since people change phones because they actually want to change, not because they are forced to.)
@@MasoMathiou Well, what determines how much specs you need for browsing in the future? I understand you expect the requirements to go up with time, but does it make sense that they should?
It also kind of all goes out the window when they intentionally shred their devices that could easily be repaired and continue to sue companies for trying to refurbish them. Apple is genuinely one of the most evil unsustainable companies on this planet.
Still Apple selling phones 240millions in each year, that is 1000x more like any model what fairphone sold, because a secretary or millions of other people with none tech related jobs/interest will never want to learn how they can fix their phone. They just want the device to work, they are bought that just to use it, not to learn something what they are never interested before. That 200000 people is the amoun5 who care about the repairability, what is not even a noticeable amount of user for any big phone company..
Apple is only talking about them being green so you don't feel any guilt when you keep buying their products. It's clear that their users care about the environment, to a degree, but selling them fewer devices will kill your business. So the only choice is to advertise their new products as environment friendly. "Oh, your 2 years old phone got a broken screen? Why don't you upgrade to the latest, we are carbon neutral, there's no environment impact of you doing that."
The most fair phone you can buy is not buying a new phone. Use your old phone longer! Tech enthusiasts should be honest with themselves, smartphone hardware(except foldables) in the last 5 years don't have significantly improved. Its just slow and steady small upgrades like camera algorithms and battery life optimization. All the improvements nowadays are mainly software focused, most of them could be given to older phone models, but they are not because there is no incentive for the companies to do so.
Uhhhh... no. Performance per watt has definitely increased massively. To the point where flagship phones could totally be used as office computers if given the peripherals and software support (See DeX et al). Performance per dollar has also increased for mid-range and low-end phones.
Would recommend some of linus’ newer videos where he uses his five-year-old Note 9. While insignificant year-over-year, those do compound into something greater.
Agreed, and it is the only reason I haven't bought a Fairphone yet. The downside to using a phone for a long time, or buying a second hand one is the lack of security updates. Even custom roms don't fully solve that issue since those don't provide vendor firmware updates.
Buying used phones is also a good option. Got myself an used iPhone. Not only was it much cheaper, but, at least in theory, it eliminated necessity to produce a new device
I have the Fairphone 3, a phone released in 2019, and two months ago I got an update to Android 13. Since then, I already got 2 more software updates, so the security patches are actually ahead than the Samsung A14 5G (2023 model) that we have at work. Incredible software support.
I have a question for you. I'm very happy with my 3+ but as an avid concert goer there is one thing that irritates me. Whenever I record a concert, the audio gets completely distorted. I don't expect pitchperfect sound as that isn't what they are made for but my old phone could at least record the music somewhat okay. Supposedly it's because I have faulty model. Does yours work fine in that way?
@@Casshio Sadly I have not encountered this. Have you contacted Support? I have troubleshot a keyboard issue with them and they have been very helpful, they also sent a back cover for free because my letters peeled off. I have never really recorded audio... videos that I have recorded have normal audio, I have not noticed anything weird with it
@@VideogamesAsArt I have contacted support and they have been helpful! Even offered me to swap my phone for a new one. Same model of course. But they are not sure where the problem comes from and assume that my specific phone is just faulty. And yea, I mean the audio of videos. It's incredibly distorted. So, I was wondering if this Fairphone model or previous ones have the same issue but I suppose that's not the case if your video recordings are without major sound issues.
I think there are some issues with the early review sample you received. I did get the Fairphone 5 a few days ago: You should run it on 90 hz (i put 3 phones next to as comparison even my 144 hz Monitor and it was buttery smooth - even Genshin worked smooth on medium with 60 FPS enabled) The vibration motor worked suprisingly well (a bit weaker and less haptic than iPhone XS Max), but miles better than lower midtier android phones Their camera app needs some software tweaking like GCam (Color Grading and some more intelligent processing) One can just use GCam for those prettier Photos (better stabilization, etc.) More people need to be aware that it is not the camera that sucks nowadays - more the lack of tweaks in the software (regarding Sharpening and Color Grading the image) To keep Google Play Services from Spying too much (restricting its battery usage) i sometimes run it on Battery Saver (at least scheduled to, when I sleep). BTW, more people need to know that it is the Google Play Services that secretly suck so much performance in Android (rather than it being a bad OS) - wish we could pressure Google into decrapifying their Service App...
Where did you get GCam from? I know that there are a whole bunch of ports and I really don't know how to approach it or which one to rely on. Not sure if links work in comments, but just mentioning where I can find it should be fine. Thanks! Also, if you're having trouble with Google services running all the time, then it could be useful to know that CalyxOS is planning support for the FP5. They were sent a few units for development. I'm planning to use that and hope it will save some battery.
A Huawei phone could be option B, but they are very expensive, and I have the feeling that if not Google Mobile Services, Huawei Mobile Services would eat up your battery instead xD
I honestly don't understand why they got new camera modules. They took a year or more to get the software ready on the 4 only to upgrade to a marginally better sensor and scrap their work.
The probelms comes at camera department, Gcam can not be always useful unless it's ported specifically for fairphone by a developer, then as mentioned in video fairphone need to grab much more sales number to ask the camera sensor makers like sony, Samsung, omnivision etc. To custom developm a chip for them. Other than cameras other things look pretty good than other androids especially the software support :)
Nothing in consumer tech history has lasted 10 years And nothing will last 10 years in near future And the reason isn't hardware, it's software Devs have to support a plethora of devices and they willl never bother working on a 7-10 year old platform Just the simple fact And fairphone isn't vertically integrated like Apple or Google to ensure compatibility across apps and features either - so this is just a snake oil claim to be honest
..i think its worth reminding us that fairphones founders original goal is not to sell you a phone, but to sell us an idea, that we need to do better at keeping our electronics in use for a very long time..and imo in that regard they are unmatched..i hope they will not go away..because after my current phone is unrepairable, my next phone would be a fair one
Adding along with others, they removed the headphone jack. Wired is more sustainable, and dongles should be reserved for peripherals that aren’t used often-which sure isn’t my IEMs. I ordered recently a Sony Xperia as the only flagship with a headphone jack, OLED, and allows bootloader unlocking (looking at you ASUS).
@@donkeytits1sony used to have a really weird UI, dont know about their current version. Not their phones are just too expensive when you could get a previous flagship model from google or samsung and still get more updates. Software is also what killed LGs phones even though they had amazing hardware. But the headphone jack would tip me over to Sony tbh.
My biggest fear with the rise of repairability of more mainstream products is them slowly pulling it away again once they have convinced governments that regulation on the matter is unnecessary.
@@nielskorpel8860 the way to change how companies behave is with costumer wallet, little does it matter if people complain about anything if they keep giving their money
high repairability = no new models needed. the current business model of programmed obsolescence is the main enemy of repair philosophy. cause if i can repair my object, i will not buy the new model one.
An important thing to remember, which wasn't really touched on in this video, is that Apple generally distorts or flat out lies about its sustainability efforts. A good example is that disassembly robot, which has been shown to process as many phones in a year that Apple sells in a day - i.e. it has no actual impact and is just for show. Another is the recent lawsuit Apple filed against its "recycling" partner, where Apple sued them for _not_ destroying usable phones (yes, destroying as in shredding, not recycling) but instead refurbished them and sold them at a lower price - something which honestly should be commended for reducing the amount of e-waste. Remember Apple's track history, as touched on in the video; they do not care about the environment or treating anyone fairly, they care about how to make more money, which now includes pretending to care.
5:45 I think the lack of wireless charging was a decision made on other factors and not on removability of the back panel. The Lumia 830 shipped back in the day with wireless charging and removable back plate and it worked well while also not adding any thickness to the phone overall.
I had (and still have) the Lumia 822 and it had the same capability. The difference is that the 822 didn't ship with wireless charging. I had to buy a different back cover from Verizon and made the phone slightly thicker. It certainly isn't water resistant though.
That's exactly how it worked with the LG G3. The coils for wireless charging and NFC are a sticker inside the removable back cover and some spring loaded pins in the back panel of the actual phone made the connection when the cover was snapped on. Worked flawlessly. @@zawarudo1041
Amazing video. I was lucky enough to be a small part of fairphone's history as I joined them as an intern early on just before the Fairphone 1 launch, and was part of the launch event and go-to-market. I keep tabs on them over the years and love that they have been able to grow/stay in the market. I am not sure what their current strategy is, but I do know for a fact that Fairphone 1 came to existance as a proof of concept. Fairphone never expected to be an industry leader in terms of the best performing phone, it wanted to prove that you can make choices as business that put "fairness" first and still make something real, with paying customers. Everything Fairphone is doing, Samsung and Apple can do too and force the hands of the chipmakers and suppliers. They just choose not to. Fairphone existing, no matter how small, is basically a big FU to those big companies. As long as they exist and people know about them (they don't have to use their products), everyone will know just how little fucks Apple and Samsung give about sustainability.
I have to respect fairphone for actually showing that repairable devices are possible. It also seems like they have entirely custom designed their main boards and released schematics for them. What I however find quite problematic is the lack of a 3.5mm jack, effectively forcing users to go buy expensive, unrepairable and disposable earbuds which will eventually just lead to a landfill. Fairphone’s reason for removing the headphone jack wasn’t convincing either.
Indeed. They've said it was one of the most common complaints about the Fairphone 4, so why the hell did they ignore all of that and decide not to fix it in this new model? Frankly it's the one thing that'd make me actually want to upgrade from the FP4.
@@AnOliviaShapedGremlinBecause they want to sell their wireless headphones/earbuds. EU is soon forcing all manufacturers to sell phones with easy replaceable batteries, making a Fairphone obsolete for most costumers. Because frankly, swapping the battery is all you need to do after 3 years and you're again good to go until you get to the point that your CPU is just too slow for normal daily usage.
@@PySnek The interest of Fairphone is not just the replaceable battery, but the ability to update the phone part, or change them very easily, and this is a big plus. But the lack of 3,5 is a very bad joke coming from them.
@@nathleflutiste Nope, nothing really to update tbh... They always advertised it but never really delivered. I only remember a small camera upgrade for the FP3. The FP4 had no hardware upgrades at all. Yes, changing parts is a plus but with the downside of a heavy and bulky phone and you can't submerge it in water.
@@PySnek Seriously ? This is very disappointing giving how much they have been advertising about it. This remind me LG with the G5, great idea but never implemented correctly.
what I'd like to see is not just repairability, but actual hardware upgrades. Given the long support, I don't want to replace the main camera in 7 years with a model of today and battery tech gets better too so the 4200mAh from today should be swappable for a bigger one as tech progresses.
It was actually IP67 but still very good. I hope someone makes an aftermarket backplate with bigger battery and wireless charging for these phones at some point.
@@Luke357Do you even need wireless charging? It wastes more electricity compared to charge the same amount for wired. Surely that would be bad for the planet, right?
@@Kromiball I'd be getting the phone for longevity not efficiency. I like wireless charging because it reduces wear on the ports and it's just so convenient to just drop my phone on the pad and forget about it. Much easier than plugging it in at night.
@@Kromiballwhen your usb port degrades you can still charge it wireless. Thats a huge win. The reduced efficiency doesnt actually matter much unless we are talking about speed. Phone batteries just arent big enough for it to matter.
How do I hear of this marble only now?! This is the game changer for people like me that don't like the planed obsolesce. Who likes their phone camera getting worse as the new model comes out or their CPU being throttled right after the new model came out. iOS now does this even without a OS update that i refused to do exactly for this purpose.
the poor performance of this phone means that they are going to last shorter than iPhones even with the so-called planned obsolescence. and ironically iPhones are well-known for their longevity; many people use them for more than 5 years. iPhones are built to last, the performance is future-proof, and they receive very long software support.
@@haomingli6175 First of all, that is your gut speaking. And pushing an Apple product on a Fairphone video is clearly missing the point of all of this! Apple enforces planed obsolescence, are the biggest threat to right to repair, often scams their costumers etc etc. The complete opposite of the values found in a Fairphone.
The differences between phones nowadays are super small. It really depends on if you want the blue bubble or what skin (if any) you want on your droid os. The main thing is that this phone is repairable easily. Apple and other companies can posture all they want but serialized parts and batteries you need special tools to remove kinda negates all that since it's gonna be ewaste in a few years anyway when the battery dies for the last time. Fair phone isn't perfect by any means but they're the best out there for a phone you can actually use for longer than a couple years
the battery is not serialized. and even replacing it through official means is not expensive with Apple. and Apple will gladly buy your phone back to refurbish it. also iPhone are much more future-proof and well-built and so they last longer without breaking or needing to be upgraded in the first place. the iPhone can last 5 years or longer for many people.
What they should do with easy repairability is to target the framework selling point of being upgradable. Imagine an option to replace a better display, camera modules and cpu in the future fairphone. The current one can easily achieve an upgrade path for the camera the very least. This alone can be a huge reason to consider fairphone
They did it in the past with Fairphone 2 and 3. I guess that hardware wise there's not that much you can upgrade before it's the SoC you need to replace, and as he said in the video, modular chips are not a thing yet
I don't see much value in Framework upgrades - except storage and RAM like in other notebooks. Just sell and buy another, at least previous motherboard sold with working notebook - less waste.
@@cyano3d they have pretty good sensors already, I believe it's the software that limits performance. And yeah, adding a third camera could be a valid upgrade but then you lose the TOF sensor
@@nachopascual96 explain me who the hell needs a tof, a lidar is still understandable or maybe something niche like infrared even. But tof isn't supposed to take so much space which could have been a 3x or 5x tele
I've got the 4, as it finally offered the performance to make it long term viable in my eyes. My biggest complaints after they fixed the camera software were the bulk and the lack of granularity in their modules. They did fix both on this version plus a lot of extra stuff and though it's even more expensive now it's finally a device you can own without really feeling like you compromised i think. I barely feel disadvantages compared to my wife's iPhone 13 as is.
The only complaints I have is they don't sell them or provide warranty where I live! I pretty quickly got used to the sound and vibration quality and although it sometimes gets slow and glitchy my Samsung did the same thing
@@NathamelCamel yeah well glitches are part of the Android experience i fear. You can mitigate some with performance and i feel like these phones are string enough to do that for a while.
Very grateful for this type of video. Great sources and well-made points in all directions! My biggest hope is that companies like Fairphone (and Framework to some extent) can noticably nudge consumer interest towards their directions, even if their sales aren't dominant. "Forcing" other manufacturers towards adopting even just some of their selling points instead of greenwashing bs is already a huge W relative to the size of the company.
The Germany based "Shift" company also has a "Fair" smartphone. Their newest model, releasing in August/September, the Shiftphone 8 will be modular, have removable back plate, you can repair anything with a screwdriver just like on Fairphone. Their Battery, while small (3850mH) is a multi purpose battery and are using it on multiple devices. The Phone will also be IP67 certified making it "on par" with most regular smart phones on terms of water and dust proofing. Maybe worth checking out.
I bought a Fairphone 4 at launch to replace a OnePlus 3 that hadn't had an update in 2 years, the only issues I had were the barebones stock OS being 2 versions behind and the camera software making photos look very smudged. Switched to CalyxOS the moment they had a beta available and haven't had a problem since. The plastic back broke after a year of clumsiness finally caught up, it was trivially easy to repair and the spare battery I bought with it came in clutch on recent holiday. If you don't need a top of the line powerful phone I highly recommend getting one.
Here’s the problem with fairphone for me: - enthousiasts and tech nerds will need more power in less than 5 years, to run commonly used apps and they will need a camera upgrade - How often does someone replace their camera ? Especially a mediocre one compared to today’s phones. So that’s not a good selling point - People that could use it (grandmas, people that don’t use their phones often), might as well use an entry level phone for a fraction of the price, and they can last nearly as long.
I think Fairphones mediocre sales success illustrate something we've known all along. People are unwilling to trade quality for sustainability. Selling sustainability only works if it's coupled with quality, e.g. people are willing to pay more for organic food, but only if they believe it to taste better or be more healthy. If you walk through a grocery store you can tell that basically all organic products are marketed as premium offerings. The only way to reliably increase the sustainability of consumption is via regulation, be it setting standards, taxing unsustainable practices or at the very least make sustainability price competitive with subsidies.
The problem is the price, 600+ dollars for a subpar product without a headphone jack is complete madness, if they were interested in more than just pandering to rich hipsters they could have simply made a cheap removable battery phone with a recycled plastic chassis, heaphone jack and shitty camera and bob's your uncle now you haave a 200 dollar phone that is gonna sell like hotcakes
@@Madeguydo Making sustainable products comes with a lot of fixed costs per item sold, e.g. the extra cost of more sustainable materials for the battery and magnets and the extra wages to fairly pay workers to assemble the phone, etc. What you would end up with would be a $200 phone sold for $400. That sounds even less appealing.
@@ymi_yugy3133 For you maybe, but it would make the product more accessible for poorer markets and people who pay a lot more for electronics, and accessibility is way more fair than what is going on with fairphones now. It may be a surprise to most but in places like south america electronics cost about double compared to north america, and usually (aside from china) most non-western countries have a harder time having fair pricing on their consumer goods.
@@ymi_yugy3133That’s kinda ass, I get being eco friendly phone, but that’s the last thing I think about when shopping the only thing I care about is my money is being spent on a good phone.
I tried using the Fairphone 4 last year, I found it annoyingly slow. Had to swap it out, which is a shame I really want a phone like this. The 5 seems a lot better so next time I'm getting a phone I will give Fairphone a try.
@@chewu I also was considering a Fairphone 4 two years ago, but it wasn't quite there yet for me. So I got a Pixel 6 Pro. Sadly, mine has a very annoying screen issue and weak bluetooth connectivity. I hope yours will work well as long as possible. Because of my phone's issues, I already have to look into replacing it, and I'm torn between the Fairphone 5 and a Pixel 8. The ability to use my phone as long as possible is my biggest priority, for both sustainability and convenience. Not sure if the Fairphone's repairability or the Pixel's powerful hardware and comparatively long support is the better way to get there. But buying a Fairphone also sends a clear signal to the world and supports a company with an awesome vision and fair production.
Everyone is so concerned about the environment, meanwhile most people buying HUGE SUVs for cruising around. Burning scary amount of fuel and consuming all the space in cities. Expecially in the US.
If Fairphone starts losing the 'repairability' market to other competitors (which to be clear is a really good thing), maybe they could shift to an 'upgradeability' model of marketing, similar to Frameworks. Especially if they can convince Qualcomm to design modular phone chips, but even without maybe they could provide options for not just 'repairable', but upgradeable screens, cameras etc.
I think they would first need to standardize how the components go together before they can offer upgradability. Afaict you cannot upgrade the fairphone 4 to the fairphone 5 for example, as they improved the design to reduce 'the penalty'. Tho you _can_ buy a fairphone 5 and send your fairphone 4 back.
Great option for people wanting modularity, repairability, and longevity. Sustainability is great, but a better option honestly is buying a phone second-hand. Currently I'm using a Samsung Note20 Ultra, it cost me only about 400€ used with a charger and a warranty. You may not get the newest SW updates, but an older flagship phone will most often outperform a new mid-range one and may even get more security updates.
The best option is ofcourse a second hand Fairphone. Just because someone else paid full price for the exploitation doesn't mean it didn't happen. Peachiness aside. Performance simply isn't the focal point of the phone. The questions for the consumer is, do you support the ideals enough for the price and does it do what you need it to do. If either fails, this phone simply wasn't even targeted at you.
The money you spent to get that used phone contributed to the owner getting a new phone. The way to break the vicious cycle is to stop getting these consumer scams that are designed to only last 2-3 years as Marton said and as evidence blatantly shows.
Very well put together and interesting video. I had no idea ICs were so environmentally intensive! I was sure batteries were going to be the biggest problem, i was stunned to see ICs be so much worse.
the important thing i realised recently was that now that i first time bought an iphone there are actually better alternatives like a fairphone, and im speaking more about privacy focus and support or how many years the os will get updates.
Thanks for the overview! I have been looking to get one and have a had a lot of consideration about it. The price is certainly tough for my budget, but most cheaper alternatives seem like they'll be e-waste in just 2-3 years. I think it also comes down to how you think about it: if your comparison is how to get the most phone out of the least money, then it's not the best choice. If you think of it as getting a phone + making a charitable investment into the betterment of the workers' lives, then there's nothing like it.
It's not charity. It's the right thing to do. When you pay your employees a fair wage, that's not charity, right? But when you don't do that, you are essentially stealing from them. Not you specifically, rather "you" in general that includes myself. I am currently using a Realme 1 (Oppo), which I am confident that didn't have a thought of "fairness" in mind when they made it. A phone that barely costed me 130 USD lasting 5+ years is quite a miracle. I have been careful with the device too, but nothing over the board. Having said that, I wish to get a Fair Phone too next. It will be considerably more expensive than what I want to spend on a phone. But at the same time, it will send a message that consumers care about these things and that they are willing to spend more on devices that are made more sustainably. I can live with the price, because it's a "buy once, cry once" kind of situation. However, the phone not having a headphone jack is a major turn off for me. It will render all my wired headphones useless immediately and I will have to buy wireless ones. I like the comfort of wired headphones.
While their phones are indeed pricier, it's important to take into account that they're more expensive because they're fairer, but especially, because they enable you to keep your phone for longer, in the long run you can actually save money
@@ArunBasilLal I agree 100% with the fairness/not charity thing you mentioned, couldn't have found better words for it! And while using your phone as long as possible and buying a used phone instead of a new one might be almost as sustainable as switching to a new Fairphone, this doesn't do anything to support fair production. Using a Fairphone sends a clear signal to the industry, it supports a company that is trying hard to change things for the better, and it's a statement that's visible to the people around you, it can be a conversation starter and make more people aware of the current issues in the consumer electronics industry. Regarding the missing headphone jack: I get why people want it, I used to be one of them. But you can still get an USB to 3.5mm adaptor from Fairphone and other vendors, so no need to switch to wireless headphones.
@@VeitLehmann Thank you for the acknowledgement. The lack of headphone jack is a turn off not just because of the lack of workarounds, but because it's something the bigger brands started doing to push their wireless products. I wonder why Fair Phone never spoke about it, or if they did, I am not aware of their reasons.
@@weird-guy it's funny you bring up fashion, I think phones have further analog in that you can buy highly recycled, ethically made upmarket stuff for $$$, or you can go secondhand for a fraction of the price (if admittedly a lot more time and risk)
"Pretty respectable track record" is way too much of an understatement. Most Android devices manufactura like Samsung only give their devices 3 years of software support at best. 7+ years is insane, not to mention fairphones have notable community support. Overall the actual fairness of these devices waaaay surpass any downsides.
Even before your video, I decided for myself to get the Fairphone 5 as a replacement for my Google Pixel 4a non 5G. I no longer have security or Android updates. The Fairphone does everything I want to do. Let's see how this will pan out.
Google received tons of praise for their announcement of 7 years of OS, features and security updates for the Pixel 8 phones, but Fair Phone has been doing it for like a decade already. Exceptional!!
"It certainly can't beat devices in it's price point but it's now completely usable." As if being completely usable wasn't the BAREST MINIMUM. 25 Euros... for a 0.5 euro piece of plastic. Wow, so much better than the fitted piece of glass that's also ridiculously overpriced
I've been using a Fairphone 4 for about 2 years now and while it's not the perfect phone it definitely works as a daily driver for someone who isn't a phone snob. The repairability is a huge plus as well for longevity.
For the last 10 years, I've been following one good strategy, I buy a flagship Samsung phone just before its end of supply, then keep it for 3 years, and do the same again.
Currently I don't have access to buy one of these devices, but if I had the option, I would buy just to fight the monopoly that big companies are managing to force on the market
@@notisac3149 Nothing wrong or bad about it persay, just a taste thing. Some people like larger phones, others want smaller ones. It's why I'm hoping for a bigger fairphone. Or failing that, just let me get an Ultra Galaxy with a swappable battery.
For me the fairness is just a nice bonus. But this device can actually be repaired if you drop it, how awesome 🤩 Breaking a 1000+ euro device with no way to repair it is the worst. Too expensive repair is not an option people are generally willing to choose. Also, they support ungoogled roms officially while maintaining compatibility with most android apps, Fairphone is becoming semi mainstream among tech communities and good phone options without google or apple are extremely rare
The only real customer of Fairphone I could see is someone that constantly breaks their phones, only then does the cheaper repair cost makes any sense. Been using Apple for over a decade and keep my devices for around 3 years before upgrading to a newer model. The batteries still have over 80% health after 3 years so never needed a removal battery. Get 1 free screen replacement but didn’t have to use it once, I look after my devices. No other repairs needed. Removable batteries are a scam, and are unnecessary as batteries last much longer now.
I’ve been following them since the first model and I’ve been waiting for them to bring it to the US the entire time. I’m really hoping they bring the 5 over here because it seems like such a great business model
The value is always horribly unfair. It just always makes way more sense to spend the money on a used flagship, so you get signficantly better specs for the same money and aren't buying a new unit (reduce REUSE recycle). The fairphones have always been overpriced and underpowered, and when you consider that buying a used phone is ALWAYS greener than buying a new one, you realize realize that the people that it's targeted to the most are the least likely people to buy it. That industrial chip thing is very cool though. I do have to give them that.
I am so excited about fairphone coming to the US. My fold 4 is still functioning like a champ, so I am not making the switch now. But if my fold 4 fails, it is definitely my next go.
Their entire premise of being environmentally - friendly instantly fell apart for me when they removed the 3.5mm headphone jack and started selling non-repairable wireless buds. Allowing people to use their wired headphones is much more environmentally friendly considering that most wireless buds are non-repairable and the vast majority lithium-ion batteries are not recycled. You can use a dongle of course but that just makes you buy more accessories with dubious lifetimes. I know some people will say to "move on already" with the jack's removal but this isn't Samsung or Apple, their entire brand is based around promoting sustainability and this one move was a massive step back.
I would keep my current phone (currently on 5 years, hoping to get up to 10) for much longer if I could get just a replaceable battery and occasionally a replacement screen. Also, if Fairphone could finally release their phones in Canada
All it needs is a headphone jack and I'd certainly consider it if my €200 Samsung ever dies. I bought it because it has a dual SIM slot, as well as a SD card slot and a headphone jack - that list is my minimum requirements for any phone because they're all features I use regularly. Not having a headphone jack is a major environmental issue as it gives people no choice but to buy bluetooth earbuds, none of which I'm aware of provide any facility to replace the battery, pushing people to buy more of the same soon to be landfill when the batteries fail. This is by far the biggest issue with this product's environmental credentials, as the option for cheaper, more easily recyclable and more durable wired headphones is not available.
If you can tolerate custom ROMs for software security updates in lieu of manufacturer support, Sony’s Xperia line has a headphone jack, SD card, OLED, waterproofing.
@@gotoastal Can that still be bought new? I didn't think there was a high end phone with a jack plug around anymore from any manufacturer. I really liked the Sony Ericsson phones I used from before the smartphone era, the W810i Walkman phone particularly stands out. My Vaio laptop is still going without any problems with nothing done to keep it relevant except a RAM upgrade and swapping the mechanical drive to SSD, 12 years after I bought it too come to think of it.
The Fairphone makes sense to me over any Samsung or Apple on the market. I love a product that is repairable, parts are reasonably priced, and parts are abundant currently which is nice for electronics. I also want to say the idea that Iphone users aren't really going to be the ones swapping to the Fairphone. I think since Android dwarfs Apple in the Global sell of phones and Android users are the target. I wished you did more Android comparisons instead of comparing to Apple for close to all of it since I know a couple people my brother included that's been waiting to buy one. If you look at the global phones sells the Fairphone will probably do well as time goes on especially the global phone market.
If you compare the prices with Apple's, everything is cheaper. However, to think that a back cover, a fragile piece of plastic, could cost me $25 already makes me rethink the affordability of fair phones. Moreover, the features are sub-standard for the price range.
Fairphone has lost a lot of my respect when they removed the headphone jack. A phone of this girth has no excuse for not having one. Forcing me to use Bluetooth inears without replaceable batteries is not very sustainable. Not even their Bluetooth IEMs have replaceable batteries. Anyone that tells me its for waterproofing and not to jump onto the bandwagon of selling Bluetooth peripherals with your device is just lying to themselves. If their IEMs at least had replaceable batteries I would probably feel a bit better about it. Having a sustainable phone is nice, but forcing me to use non sustainable peripherals sucks. I should not have to give up my ability to use tech I already have when there is no good reason to do so.
@@Quicksilver-7791 While this is true, it also makes no sense to not have one, considering how much more space they have in this phone vs other phones. Having to carry an adapter is very clumsy imo. I want to be able to charge and use headphones at the same time. This whole decision just goes against the principles Fairphone claims to hold and I find it frustrating.
I agree that it's silly to drop the headphone jack, but I think the anger around it is overblown. I'm considering getting one and if so will buy a connector for it. My current phone has a headphone jack and I've ruined a few plugs on my headphones from the cord getting pushed at an angle in my pocket. So while I would have liked a headphone jack, it's such an easy fix that it really changes nothing about whether I'll buy it.
@@weird-guy this somewhat depends on the dongle, but in my experience my headphones ARE louder on the integrated aux on my phone than non powered/battery DAC+amp dongles.
With my FP4, I can trust that the manufacturer actually wants to support my phone as long as possible and isn't just forced to. It also means that I won't have as much pre-installed garbage on my phone compared to Samsung and the like. The only complaint apart from rattly speakers and crappy night photos is the screen protector sold by Fairphone. I'm on my fourth protector now, as the others broke even by mild impacts.
I have a Fairphone 4 and I am a bit mad, that the company decides to bring out the FP5 instead of fixing major issues on the FP4. For example many screens have a ghost touch issue, where it registers touch input without the user inputing that. Also in a new android update the display has a bug where when it gets hot it dims down to 80 percent brightness. But this happens way to early because of a software bug. It took them over half a year to fix it (I'm not sure if its fixed now, I got tired of it).
@@xeetzer5478 I have iode OS installed at the moment, I think I have to wait a bit, but I guess it's looking like a solution is on the horizon, thanks for the info!
Fairphone was made for one reason, to push other manufacturers to produce more sustainable phones. If that's the case now for Apple, then Fairphone was a complete success!
The one fact they removed headphone jack to sell their earbuds and make more waste tells me there's something fishy with them. The price is way higher than competitors with similar specs. I wouldn't bet on them.
The pricing is higher overall most likely because they're a smaller company who can't count on the same volumes, and that they're trying to source their materials more sustainably/humanely. And that just filling the thing with glue like the Giants do is the cheap option for water proofing. Now that they removed the headphone jack however, totally agree with you, kinda scummy especially for their branding of being sustainable.
I think that to be able to pull it off (FAIR). They have to have a one design-fits-all all where users can then change the internals so they don't have to buy a whole new phone to upgrade. So it is repairable and upgradeable. Then don't release a new updated design but an updated internals and software that comes along with it and just use the old phone body. less waste and better for the environment. Like if you want better performance just trade in your old processor and swap it with a new one since they're into modular. Then run an OTA update to make the phone run on the new hardware.
It's kinda impossible due to how Qualcomm handles firmware + How Android handles device driver via blob driver. Unless fairphone able to always ship every image of their OS with every driver combination imaginable (before mentioning QA for those devices) AND they somehow gets Qualcomm to give them the grace of having actual source code for the firmware of their chips then... No. It's is practically impossible.
I think the only REAL problem is the price, just not competitive enough and not justified for the hardware in the device (like, you can reclace "anything", but cant upgrade nothing), with this specs, only the "green" part of the project is the seller point, making them a not desirable smarthphone (premium price, not premium experience), apart from that, there are some obvious controversies like not having a headphone jack ("you can replace your batteries if they got bad, buy will ever need to use bluetooth headphones/tws with non replaceable batteryes") and not having a open source software, ok, "upgrades for 8 years", but, where is the option to replace or modify your device software as much as you like, this would be fair. The envyromental friendly part (recicled things or whatever), no one actually cares, in my opinion, if they want to make a green product, and claim to change the world, they need to be competitive, with this price, they not and, even if you can replace everything like cameras or whatever, apart from the external parts, screen and battery, is most likely any other component will never fail and with any "chinese smarthphone" of the last years, you can always buy this parts from aliexpress for cheaper then "40-100 euro" (this price is cheapest then apple, but not cheapest then the competition), ofc in "chinese smarthphones" this parts are "not that easy" to replace, but if they are cheaper (and the phones have better hardware for good price),it is worth the trouble. Idk, what i mean is, the idea is in parts "green controversial", ignoring the big picture and not competitive, to have a real impact, they would need to be at a "fair" price too, if you really care for the enviroment just have a used (ou new 300-400) smarthphone and use the rest of the money to really make a difference, this phone with this cost/benefit will ever be a niche product, dont having a real significant impact on the planet, if the ONLY point of the company is making money, cool, with what they are offering they will have a small but consistent slice of the cake, but if they really think what they state, not even close yet
There is another modular/sustainable phone maker called shift phones and they are from Germany.Could be interesting to talk a look at them and maybe cover them.
Appreciate their effort. I have been thinking of late why the phone manufacturers burden us by forcing us to buy a new phone every 3-4 years. Instead of going for a new phone, I bought a used phone recently. Came across this video today. Would definitely buy a FairPhone once its available in my country even if it cost more than an used phone (iPhone/Samsung) solely for their effort and consideration for the common man, the factory worker, the miner, the planet and the nature. The social status is something people buy the iPhones and Samsung. If the consumer is smart and not a show off, they will go for a phone like this and save themselves lot of money.
Damn, how do you go so hard with this videos! Truely a fantastic video that answered literally all my questions about whether Fairphone is as good as they sound. Definitely gonna pick one up once my current phone shits the bed
I really hate this trend in YT where the clickbait title asks a question and yet the video does not provide a solid answer. THe very least you could do is put links in the description for viewers to follow up on their own.
I'm sure there's a market for devices like these, though there is definitely something to be said about getting a new toy from time to time as well. Not that smartphones haven't gotten pretty similar now, but sometimes even a new color or a new design keeps things fresh. Perhaps something this company could invest in, since they're modular. Is to add different colored back plates.
With every iteration the Fairphone gets closer to being in my pocket. This latest spec is sooooo close. That said, not much tempts me at the moment. The 7t Pro McLaren is still my favourite device ever with its massive spec and display with no notch or cut outs. With every year I keep the Oneplus the less impact it has on the environment....so I'll wait. But the Fairphone is pretty nice for sure👍👍
Most people don't buy bags for 1k. And I think the problem is also that the people who can afford the fairphone can get a phone with a better camera, more performance, etc. for the same price, so except a few people who are very concerned about fairness, environment, etc. would rather buy these other phones if they can afford them.
FP4 user here (in use since 01/01/2023). I consider myself a heavy user, my FP4 battery lasts at least 15h with 7h SoT which is enough for an average day for me. But boy, using it as a navigation device walking around in a city you´re not familiar of, kills the battery within 3h. Oh yeah. And: Camera: I rarely use it and if I have to i shoot raw (DNG) with OpenCamera. Because in my opinon stock camera jpegs are absolute rubbish. Do i miss the 3.5mm headphone jack? YES! Because speaking of longevity. I can´t use my beloved AKG415 with this smartphone cause these headphones are 7 years old and wired. Yes, I am aware of USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. But this "solution" isn´t a proper solution.
It's fairer than most. That's extremely, absolutely unfair is how they won't ship to Cyprus even though Cyprus is in Europe. Those Dutch are unbelievable
Very nice report on the state of the Fairphone. I love that they really do as much as they can ... sort of. Especially the part that Fairphone is NOT too expensive, but others are too cheap .. is what hits hard. Makes you ask "how can they manage to be so cheap?" Well, your analysis about scale is of course the primary factor of offering a product for such a price. Scale means you can source components and dictate manufacturing, but there is more to it .. the part where others, no matter how much greenwashing they do ... are simply not "fair". Why is Fairphone locked in a small scale though? In my opinion (purely from someone who studied object design as part of her master of education study) - it is partly about poor decisions in terms of design language. If i offer anything (furniture, car, fashion .. or a phone) that is meant to last long, it should "speak the language". A good example is always fashion. There is "fast fashion" (which implies more than being only seasonal) .. and there is classics. To simplify, classics are more often defined by a certain minimalism .. but not just minimalism, but minimalism with its own character. To offer a (in my opinion) very good design language - i would point at the utterly overpriced Sony flagships (Xperia 1 series). These phones have large top and bottom bezels, they put the front cameras and sensors there. But they do not look "old". They look "classy". For the back, i would point at the Pixel 2 and 3 .. 4, too in a way. Those phones were known for making EXCELLENT photos .. despite having almost no camera bump (except the 4) and only ONE camera! Why is that relevant? Because Fairphone kind of follows a silly trend with its cameras. Not only do 3 cameras need a lot more materials - but they also do not offer anything substantial to the user. I might very well be projecting. I did have a Nokia 9 (7 cameras) and currently a Note 20 Ultra (3 cameras) ... but i only ever use one camera, the main one. Sure, there are people that really NEED a 10x zoom (not judging) or an super-ultra-wide .. but i wager that the vast majority of people can do with a simple single lense. So in terms of design, i would go with ONE camera on the back with no bump, a classic screen with top and bottom bezels .. that look cleaner and better than any notch (even a dynamic island nonsense) - that would instantly make the phone look much more minimalist and classic (classic in a good way). I would offer "daring" colours for the backplate. (although that IS a problem. Sourcing many variations for a plastic backplate runs counter to the idea of sustainability - but it is a compromise between being seen and not). Having no camera bump would set this phone apart from the competition already - as a "no-nonsense" competitor. Additionally, Fairphone could need a good logo. Nothing garish like plastering your brand over the entire back (Pocophone) .. but more than just a font. So the sweetspot is indeed Apple. Having a recognizable logo makes consumers literally running advertisement for you. Another aspect would also be materials. I know that aluminium is very environmentally friendly .. if recycled. But i wonder if stainless steel might be better. Steel is more weighty, weight is associated with quality (until it is too heavy). If stainless steel has the same environmental impact as aluminium, i would go with steel, because consumers react more positive to steel.
Very interesting write up, thank you for that! I think Framework did this very well with their 13 inch laptop. It's a very classic, subdued laptop that still looks classy - timeless imo. They have a logo that represents their brand, the cause, and is still very recognizable. And the laptop got very competitive to even Apple with the newest addition of AMD CPUs. Honestly, I'd love these two companies working together and attacking the ecosystem effect Apple and Samsung have while profiting of scaling off of the other brand's customers. Sony phones are a real phenomenon, not just because of their "classic" design, but also because they offer things only old school enthusiasts care about. Expandable storage and a 3.5mm jack. Both features increase the longevity of the device or other devices incredibly, because you can just upgrade the storage while keeping the phone or fall back to cabled headphones when your wireless buds eventually fail. Also the phones are not made in China, and while Sony doesn't make big announcements about sustainability or fairness, this at least diversifies production. Sadly, Sony completely kills the attractiveness of their phones by not providing updates for longer. Even just security updates for 4 years would make them a great option, since Android updates don't really create a feeling of want anymore. But combining the high price with a noticeably shorter update period vs competitors is a really bad move imo.
Well written and to the point. Also as it was already pointed out in the video, you can just buy an old flagship. No matter how good their intentions are, they need a marketing team that knows its stuff.
I like the concept of a phone with swappable modules, but for me those phones aren't powerful enough, a phone like that should come with the best flagship chipset at release so it's actually usable for a long time, nobody wants a phone that could be repaired easily but also is just unusable after 2 years of use because it's just too slow.
I think a fair phone is necessary as a wake up call to the capitalists but I have been running my 2016 model for 7 years now so I am doing quite well for sustainability lmao
have been using a fairphone 4 for almost 2 years now, apart from them accidently doxxing me on twitter when i was trying to contact them about replacement parts, never had any issues with them. the phone is great as a everyday device.
Such projects generally tend to die due to lack of mass adoption, no excitement in diversified markets and lack of money to keep pushing through and waiting out the hard times. These projects actually need mass adoption which could be the highest catalyst for them to explode as a brand. Also these products are the ones that shouldn’t back down on price. Considering that their devices last 5 years at an average with warranty, the price they command is really justified. But generally these type of projects die due to competition and price wars. Shame its not available in India. Not saying India would be a great market for such a device but i can imagine a niche user base for this device here too.
yes and no, yes because you don't contaminate at all buying a second hand phone, no because the lifetime that second hand phone has to offer may be way less than what this phone and it's likely you may have to change your phone sooner.
Fairphone in 10 years: You can plug in different parts like lego's. If you need more RAM, you can just put on another Lego and boom... Or a new CPU is coming out as a little Lego brick to only throw away your old little brick to upgrade just the CPU.
My next phone will likely be a fairphone. I'm hoping to use my s9+ for as long as I can. It's still a great phone and runs the latest version of android well with lineage
Get Nebula with 40% off an annual subscription here: go.nebula.tv/techaltar
If you label when you're about to plug nebula then i wouldn't watch it and therefore wouldn't associate nebula with a waste of time. Just a thought
Hey, where's that paratha/roti from at 8:19? I also live in berlin and am always looking for new restaurants to try and the paratha in the picture looks really good 😅
Compare with the repair cost of Samsung. It's way cheaper than iPhone
Fairphone is junk no headphone jack!!!
Will the $300 Livetime come back?
I believe Fairphone is still a huge win. Their objective is not to be an industry behemoth, but to prove it is possible to make a fair product. If the tech giants invested more in this sort of technology, we'd see the cost of "fairness" going down.
Or their prices going up xd
@@fuseteamAs they should be.
There's a reason tech giants don't do this. Because slave labour in poor countries means more profits. So why would they be fair?
Like a Tesla phone?
Yes, fairness would go up, but technology development would go down. If you think about the most current device being active for few years, the manufacturer has to lure you into buying a new one. This would mean better specs, processing power, technologies in the device(such as USB-C, more reliable Bluetooth, better batteries(denser batteries) and so on. So yes, consumerism has got a positive side of things. Not saying it is the best approach, just we all benefit from it.
The repairability is still unmatched. The ease, cost, and respect for the consumer when it comes to repair.
But is it really that helpful ?
Did you ever need this ?
I had not a single damaged smartphone in the last 10 years.
The easy way to swap batteries seems to be the best part. As batteries automatically degrades over time.
@@blablup1214looks like you answered your own question mate. my smartphones never get damaged either, as I take good care of them, but I'd absolutely love to be able to replace the battery when it inevitably degrades too much
The amount of transparency that Fairphone provides to the public is also very commendable. I am willing to buy one, if the price was a bit lower though.
My main problem with these kind of phones is the cost of the new parts. Seriously.. 100 euros for an almost low-end display (especially if the phone itself is already 2-3 years old) is simply a scam. If it was 30-40 euros, it would be "fair".. but i rather just save the 100bucks, and get a new midrange phone for around 200.. which is already better in every single aspect than a few years old phone.
but why cant we have a company whose actual main concern is repairability, upgradeability and low cost?
I bought a Fairphone 4 at the end of 2021. After 2 years or so of use (mostly social media scrolling, browsing, listening to music and watching TH-cam) the battery is now a bit beaten up (now it lasts maybe 24 hours of idle, 7-8 hours of regular use, 2-3 hours of heavy use) and I ordered a new one for ~40€ incl. shipping. I don't plan to swap it right away, but I'd like to have a replacement at hand for when I'll want to retire the current one.
The software updates have been constant so far (I believe we got at least 2 major android versions) and apart from an issue with the bluetooth driver (now resolved) my phone has never skipped a beat.
The water proofing is not amazing. I have been very mean with it and I watched TH-cam in the shower several times, and let's say that it didn't like the humidity very much. But it survived, and it still works, despite me being a crappy owner.
So far I consider myself a happy customer
Ensure you keep the new battery at around 45% for storage as lithium batteries don't like to be neither fully charged nor completely empty for long periods of time.
@@makatronthats a great point, thanks for sharing :)
@-w-6773I do, and yes no one should 😆 My phone is IP67 protected so I have never noticed any problems
It is good that you can swap it. But that the batterie is already down after 2 years of normal use doesn't sound that great.
@@blablup1214 it's not. But as I said in my comment, the battery it's not dead, I don't plan to switch batteries right away, I wanted to have a replacement at hand. And I have been a careless owner (you are not supposed to take a shower with this phone, guys).
One thing to remember about companies like Fariphone or Framework is that by existing, having a profitable model and attracting a lot of people who are the "early adopters" and are often the "tech experts" in their family/social circle, they force other companies, like Apple, to at least acknowledge this is a desirable feature and make some token gestures towards sustainable and repairable devices. Something they wouldn't have to do if their only competition were Samsung and Google.
Yea sadly what they do still leads them to making more money and being worse for the environment, all while they are pretending to be better. It is no coincidence that the first time they removed the charger brick from the box, they also changed the cable so it wouldn't work with any of your older charging bricks.
I love what Fairphone is doing, as they give an alternative, but the big companies aren't really being shown anything. They are seeing that their disgusting business practices are paying off as they have a much higher profit margins and sell a lot more phones. That is why legislation needs to come in. Fingers crossed the EU can stop this non repairable non sense.
@@tinminator8905 Actually the problem is the government, who do you think makes it so hard to compete with apple and samsung? Who was it that decided that the increased tarrifs don't apply to pre existing consumer electronics brands.
Framework still fails at delivering the accessible, sustainable and repairable laptops to most of the world, while where I live I can buy HP, Dell, Lenovo etc. genuine replacement parts.
@@nonci6 Yea, but that is a temporary problem almost no company would be able to grow their supply chains fast enough to spread across the world in just a few years.
Fairphone is finally good enough that a regular person wouldn't notice, and that's a big win. I'd definitely consider them in the future.
In my opinion it is still far too expensive for what you get.
The only plus in my opinion is, that I can swap the batterie fairly easy which wouldn't be enough to buy a 700€ mobile phone.
Well, there is a premium to having the factory workers not jumping out of the window. So that's that.
"Consider them in future" yeah sure you will buddy
I can happily say that the 4 already got there. It's a bit bulky but with how it is now i don't think anyone would raise an eyebrow if I handed it to them.
This is fixing even the bulk, so if you can afford that price tag, is really recommend it.
@@blablup1214 pssst, get one second hand, I got my fp4 for less than $170
That profitability percentage is a gutpunch, but in a refreshing way. They are throwing everything they have at giving the workers and the customers the best value they can while creating something better than the norm. I have massive respect for that, and seriously regret financing my current flagship phablet via my carrier. When it's time to retire/recycle this device, I hope Fairphone is still around and making products like this that are better in real ways.
I agree. This is part of the reason I am switching to only buying refurbished/second hand phones now that they’re so mature. (I’ve been doing this with tablets and computers for years because they’re just less cutting edge)
They are basically the proove to all the companies that this business model does not make sense.
Remember that "profit" means the same thing as "How much we over-charged you"
Profit is always a bad thing to see since self-investment should of been part of the primary budget before profit is calculated.
@@SkyboxMonster Profit also means money to invest more in new products. Profit is necessary (not always, not if you want to grow rapid) and generally a good thing.
@@sierraecho884 That's only true in the current economic system. If we had some other system, which didn't rely on just making products to make money, but making products because they are needed, it wouldn't matter if a company made "profits" or not.
The thing with fairphone is that, while a lot of manufacturers are now making similar sustainability, longevity and repairability promises
It's just promises and statements, while fairphone has actually overdelivered with their own promises already
EU will force them, so fairphone going bankrupt 100% there phone is total dogwater.
@@Daniel-qz8bpwhy EU would force them ? They re clearly doing everything what EU wants
@@SpongeBob_circle_pants Other brands.
@@Daniel-qz8bp Yeah, actually not. At least in the short term. Companies still only want to do the bare minimum. Also, judging from the sales data, people buying Fairphones buy them for a reason other than performance, me included. Right now, no other phone on the market fulfills as much of my criteria as the Fairphone does.
@@manueldeubler1127 So you want a slow phone for a ridiculous price😭
One of my most used sayings is "Dont make Best the enemy of good".
Fairphone is a small company, they cant be perfect, they wont be for a while, but even having the option to sacrifice (frankly overkill) performance for way better sustainability or fair work usage is nice.
If fairphone achieved similar pricing while doing all this now, then they have nothing to worry about. Certainly other companies will just increase their prices when they see revenue going down thanks to people using their phones for longer, after the new regulations come to effect. They can still have a market by keeping prices more similar to the pricing we have now.
You can’t just assume that companies can keep raising prices. There is a limit. If you look at Samsung’s flagships, they don’t sell as much compared to their budget line. There is a point where the market supports the demand, and companies will bring the supply. Customers are demanding to use their smartphones for longer. You can see that Samsung is now supporting five years of security patches, and Google announced seven years of support. Overall, the sales of smartphones have slowed down as well. If you look at the lineup of certain products, they aren’t even refreshed every year: iPad mini was released in 2021, and the MacBook Air M2 13-inch was released in 2022. Companies are smart and adjust to market demands. Most phones had removable batteries and were easier to take apart; over the years, people just bought unrepairable junk and signaled to the companies that those features were desired.
phones breaking or being slower/lower battery is the reason for like 5% of new phone sales
There's this disturbing thing with retributive ethics, that if a fair company is not better than perfect, they get outright labeled like TRAITORS to the"cause" more so than "honest companies" that just let you bleed the discount off the backs of children in cobalt mines, without even the DIRECTION to stop it or do les of the bad.
It's disturbing if only because its ubiqutous, it ALWAYS comes up, and there's ALWAYS worse companies that get off scot free. It starts to look like the consumer has to pretend to be WAY stupider about it, than is plausible for an average person, when they keep saying "I just wnat to to close my eyes and consume the services, it's not my problem to vote on such things". So why DO we get a vote, in these low-populated global hegemon countries? I mean what FOR?
Because I see what we ARE doing. Work for the work and consume for the consumption, and voting is when the dictator collective REALLY gets to consume, the entire world. That's when 340 Million Maduros reach for the empanada in the desk drawer, and say they're busy with more important shit than poverty.
If a $700 price could push a $450 phone into ethical producton, that's a bit differnet ballpark than your own parents paying their $1600 upfront cost for a printer while you sit here crying about cartridge prices and the service model. While you're PROUD of healthcare with insurance-subsidized MRI machines, with pretty pitiful standard of care otherwise on things that actaully should matter. But everybody refuses to push that ethical production with a handful of hundreds every 5 years, for something as simple a smartphone, we can see what's THIS CULTURE will do to less important shit, like healthcare and education.
@@PepsiMaxVanilla more like 25%
@@tamwilfredcounter point ENDLESS GROWTH
As a German, being able to support a European tech company instead of tax dodging corporations is already reason enough for me. Greetings to all my Dutch fellows, one love🥦
oh yeah, my work is also connected to FairTrade, so there's that. definately my next phone.
If the biggest concern about if they're "doing better than the competition" in terms of environmental impact is that "they don't have enough scale" I'd say helping them to scale up by getting their product is a good idea. Especially when it comes to the whole conflict minerals thing and fair working conditions! I've considered a Fair Phone as my next device for a while now, as the one I'm using is coming up on 5 years old next year, is about to go out of software support, the screen has some small scratches even behind the screen protector and is glitching out from time to time, and the battery life is abysmal these days. I was worried this video would reveal some "bad secret" in terms of fair/greenwashing, but it seems they are honest with what they're trying to do, the premium price I'm willing to pay if it means I contribute less to exploitation, and if the phone is perfectly usable, repairable and all that, I'm happy to say that this video made me feel validated in my choice! Thank you!
Fairphone did have some greenwashing about headphone jack. But I think that's a miniscule mistake.
@@nimrod06do you remember what that was?
@@cc0767 no jack+starting to sell bluetooth earphones at the same time raised some eyebrows. In-ear bluetooth buds from any brand are generally considered disposable and impossible to repair. FP does sell spare buds and cases, but eventually they had a special discount and included free buds with every phone. Now they sell proper-sized "XL" headphones with all the spare parts available.
I'm in the same boat, I've been holding on my honor 9 since the fairphone 4 launch cause it wasn't as good as I could wish. The fairphone 5 will probably replace my almost 6 years old phone without update since 2019, still on android 9. Really bad support from honor, I don't want to be left alone after 2 years. Having a phone that get refreshed usage by software update is what makes a phone more desirable imo. Seeing the fairphone 2 getting android 10 in 2023 but my phone is still on Android 9 since 2019 is really frustrating. One of my app require android 10, I can't use it anymore.
i'm in the same boat. Tho i first want to get a new phone for games, i'm planning on getting a fairphone for college related things cause the repairability
I think their biggest problem is marketing. Most people have no idea there is a phone you can swap a battery out and can be repaired easy and cheap that is not made by slave labour.
And even fewer know that the Fairphone 4 along, with all the same spare parts, is available in North America via a 3rd party called Murena.
and most people nowadays dont even care about this, i mean majority.
I give them credit. Instead of just raging about how exploitative phone manufacturing is; theyve gone out and attempted to put their points into practice. Is it gonna be for the highest power users and "spec-snobs"? No; but most users ain't those, and a "Toyota" of phones will do what they need/want just fine.
My main concern is the hardware durability. Since the specs are just average, I'm afraid that the phone will be barely usable for regular browsing in 6 years from now, like it is for a 6 years old mid-range Android. (I can't imagine in 10 years)
If I'm paying that much, I'd rather go for an Iphone or high end Android that I now will be perfectly fine in 6 or 7 years. Especially that for a device I'm gonna use that long and everyday, I want to have the best experience as possible (so I'd be less likely to give up on the phone and replace it)
My today's Galaxy S7 from 2016 received its last update in 2018 but still works well.
The "fairness" of a smartphone also depends of the way of we, customers, treat it. (and to my eyes it's the biggest issue since people change phones because they actually want to change, not because they are forced to.)
@@MasoMathiou Well, what determines how much specs you need for browsing in the future?
I understand you expect the requirements to go up with time, but does it make sense that they should?
Watching Apple talk about being green when they're increasingly making their devices unrepairable and unupgradeable is laughable.
Oh they’re incredibly repairable now… as long as you repair them with the parts Lord Timothy of Cook graces us peasants with.
It also kind of all goes out the window when they intentionally shred their devices that could easily be repaired and continue to sue companies for trying to refurbish them. Apple is genuinely one of the most evil unsustainable companies on this planet.
@@2phonesbabykenand dont forget, after we get his blessing to do it (literally have to call apple to register the parts so the phone will work)😊
Still Apple selling phones 240millions in each year, that is 1000x more like any model what fairphone sold, because a secretary or millions of other people with none tech related jobs/interest will never want to learn how they can fix their phone. They just want the device to work, they are bought that just to use it, not to learn something what they are never interested before. That 200000 people is the amoun5 who care about the repairability, what is not even a noticeable amount of user for any big phone company..
Apple is only talking about them being green so you don't feel any guilt when you keep buying their products. It's clear that their users care about the environment, to a degree, but selling them fewer devices will kill your business. So the only choice is to advertise their new products as environment friendly. "Oh, your 2 years old phone got a broken screen? Why don't you upgrade to the latest, we are carbon neutral, there's no environment impact of you doing that."
The most fair phone you can buy is not buying a new phone. Use your old phone longer!
Tech enthusiasts should be honest with themselves, smartphone hardware(except foldables) in the last 5 years don't have significantly improved.
Its just slow and steady small upgrades like camera algorithms and battery life optimization. All the improvements nowadays are mainly software focused, most of them could be given to older phone models, but they are not because there is no incentive for the companies to do so.
Uhhhh... no. Performance per watt has definitely increased massively. To the point where flagship phones could totally be used as office computers if given the peripherals and software support (See DeX et al). Performance per dollar has also increased for mid-range and low-end phones.
@@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStartMost co2 is not wasted from creating energy to charge your phone, but in the actual creation of the device itself.
Would recommend some of linus’ newer videos where he uses his five-year-old Note 9. While insignificant year-over-year, those do compound into something greater.
Agreed, and it is the only reason I haven't bought a Fairphone yet. The downside to using a phone for a long time, or buying a second hand one is the lack of security updates. Even custom roms don't fully solve that issue since those don't provide vendor firmware updates.
Buying used phones is also a good option. Got myself an used iPhone. Not only was it much cheaper, but, at least in theory, it eliminated necessity to produce a new device
I have the Fairphone 3, a phone released in 2019, and two months ago I got an update to Android 13. Since then, I already got 2 more software updates, so the security patches are actually ahead than the Samsung A14 5G (2023 model) that we have at work. Incredible software support.
I have a question for you. I'm very happy with my 3+ but as an avid concert goer there is one thing that irritates me.
Whenever I record a concert, the audio gets completely distorted. I don't expect pitchperfect sound as that isn't what they are made for but my old phone could at least record the music somewhat okay. Supposedly it's because I have faulty model. Does yours work fine in that way?
@@Casshio Sadly I have not encountered this. Have you contacted Support? I have troubleshot a keyboard issue with them and they have been very helpful, they also sent a back cover for free because my letters peeled off.
I have never really recorded audio... videos that I have recorded have normal audio, I have not noticed anything weird with it
@@VideogamesAsArt I have contacted support and they have been helpful! Even offered me to swap my phone for a new one. Same model of course. But they are not sure where the problem comes from and assume that my specific phone is just faulty. And yea, I mean the audio of videos. It's incredibly distorted. So, I was wondering if this Fairphone model or previous ones have the same issue but I suppose that's not the case if your video recordings are without major sound issues.
yes I don't record very often but the few videos I recorded sound OK@@Casshio. Good luck with your new unit, hope it works out better this time!
@@VideogamesAsArt Thanks for taking the time!
I think there are some issues with the early review sample you received.
I did get the Fairphone 5 a few days ago:
You should run it on 90 hz (i put 3 phones next to as comparison even my 144 hz Monitor and it was buttery smooth - even Genshin worked smooth on medium with 60 FPS enabled)
The vibration motor worked suprisingly well (a bit weaker and less haptic than iPhone XS Max), but miles better than lower midtier android phones
Their camera app needs some software tweaking like GCam (Color Grading and some more intelligent processing)
One can just use GCam for those prettier Photos (better stabilization, etc.)
More people need to be aware that it is not the camera that sucks nowadays - more the lack of tweaks in the software (regarding Sharpening and Color Grading the image)
To keep Google Play Services from Spying too much (restricting its battery usage) i sometimes run it on Battery Saver (at least scheduled to, when I sleep).
BTW, more people need to know that it is the Google Play Services that secretly suck so much performance in Android (rather than it being a bad OS) - wish we could pressure Google into decrapifying their Service App...
Where did you get GCam from? I know that there are a whole bunch of ports and I really don't know how to approach it or which one to rely on. Not sure if links work in comments, but just mentioning where I can find it should be fine. Thanks!
Also, if you're having trouble with Google services running all the time, then it could be useful to know that CalyxOS is planning support for the FP5. They were sent a few units for development. I'm planning to use that and hope it will save some battery.
Degoogle your phone. Will guarantee you won't be spied on, and you'll have less bloat.
A Huawei phone could be option B, but they are very expensive, and I have the feeling that if not Google Mobile Services, Huawei Mobile Services would eat up your battery instead xD
I honestly don't understand why they got new camera modules. They took a year or more to get the software ready on the 4 only to upgrade to a marginally better sensor and scrap their work.
The probelms comes at camera department, Gcam can not be always useful unless it's ported specifically for fairphone by a developer, then as mentioned in video fairphone need to grab much more sales number to ask the camera sensor makers like sony, Samsung, omnivision etc. To custom developm a chip for them. Other than cameras other things look pretty good than other androids especially the software support :)
Fairphone is lacking in advertising their product. I really want this product to be successful.
The 10 years of software updates is the biggest pro for me
My only concern is that it may severely slow down with time and become near unusable before the 10 years is up. Fingers crossed this isn't the case
@@SuperSucc69phones slow down because the battery degrades and gives less volts to cpu
@@aeydealso apps getting more processing-hungry
Nothing in consumer tech history has lasted 10 years
And nothing will last 10 years in near future
And the reason isn't hardware, it's software
Devs have to support a plethora of devices and they willl never bother working on a 7-10 year old platform
Just the simple fact
And fairphone isn't vertically integrated like Apple or Google to ensure compatibility across apps and features either - so this is just a snake oil claim to be honest
It’s not going to happen 😂
..i think its worth reminding us that fairphones founders original goal is not to sell you a phone, but to sell us an idea, that we need to do better at keeping our electronics in use for a very long time..and imo in that regard they are unmatched..i hope they will not go away..because after my current phone is unrepairable, my next phone would be a fair one
Wait, so they started as eco-friendly phone activists? That's the literal definition of "If you can't solve the problem, become the solution."
Adding along with others, they removed the headphone jack. Wired is more sustainable, and dongles should be reserved for peripherals that aren’t used often-which sure isn’t my IEMs. I ordered recently a Sony Xperia as the only flagship with a headphone jack, OLED, and allows bootloader unlocking (looking at you ASUS).
Huawei also has their bootloaders locked shut
@@servissop151 and Samsung
Agree hard. Realy don't get why the Sonys are not more popular
Also note that Sony also makes really good wireless buds, so you can make phones with 3.5mms and still do well on the wireless front
@@donkeytits1sony used to have a really weird UI, dont know about their current version. Not their phones are just too expensive when you could get a previous flagship model from google or samsung and still get more updates. Software is also what killed LGs phones even though they had amazing hardware.
But the headphone jack would tip me over to Sony tbh.
My biggest fear with the rise of repairability of more mainstream products is them slowly pulling it away again once they have convinced governments that regulation on the matter is unnecessary.
But then again, even a period of replaceablity is better than nothing.
If they were forced by people´s wallet surely they wont retire reparability, if it was because regulations they will pass the cost to another area.
@@blitzkr5329 huh?
@@nielskorpel8860 the way to change how companies behave is with costumer wallet, little does it matter if people complain about anything if they keep giving their money
high repairability = no new models needed. the current business model of programmed obsolescence is the main enemy of repair philosophy. cause if i can repair my object, i will not buy the new model one.
An important thing to remember, which wasn't really touched on in this video, is that Apple generally distorts or flat out lies about its sustainability efforts. A good example is that disassembly robot, which has been shown to process as many phones in a year that Apple sells in a day - i.e. it has no actual impact and is just for show. Another is the recent lawsuit Apple filed against its "recycling" partner, where Apple sued them for _not_ destroying usable phones (yes, destroying as in shredding, not recycling) but instead refurbished them and sold them at a lower price - something which honestly should be commended for reducing the amount of e-waste.
Remember Apple's track history, as touched on in the video; they do not care about the environment or treating anyone fairly, they care about how to make more money, which now includes pretending to care.
5:45 I think the lack of wireless charging was a decision made on other factors and not on removability of the back panel. The Lumia 830 shipped back in the day with wireless charging and removable back plate and it worked well while also not adding any thickness to the phone overall.
Yes, they just needed to add coil to back panel and some additional pins that would connect with back panel.
I had (and still have) the Lumia 822 and it had the same capability. The difference is that the 822 didn't ship with wireless charging. I had to buy a different back cover from Verizon and made the phone slightly thicker. It certainly isn't water resistant though.
thats a great point!
Samsung also had wireless charging backplates for devices before the S6 came out
That's exactly how it worked with the LG G3. The coils for wireless charging and NFC are a sticker inside the removable back cover and some spring loaded pins in the back panel of the actual phone made the connection when the cover was snapped on. Worked flawlessly. @@zawarudo1041
Amazing video. I was lucky enough to be a small part of fairphone's history as I joined them as an intern early on just before the Fairphone 1 launch, and was part of the launch event and go-to-market. I keep tabs on them over the years and love that they have been able to grow/stay in the market.
I am not sure what their current strategy is, but I do know for a fact that Fairphone 1 came to existance as a proof of concept. Fairphone never expected to be an industry leader in terms of the best performing phone, it wanted to prove that you can make choices as business that put "fairness" first and still make something real, with paying customers. Everything Fairphone is doing, Samsung and Apple can do too and force the hands of the chipmakers and suppliers. They just choose not to.
Fairphone existing, no matter how small, is basically a big FU to those big companies. As long as they exist and people know about them (they don't have to use their products), everyone will know just how little fucks Apple and Samsung give about sustainability.
Thanks for your insightfull comment !
I have to respect fairphone for actually showing that repairable devices are possible. It also seems like they have entirely custom designed their main boards and released schematics for them. What I however find quite problematic is the lack of a 3.5mm jack, effectively forcing users to go buy expensive, unrepairable and disposable earbuds which will eventually just lead to a landfill. Fairphone’s reason for removing the headphone jack wasn’t convincing either.
Indeed. They've said it was one of the most common complaints about the Fairphone 4, so why the hell did they ignore all of that and decide not to fix it in this new model?
Frankly it's the one thing that'd make me actually want to upgrade from the FP4.
@@AnOliviaShapedGremlinBecause they want to sell their wireless headphones/earbuds. EU is soon forcing all manufacturers to sell phones with easy replaceable batteries, making a Fairphone obsolete for most costumers. Because frankly, swapping the battery is all you need to do after 3 years and you're again good to go until you get to the point that your CPU is just too slow for normal daily usage.
@@PySnek The interest of Fairphone is not just the replaceable battery, but the ability to update the phone part, or change them very easily, and this is a big plus. But the lack of 3,5 is a very bad joke coming from them.
@@nathleflutiste Nope, nothing really to update tbh... They always advertised it but never really delivered. I only remember a small camera upgrade for the FP3. The FP4 had no hardware upgrades at all. Yes, changing parts is a plus but with the downside of a heavy and bulky phone and you can't submerge it in water.
@@PySnek Seriously ? This is very disappointing giving how much they have been advertising about it. This remind me LG with the G5, great idea but never implemented correctly.
what I'd like to see is not just repairability, but actual hardware upgrades. Given the long support, I don't want to replace the main camera in 7 years with a model of today and battery tech gets better too so the 4200mAh from today should be swappable for a bigger one as tech progresses.
The Bluetooth thing is bad. Because it could be a non issue if they had chosen to keep the headphonejack....
IP68 with a removable backplate has already been proven possible by Samsung's Galaxy S5. It also had wireless charging with optional backplates.
It was actually IP67 but still very good. I hope someone makes an aftermarket backplate with bigger battery and wireless charging for these phones at some point.
@@Luke357Do you even need wireless charging? It wastes more electricity compared to charge the same amount for wired. Surely that would be bad for the planet, right?
@@Kromiball I'd be getting the phone for longevity not efficiency. I like wireless charging because it reduces wear on the ports and it's just so convenient to just drop my phone on the pad and forget about it. Much easier than plugging it in at night.
@@Kromiballwhen your usb port degrades you can still charge it wireless. Thats a huge win. The reduced efficiency doesnt actually matter much unless we are talking about speed. Phone batteries just arent big enough for it to matter.
Yeah I also remember the good old days, waterproof, swappable battery, headphone jack and SD card.
How do I hear of this marble only now?! This is the game changer for people like me that don't like the planed obsolesce. Who likes their phone camera getting worse as the new model comes out or their CPU being throttled right after the new model came out. iOS now does this even without a OS update that i refused to do exactly for this purpose.
the poor performance of this phone means that they are going to last shorter than iPhones even with the so-called planned obsolescence. and ironically iPhones are well-known for their longevity; many people use them for more than 5 years. iPhones are built to last, the performance is future-proof, and they receive very long software support.
@@haomingli6175 First of all, that is your gut speaking. And pushing an Apple product on a Fairphone video is clearly missing the point of all of this!
Apple enforces planed obsolescence, are the biggest threat to right to repair, often scams their costumers etc etc. The complete opposite of the values found in a Fairphone.
The differences between phones nowadays are super small. It really depends on if you want the blue bubble or what skin (if any) you want on your droid os. The main thing is that this phone is repairable easily. Apple and other companies can posture all they want but serialized parts and batteries you need special tools to remove kinda negates all that since it's gonna be ewaste in a few years anyway when the battery dies for the last time. Fair phone isn't perfect by any means but they're the best out there for a phone you can actually use for longer than a couple years
the battery is not serialized. and even replacing it through official means is not expensive with Apple. and Apple will gladly buy your phone back to refurbish it. also iPhone are much more future-proof and well-built and so they last longer without breaking or needing to be upgraded in the first place. the iPhone can last 5 years or longer for many people.
What they should do with easy repairability is to target the framework selling point of being upgradable. Imagine an option to replace a better display, camera modules and cpu in the future fairphone. The current one can easily achieve an upgrade path for the camera the very least.
This alone can be a huge reason to consider fairphone
They did it in the past with Fairphone 2 and 3. I guess that hardware wise there's not that much you can upgrade before it's the SoC you need to replace, and as he said in the video, modular chips are not a thing yet
@@nachopascual96 they can make a module with 3 cameras instead of two and also use better sensors and lenses
I don't see much value in Framework upgrades - except storage and RAM like in other notebooks. Just sell and buy another, at least previous motherboard sold with working notebook - less waste.
@@cyano3d they have pretty good sensors already, I believe it's the software that limits performance. And yeah, adding a third camera could be a valid upgrade but then you lose the TOF sensor
@@nachopascual96 explain me who the hell needs a tof, a lidar is still understandable or maybe something niche like infrared even. But tof isn't supposed to take so much space which could have been a 3x or 5x tele
the smooth af animation at the beginning of the video of you grabbing the phone from the previous shot honestly blew me away, nicely done!
I've got the 4, as it finally offered the performance to make it long term viable in my eyes.
My biggest complaints after they fixed the camera software were the bulk and the lack of granularity in their modules.
They did fix both on this version plus a lot of extra stuff and though it's even more expensive now it's finally a device you can own without really feeling like you compromised i think.
I barely feel disadvantages compared to my wife's iPhone 13 as is.
The only complaints I have is they don't sell them or provide warranty where I live! I pretty quickly got used to the sound and vibration quality and although it sometimes gets slow and glitchy my Samsung did the same thing
@@NathamelCamel yeah well glitches are part of the Android experience i fear. You can mitigate some with performance and i feel like these phones are string enough to do that for a while.
Very grateful for this type of video. Great sources and well-made points in all directions! My biggest hope is that companies like Fairphone (and Framework to some extent) can noticably nudge consumer interest towards their directions, even if their sales aren't dominant. "Forcing" other manufacturers towards adopting even just some of their selling points instead of greenwashing bs is already a huge W relative to the size of the company.
Thanks for the excellent video. I like Fairphones transparency, it is the only way to combat skepticism.
The Germany based "Shift" company also has a "Fair" smartphone. Their newest model, releasing in August/September, the Shiftphone 8 will be modular, have removable back plate, you can repair anything with a screwdriver just like on Fairphone. Their Battery, while small (3850mH) is a multi purpose battery and are using it on multiple devices. The Phone will also be IP67 certified making it "on par" with most regular smart phones on terms of water and dust proofing. Maybe worth checking out.
I bought a Fairphone 4 at launch to replace a OnePlus 3 that hadn't had an update in 2 years, the only issues I had were the barebones stock OS being 2 versions behind and the camera software making photos look very smudged. Switched to CalyxOS the moment they had a beta available and haven't had a problem since. The plastic back broke after a year of clumsiness finally caught up, it was trivially easy to repair and the spare battery I bought with it came in clutch on recent holiday. If you don't need a top of the line powerful phone I highly recommend getting one.
Here’s the problem with fairphone for me:
- enthousiasts and tech nerds will need more power in less than 5 years, to run commonly used apps and they will need a camera upgrade
- How often does someone replace their camera ? Especially a mediocre one compared to today’s phones. So that’s not a good selling point
- People that could use it (grandmas, people that don’t use their phones often), might as well use an entry level phone for a fraction of the price, and they can last nearly as long.
I think Fairphones mediocre sales success illustrate something we've known all along.
People are unwilling to trade quality for sustainability. Selling sustainability only works if it's coupled with quality, e.g. people are willing to pay more for organic food, but only if they believe it to taste better or be more healthy. If you walk through a grocery store you can tell that basically all organic products are marketed as premium offerings.
The only way to reliably increase the sustainability of consumption is via regulation, be it setting standards, taxing unsustainable practices or at the very least make sustainability price competitive with subsidies.
This 🆙
The problem is the price, 600+ dollars for a subpar product without a headphone jack is complete madness, if they were interested in more than just pandering to rich hipsters they could have simply made a cheap removable battery phone with a recycled plastic chassis, heaphone jack and shitty camera and bob's your uncle now you haave a 200 dollar phone that is gonna sell like hotcakes
@@Madeguydo Making sustainable products comes with a lot of fixed costs per item sold, e.g. the extra cost of more sustainable materials for the battery and magnets and the extra wages to fairly pay workers to assemble the phone, etc.
What you would end up with would be a $200 phone sold for $400. That sounds even less appealing.
@@ymi_yugy3133 For you maybe, but it would make the product more accessible for poorer markets and people who pay a lot more for electronics, and accessibility is way more fair than what is going on with fairphones now.
It may be a surprise to most but in places like south america electronics cost about double compared to north america, and usually (aside from china) most non-western countries have a harder time having fair pricing on their consumer goods.
@@ymi_yugy3133That’s kinda ass, I get being eco friendly phone, but that’s the last thing I think about when shopping the only thing I care about is my money is being spent on a good phone.
Their current strategy seems to be guilt tripping consumers and making hardware expensive... and removing headphone jacks while making new fairbuds..
I tried using the Fairphone 4 last year, I found it annoyingly slow. Had to swap it out, which is a shame I really want a phone like this. The 5 seems a lot better so next time I'm getting a phone I will give Fairphone a try.
Use pixel 8 ! 7 year of software support will be enough
@@Sahanawaj_ yea let's do that, Google is famously known for keeping services alive
Honestly a lot of that is the fault of "lazy" software developers not having the incentives to make smaller and faster apps, and unnecessary features.
@@Sahanawaj_ I ended up getting a Pixel 6. Needed a cheaper phone that could support a degoogled OS.
@@chewu I also was considering a Fairphone 4 two years ago, but it wasn't quite there yet for me. So I got a Pixel 6 Pro. Sadly, mine has a very annoying screen issue and weak bluetooth connectivity. I hope yours will work well as long as possible. Because of my phone's issues, I already have to look into replacing it, and I'm torn between the Fairphone 5 and a Pixel 8. The ability to use my phone as long as possible is my biggest priority, for both sustainability and convenience. Not sure if the Fairphone's repairability or the Pixel's powerful hardware and comparatively long support is the better way to get there. But buying a Fairphone also sends a clear signal to the world and supports a company with an awesome vision and fair production.
Everyone is so concerned about the environment, meanwhile most people buying HUGE SUVs for cruising around. Burning scary amount of fuel and consuming all the space in cities. Expecially in the US.
If Fairphone starts losing the 'repairability' market to other competitors (which to be clear is a really good thing), maybe they could shift to an 'upgradeability' model of marketing, similar to Frameworks. Especially if they can convince Qualcomm to design modular phone chips, but even without maybe they could provide options for not just 'repairable', but upgradeable screens, cameras etc.
I think they would first need to standardize how the components go together before they can offer upgradability. Afaict you cannot upgrade the fairphone 4 to the fairphone 5 for example, as they improved the design to reduce 'the penalty'.
Tho you _can_ buy a fairphone 5 and send your fairphone 4 back.
@@fuseteam fairphone users: fair phone is so sustainable
Also the same fairphone users: ow fairphone 5 come out, time to swap away my FP4 for FP5
and shifting to motherboard seller just like PC market...
Great option for people wanting modularity, repairability, and longevity. Sustainability is great, but a better option honestly is buying a phone second-hand. Currently I'm using a Samsung Note20 Ultra, it cost me only about 400€ used with a charger and a warranty. You may not get the newest SW updates, but an older flagship phone will most often outperform a new mid-range one and may even get more security updates.
The best option is ofcourse a second hand Fairphone.
Just because someone else paid full price for the exploitation doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Peachiness aside. Performance simply isn't the focal point of the phone.
The questions for the consumer is, do you support the ideals enough for the price and does it do what you need it to do. If either fails, this phone simply wasn't even targeted at you.
The money you spent to get that used phone contributed to the owner getting a new phone.
The way to break the vicious cycle is to stop getting these consumer scams that are designed to only last 2-3 years as Marton said and as evidence blatantly shows.
@@weird-guy most people don't indeed, as indicated by the small marketshare fairphone has. And objectively from a moral standpoint, it should be more.
Very well put together and interesting video. I had no idea ICs were so environmentally intensive! I was sure batteries were going to be the biggest problem, i was stunned to see ICs be so much worse.
the important thing i realised recently was that now that i first time bought an iphone there are actually better alternatives like a fairphone, and im speaking more about privacy focus and support or how many years the os will get updates.
Thanks for the overview! I have been looking to get one and have a had a lot of consideration about it. The price is certainly tough for my budget, but most cheaper alternatives seem like they'll be e-waste in just 2-3 years. I think it also comes down to how you think about it: if your comparison is how to get the most phone out of the least money, then it's not the best choice. If you think of it as getting a phone + making a charitable investment into the betterment of the workers' lives, then there's nothing like it.
It's not charity. It's the right thing to do. When you pay your employees a fair wage, that's not charity, right? But when you don't do that, you are essentially stealing from them. Not you specifically, rather "you" in general that includes myself. I am currently using a Realme 1 (Oppo), which I am confident that didn't have a thought of "fairness" in mind when they made it. A phone that barely costed me 130 USD lasting 5+ years is quite a miracle. I have been careful with the device too, but nothing over the board.
Having said that, I wish to get a Fair Phone too next. It will be considerably more expensive than what I want to spend on a phone. But at the same time, it will send a message that consumers care about these things and that they are willing to spend more on devices that are made more sustainably.
I can live with the price, because it's a "buy once, cry once" kind of situation. However, the phone not having a headphone jack is a major turn off for me. It will render all my wired headphones useless immediately and I will have to buy wireless ones. I like the comfort of wired headphones.
While their phones are indeed pricier, it's important to take into account that they're more expensive because they're fairer, but especially, because they enable you to keep your phone for longer, in the long run you can actually save money
@@ArunBasilLal I agree 100% with the fairness/not charity thing you mentioned, couldn't have found better words for it! And while using your phone as long as possible and buying a used phone instead of a new one might be almost as sustainable as switching to a new Fairphone, this doesn't do anything to support fair production. Using a Fairphone sends a clear signal to the industry, it supports a company that is trying hard to change things for the better, and it's a statement that's visible to the people around you, it can be a conversation starter and make more people aware of the current issues in the consumer electronics industry. Regarding the missing headphone jack: I get why people want it, I used to be one of them. But you can still get an USB to 3.5mm adaptor from Fairphone and other vendors, so no need to switch to wireless headphones.
@@VeitLehmann Thank you for the acknowledgement. The lack of headphone jack is a turn off not just because of the lack of workarounds, but because it's something the bigger brands started doing to push their wireless products. I wonder why Fair Phone never spoke about it, or if they did, I am not aware of their reasons.
@@weird-guy it's funny you bring up fashion, I think phones have further analog in that you can buy highly recycled, ethically made upmarket stuff for $$$, or you can go secondhand for a fraction of the price (if admittedly a lot more time and risk)
"Pretty respectable track record" is way too much of an understatement. Most Android devices manufactura like Samsung only give their devices 3 years of software support at best. 7+ years is insane, not to mention fairphones have notable community support.
Overall the actual fairness of these devices waaaay surpass any downsides.
love more fairphone coverage. my next phone will definitely will be a fairphone
Even before your video, I decided for myself to get the Fairphone 5 as a replacement for my Google Pixel 4a non 5G. I no longer have security or Android updates. The Fairphone does everything I want to do. Let's see how this will pan out.
Google received tons of praise for their announcement of 7 years of OS, features and security updates for the Pixel 8 phones, but Fair Phone has been doing it for like a decade already. Exceptional!!
"It certainly can't beat devices in it's price point but it's now completely usable." As if being completely usable wasn't the BAREST MINIMUM.
25 Euros... for a 0.5 euro piece of plastic. Wow, so much better than the fitted piece of glass that's also ridiculously overpriced
I've been using a Fairphone 4 for about 2 years now and while it's not the perfect phone it definitely works as a daily driver for someone who isn't a phone snob. The repairability is a huge plus as well for longevity.
For the last 10 years, I've been following one good strategy, I buy a flagship Samsung phone just before its end of supply, then keep it for 3 years, and do the same again.
Currently I don't have access to buy one of these devices, but if I had the option, I would buy just to fight the monopoly that big companies are managing to force on the market
Same here
At least the Fairphone 4 is available in North America via Murena, still no word on bringing the FP5 as far as I know however.
Agreed. I'd also like a bigger version is possible, as I have big hands and I find smaller phones often cramp them.
@@Sandact6 Dang I have the exact opposite issue, I really like my phone's 4" display and wouldn't like anything all that much larger.
@@notisac3149 Nothing wrong or bad about it persay, just a taste thing. Some people like larger phones, others want smaller ones. It's why I'm hoping for a bigger fairphone. Or failing that, just let me get an Ultra Galaxy with a swappable battery.
Same company that removed the headphone jack and started selling unrepairable wireless headphones...
For me the fairness is just a nice bonus. But this device can actually be repaired if you drop it, how awesome 🤩 Breaking a 1000+ euro device with no way to repair it is the worst. Too expensive repair is not an option people are generally willing to choose. Also, they support ungoogled roms officially while maintaining compatibility with most android apps, Fairphone is becoming semi mainstream among tech communities and good phone options without google or apple are extremely rare
In my opinion Fairphone is the best privacy phone there is! Privacy shouldn’t mean a compromise in the experience
The only real customer of Fairphone I could see is someone that constantly breaks their phones, only then does the cheaper repair cost makes any sense.
Been using Apple for over a decade and keep my devices for around 3 years before upgrading to a newer model. The batteries still have over 80% health after 3 years so never needed a removal battery.
Get 1 free screen replacement but didn’t have to use it once, I look after my devices. No other repairs needed.
Removable batteries are a scam, and are unnecessary as batteries last much longer now.
I’ve been following them since the first model and I’ve been waiting for them to bring it to the US the entire time. I’m really hoping they bring the 5 over here because it seems like such a great business model
The value is always horribly unfair. It just always makes way more sense to spend the money on a used flagship, so you get signficantly better specs for the same money and aren't buying a new unit (reduce REUSE recycle). The fairphones have always been overpriced and underpowered, and when you consider that buying a used phone is ALWAYS greener than buying a new one, you realize realize that the people that it's targeted to the most are the least likely people to buy it.
That industrial chip thing is very cool though. I do have to give them that.
I am so excited about fairphone coming to the US. My fold 4 is still functioning like a champ, so I am not making the switch now. But if my fold 4 fails, it is definitely my next go.
Their entire premise of being environmentally - friendly instantly fell apart for me when they removed the 3.5mm headphone jack and started selling non-repairable wireless buds. Allowing people to use their wired headphones is much more environmentally friendly considering that most wireless buds are non-repairable and the vast majority lithium-ion batteries are not recycled. You can use a dongle of course but that just makes you buy more accessories with dubious lifetimes. I know some people will say to "move on already" with the jack's removal but this isn't Samsung or Apple, their entire brand is based around promoting sustainability and this one move was a massive step back.
Just get an adapter for 10€ that you can use for all your future phones.
I would keep my current phone (currently on 5 years, hoping to get up to 10) for much longer if I could get just a replaceable battery and occasionally a replacement screen.
Also, if Fairphone could finally release their phones in Canada
The processor won't last for 10 years . Maybe 5
All it needs is a headphone jack and I'd certainly consider it if my €200 Samsung ever dies. I bought it because it has a dual SIM slot, as well as a SD card slot and a headphone jack - that list is my minimum requirements for any phone because they're all features I use regularly. Not having a headphone jack is a major environmental issue as it gives people no choice but to buy bluetooth earbuds, none of which I'm aware of provide any facility to replace the battery, pushing people to buy more of the same soon to be landfill when the batteries fail. This is by far the biggest issue with this product's environmental credentials, as the option for cheaper, more easily recyclable and more durable wired headphones is not available.
If you can tolerate custom ROMs for software security updates in lieu of manufacturer support, Sony’s Xperia line has a headphone jack, SD card, OLED, waterproofing.
@@gotoastal Can that still be bought new? I didn't think there was a high end phone with a jack plug around anymore from any manufacturer. I really liked the Sony Ericsson phones I used from before the smartphone era, the W810i Walkman phone particularly stands out.
My Vaio laptop is still going without any problems with nothing done to keep it relevant except a RAM upgrade and swapping the mechanical drive to SSD, 12 years after I bought it too come to think of it.
The Fairphone makes sense to me over any Samsung or Apple on the market. I love a product that is repairable, parts are reasonably priced, and parts are abundant currently which is nice for electronics. I also want to say the idea that Iphone users aren't really going to be the ones swapping to the Fairphone. I think since Android dwarfs Apple in the Global sell of phones and Android users are the target. I wished you did more Android comparisons instead of comparing to Apple for close to all of it since I know a couple people my brother included that's been waiting to buy one. If you look at the global phones sells the Fairphone will probably do well as time goes on especially the global phone market.
Software support kills phones first, not the hardware. There is no way to "eco consciously" buy a new phone
beautiful intro
If you compare the prices with Apple's, everything is cheaper.
However, to think that a back cover, a fragile piece of plastic, could cost me $25 already makes me rethink the affordability of fair phones. Moreover, the features are sub-standard for the price range.
Fairphone has lost a lot of my respect when they removed the headphone jack.
A phone of this girth has no excuse for not having one.
Forcing me to use Bluetooth inears without replaceable batteries is not very sustainable.
Not even their Bluetooth IEMs have replaceable batteries.
Anyone that tells me its for waterproofing and not to jump onto the bandwagon of selling Bluetooth peripherals with your device is just lying to themselves.
If their IEMs at least had replaceable batteries I would probably feel a bit better about it.
Having a sustainable phone is nice, but forcing me to use non sustainable peripherals sucks.
I should not have to give up my ability to use tech I already have when there is no good reason to do so.
You can use a USB 3.0 adaptor - it's not as bad or as clumsy as I'd intially assumed.
I agree with you though, shouldn't have removed headphone jack
@@Quicksilver-7791 While this is true, it also makes no sense to not have one, considering how much more space they have in this phone vs other phones.
Having to carry an adapter is very clumsy imo.
I want to be able to charge and use headphones at the same time.
This whole decision just goes against the principles Fairphone claims to hold and I find it frustrating.
I agree that it's silly to drop the headphone jack, but I think the anger around it is overblown. I'm considering getting one and if so will buy a connector for it. My current phone has a headphone jack and I've ruined a few plugs on my headphones from the cord getting pushed at an angle in my pocket. So while I would have liked a headphone jack, it's such an easy fix that it really changes nothing about whether I'll buy it.
@@weird-guy this somewhat depends on the dongle, but in my experience my headphones ARE louder on the integrated aux on my phone than non powered/battery DAC+amp dongles.
With my FP4, I can trust that the manufacturer actually wants to support my phone as long as possible and isn't just forced to. It also means that I won't have as much pre-installed garbage on my phone compared to Samsung and the like.
The only complaint apart from rattly speakers and crappy night photos is the screen protector sold by Fairphone. I'm on my fourth protector now, as the others broke even by mild impacts.
I have a Fairphone 4 and I am a bit mad, that the company decides to bring out the FP5 instead of fixing major issues on the FP4. For example many screens have a ghost touch issue, where it registers touch input without the user inputing that. Also in a new android update the display has a bug where when it gets hot it dims down to 80 percent brightness. But this happens way to early because of a software bug. It took them over half a year to fix it (I'm not sure if its fixed now, I got tired of it).
Oh, interesting. For me, the ghost touch issue and screen dimming when too hot were fixed with the latest updates.
Its a Fairphone if it has touch issues just replace the screen
@@xeetzer5478 I have iode OS installed at the moment, I think I have to wait a bit, but I guess it's looking like a solution is on the horizon, thanks for the info!
@@edd9581 Guess what? I already did. It was better, but now it's starting again, so definitely not (only) a hardware problem...
Fairphone was made for one reason, to push other manufacturers to produce more sustainable phones. If that's the case now for Apple, then Fairphone was a complete success!
The one fact they removed headphone jack to sell their earbuds and make more waste tells me there's something fishy with them. The price is way higher than competitors with similar specs. I wouldn't bet on them.
The pricing is higher overall most likely because they're a smaller company who can't count on the same volumes, and that they're trying to source their materials more sustainably/humanely. And that just filling the thing with glue like the Giants do is the cheap option for water proofing.
Now that they removed the headphone jack however, totally agree with you, kinda scummy especially for their branding of being sustainable.
The solution to these problems isn't competition, it's regulation. Make the law FORCE device manufacturers to stop making bad phones.
I think that to be able to pull it off (FAIR). They have to have a one design-fits-all all where users can then change the internals so they don't have to buy a whole new phone to upgrade. So it is repairable and upgradeable. Then don't release a new updated design but an updated internals and software that comes along with it and just use the old phone body. less waste and better for the environment.
Like if you want better performance just trade in your old processor and swap it with a new one since they're into modular. Then run an OTA update to make the phone run on the new hardware.
It's kinda impossible due to how Qualcomm handles firmware + How Android handles device driver via blob driver. Unless fairphone able to always ship every image of their OS with every driver combination imaginable (before mentioning QA for those devices) AND they somehow gets Qualcomm to give them the grace of having actual source code for the firmware of their chips then... No.
It's is practically impossible.
I think the only REAL problem is the price, just not competitive enough and not justified for the hardware in the device (like, you can reclace "anything", but cant upgrade nothing), with this specs, only the "green" part of the project is the seller point, making them a not desirable smarthphone (premium price, not premium experience), apart from that, there are some obvious controversies like not having a headphone jack ("you can replace your batteries if they got bad, buy will ever need to use bluetooth headphones/tws with non replaceable batteryes") and not having a open source software, ok, "upgrades for 8 years", but, where is the option to replace or modify your device software as much as you like, this would be fair.
The envyromental friendly part (recicled things or whatever), no one actually cares, in my opinion, if they want to make a green product, and claim to change the world, they need to be competitive, with this price, they not and, even if you can replace everything like cameras or whatever, apart from the external parts, screen and battery, is most likely any other component will never fail and with any "chinese smarthphone" of the last years, you can always buy this parts from aliexpress for cheaper then "40-100 euro" (this price is cheapest then apple, but not cheapest then the competition), ofc in "chinese smarthphones" this parts are "not that easy" to replace, but if they are cheaper (and the phones have better hardware for good price),it is worth the trouble.
Idk, what i mean is, the idea is in parts "green controversial", ignoring the big picture and not competitive, to have a real impact, they would need to be at a "fair" price too, if you really care for the enviroment just have a used (ou new 300-400) smarthphone and use the rest of the money to really make a difference, this phone with this cost/benefit will ever be a niche product, dont having a real significant impact on the planet, if the ONLY point of the company is making money, cool, with what they are offering they will have a small but consistent slice of the cake, but if they really think what they state, not even close yet
There is another modular/sustainable phone maker called shift phones and they are from Germany.Could be interesting to talk a look at them and maybe cover them.
Appreciate their effort. I have been thinking of late why the phone manufacturers burden us by forcing us to buy a new phone every 3-4 years. Instead of going for a new phone, I bought a used phone recently. Came across this video today. Would definitely buy a FairPhone once its available in my country even if it cost more than an used phone (iPhone/Samsung) solely for their effort and consideration for the common man, the factory worker, the miner, the planet and the nature.
The social status is something people buy the iPhones and Samsung. If the consumer is smart and not a show off, they will go for a phone like this and save themselves lot of money.
Damn, how do you go so hard with this videos! Truely a fantastic video that answered literally all my questions about whether Fairphone is as good as they sound. Definitely gonna pick one up once my current phone shits the bed
I really hate this trend in YT where the clickbait title asks a question and yet the video does not provide a solid answer. THe very least you could do is put links in the description for viewers to follow up on their own.
I'm sure there's a market for devices like these, though there is definitely something to be said about getting a new toy from time to time as well. Not that smartphones haven't gotten pretty similar now, but sometimes even a new color or a new design keeps things fresh. Perhaps something this company could invest in, since they're modular. Is to add different colored back plates.
ugh, no US release is unfortunate. this sounds like an ideal device but cant see anything saying it will get a US release even 9 months later
With every iteration the Fairphone gets closer to being in my pocket. This latest spec is sooooo close. That said, not much tempts me at the moment. The 7t Pro McLaren is still my favourite device ever with its massive spec and display with no notch or cut outs. With every year I keep the Oneplus the less impact it has on the environment....so I'll wait. But the Fairphone is pretty nice for sure👍👍
I found it insane people accept to pay 1k in a BAG that cost less than 200 to produce but finds a 1k smartphone expensive.
Most people don't buy bags for 1k.
And I think the problem is also that the people who can afford the fairphone can get a phone with a better camera, more performance, etc. for the same price, so except a few people who are very concerned about fairness, environment, etc. would rather buy these other phones if they can afford them.
God this is so well researched. I love your work so much, man.
FP4 user here (in use since 01/01/2023).
I consider myself a heavy user, my FP4 battery lasts at least 15h with 7h SoT which is enough for an average day for me. But boy, using it as a navigation device walking around in a city you´re not familiar of, kills the battery within 3h.
Oh yeah. And: Camera: I rarely use it and if I have to i shoot raw (DNG) with OpenCamera. Because in my opinon stock camera jpegs are absolute rubbish.
Do i miss the 3.5mm headphone jack? YES! Because speaking of longevity. I can´t use my beloved AKG415 with this smartphone cause these headphones are 7 years old and wired. Yes, I am aware of USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. But this "solution" isn´t a proper solution.
It's fairer than most. That's extremely, absolutely unfair is how they won't ship to Cyprus even though Cyprus is in Europe. Those Dutch are unbelievable
100% its on your government and their regulation lmao
Isn't cyprus a warzone anyway ?
I'd try one but I am very stubborn and will continue to use phone's with an audio jack until there are none left
Very nice report on the state of the Fairphone. I love that they really do as much as they can ... sort of. Especially the part that Fairphone is NOT too expensive, but others are too cheap .. is what hits hard. Makes you ask "how can they manage to be so cheap?"
Well, your analysis about scale is of course the primary factor of offering a product for such a price. Scale means you can source components and dictate manufacturing, but there is more to it .. the part where others, no matter how much greenwashing they do ... are simply not "fair".
Why is Fairphone locked in a small scale though?
In my opinion (purely from someone who studied object design as part of her master of education study) - it is partly about poor decisions in terms of design language.
If i offer anything (furniture, car, fashion .. or a phone) that is meant to last long, it should "speak the language". A good example is always fashion. There is "fast fashion" (which implies more than being only seasonal) .. and there is classics. To simplify, classics are more often defined by a certain minimalism .. but not just minimalism, but minimalism with its own character.
To offer a (in my opinion) very good design language - i would point at the utterly overpriced Sony flagships (Xperia 1 series). These phones have large top and bottom bezels, they put the front cameras and sensors there. But they do not look "old". They look "classy".
For the back, i would point at the Pixel 2 and 3 .. 4, too in a way. Those phones were known for making EXCELLENT photos .. despite having almost no camera bump (except the 4) and only ONE camera!
Why is that relevant? Because Fairphone kind of follows a silly trend with its cameras. Not only do 3 cameras need a lot more materials - but they also do not offer anything substantial to the user. I might very well be projecting. I did have a Nokia 9 (7 cameras) and currently a Note 20 Ultra (3 cameras) ... but i only ever use one camera, the main one. Sure, there are people that really NEED a 10x zoom (not judging) or an super-ultra-wide .. but i wager that the vast majority of people can do with a simple single lense.
So in terms of design, i would go with ONE camera on the back with no bump, a classic screen with top and bottom bezels .. that look cleaner and better than any notch (even a dynamic island nonsense) - that would instantly make the phone look much more minimalist and classic (classic in a good way). I would offer "daring" colours for the backplate. (although that IS a problem. Sourcing many variations for a plastic backplate runs counter to the idea of sustainability - but it is a compromise between being seen and not). Having no camera bump would set this phone apart from the competition already - as a "no-nonsense" competitor.
Additionally, Fairphone could need a good logo. Nothing garish like plastering your brand over the entire back (Pocophone) .. but more than just a font. So the sweetspot is indeed Apple. Having a recognizable logo makes consumers literally running advertisement for you.
Another aspect would also be materials. I know that aluminium is very environmentally friendly .. if recycled. But i wonder if stainless steel might be better. Steel is more weighty, weight is associated with quality (until it is too heavy). If stainless steel has the same environmental impact as aluminium, i would go with steel, because consumers react more positive to steel.
Very interesting write up, thank you for that! I think Framework did this very well with their 13 inch laptop. It's a very classic, subdued laptop that still looks classy - timeless imo. They have a logo that represents their brand, the cause, and is still very recognizable. And the laptop got very competitive to even Apple with the newest addition of AMD CPUs.
Honestly, I'd love these two companies working together and attacking the ecosystem effect Apple and Samsung have while profiting of scaling off of the other brand's customers.
Sony phones are a real phenomenon, not just because of their "classic" design, but also because they offer things only old school enthusiasts care about. Expandable storage and a 3.5mm jack. Both features increase the longevity of the device or other devices incredibly, because you can just upgrade the storage while keeping the phone or fall back to cabled headphones when your wireless buds eventually fail. Also the phones are not made in China, and while Sony doesn't make big announcements about sustainability or fairness, this at least diversifies production.
Sadly, Sony completely kills the attractiveness of their phones by not providing updates for longer. Even just security updates for 4 years would make them a great option, since Android updates don't really create a feeling of want anymore. But combining the high price with a noticeably shorter update period vs competitors is a really bad move imo.
Well written and to the point. Also as it was already pointed out in the video, you can just buy an old flagship.
No matter how good their intentions are, they need a marketing team that knows its stuff.
I like the concept of a phone with swappable modules, but for me those phones aren't powerful enough, a phone like that should come with the best flagship chipset at release so it's actually usable for a long time, nobody wants a phone that could be repaired easily but also is just unusable after 2 years of use because it's just too slow.
I think a fair phone is necessary as a wake up call to the capitalists but I have been running my 2016 model for 7 years now so I am doing quite well for sustainability lmao
yea. removing 3.5mm and releasing their own earphone is so "sustainable" lmao
have been using a fairphone 4 for almost 2 years now, apart from them accidently doxxing me on twitter when i was trying to contact them about replacement parts, never had any issues with them. the phone is great as a everyday device.
Such projects generally tend to die due to lack of mass adoption, no excitement in diversified markets and lack of money to keep pushing through and waiting out the hard times.
These projects actually need mass adoption which could be the highest catalyst for them to explode as a brand. Also these products are the ones that shouldn’t back down on price. Considering that their devices last 5 years at an average with warranty, the price they command is really justified. But generally these type of projects die due to competition and price wars.
Shame its not available in India. Not saying India would be a great market for such a device but i can imagine a niche user base for this device here too.
Parts can be replaced, but performance cannot be upgraded. In the end, you have to buy a new model.
Fairest phone imo is a refurbished device.
yes and no, yes because you don't contaminate at all buying a second hand phone, no because the lifetime that second hand phone has to offer may be way less than what this phone and it's likely you may have to change your phone sooner.
Fairphone in 10 years: You can plug in different parts like lego's. If you need more RAM, you can just put on another Lego and boom... Or a new CPU is coming out as a little Lego brick to only throw away your old little brick to upgrade just the CPU.
My next phone will likely be a fairphone. I'm hoping to use my s9+ for as long as I can. It's still a great phone and runs the latest version of android well with lineage