Thanks for making this video. I like your detailed and honest review. Considering I have been using my phone for 6 and a half year, I still think my next phone will be fairphone 5 or 6.
Fairphone should really go the Framework route and offer upgradable components rather than LTS ones, it doesn't matter that the LTS chip will get 10+ years of support, if its already slow *now,* most ppl prob wont be using it in 5 years, and since they didn't make parts cross-compatible, everything will become e-waste.
I've owned my own fairphome 5 since mid October, and I thought I'd weigh in on some of the opinions in this video. My usage is social media, and lots of media consumption. I got my phone with their official case, and been using it since day one. Yeaaaah the recess to reach the fingerprint sensor is kinda ass. But I've been getting used to it. But the sensor definitely misreads often. Though it's hard to tell wether it's a bad sensor, or the case preventing me from touching it properly. I never used the phone naked. The speakers are very loud imo, and they compare well enough to my 4 year old phone. I'd call it average quality, with good loudness. Funny how the bezel issue is mentioned, because literally all reviewers point out how they're thicker than other phones. But I agree, I sometimes fatfinger something too. But this isn't a fairphone issue. It's a modern phone design issue. The clicky volume buttons are very nice. The buttons are a bit wiggly though. The edges ARE sharp. I kinda hate it, but what can you do. The adaptive brightness is very much awful. Fully agree with everything said. Coming from a phone that lasted 4 hours on a charge, I can't not be biased when I praise the Fairphone for a full day battery. It drains very fast when you make the phone work, but it's also very solid when you just browse and scroll and watch videos. Very big range of battery life. Performance is fineeeeeee. Sure its a midrange phone, but it's modern enough. Hearthstone plays at 90fps, fortnite runs well. But my phone definietly heats up decently when I make it work. The camera, is the most fine camera that ever fine camerad. Pics are sharp enough. I LOVE how fast the auto focus is. Though I fully agree with the Internet, that they have to bump the saturation up just a little, because all pics the phone take, are juuuust a bit more faded, when you compare it to any other phone. They lack punchy colors. But again. It's. Fine. It's stock android. Yes. It is very much an android. It's. Fine. Though the option to buy it with a google-less OS is very nice for someone probably. Yes, the case is pretty big. It nullifies the camera bump though! And yes, it's a terrible value. You get more betterer phones for this price. But considering I would have kept using my 4 year old phone, if I could replace that ass battery, I guess I've reached the point where I'm fine with less. Just let me buy an other battery in 3-4 years time, and keep me up to date software wise. As long as it can play TH-cam, run discord, and open emails, I'll be happy.
Thanks for this. While our individual efforts matter, we should be pushing our legislators so all phones can last longer and use less critical materials.
I got the Fairphone 5 at launch because my previous phone had a battery life of something like 20 minutes. So far the experience has been fairly good: Using a case gives the phone a good grip and makes it comfortable to hold. The size is something to get used to though. I can't do as many actions with one hand as I could with my old phone which was smaller. This is less comfortable. I got the first party case for free because of my early order. I would however *not* recommend anyone to buy that case! It is not only way too expensive, but it also doesn't have a lip which means the phone rests on the screen when placed faced down and if dropped on the corner it would probably slide off instead of protecting the phone. It also makes the fingerprint sensor difficult to access. I will get another case eventually. Screen protectors are also overpriced, but good third party options are hard to come by. I'm still searching. In the end, I'll be using CalyxOS for the system, and gcam for the cameras. I've already tried out the latter which has been quite good. For me that makes this phone: kinda expensive with a nice design, decent cameras, no headphone jack, unwieldy sized, privacy respecting, repairable and supported for a long time. It's definitely not the perfect phone, but there's nothing that could replace it for me.
for a small channel this was a great and honest review. just bought one, the price is a bit high tho, but i dont change phones that often and 8+years for software support and no worries if/when screen cracks. Also feels good to support a good company that also gives you the option to change OS, its really neat. I have been rolling on linageos, works good, just problem with the mobile network data on the phone, cant change the APN, it refuses to save. So ill try stock at first with FP5
A phone without 5G that you are supposed to use for 10+ years would have been a bad decision, though. 5G is superior in many ways, not just bandwidth. The cost of the phone is not that high if you consider the relatively cheap replacement parts. A fair comparison to the iPhone for example would be to add Apple Care to the price, which is another 200€ (and only lasts 2 years, and you still have to pay at least 30€ for repairs). The Fairphone is one of the cheapest phones if you add at least one display-damage and a battery replacement during its entire lifetime. Repairs are not even considered for most phones after 3 years. Great review!
The FP5 supports 5G, I remember there was even a Software update that fixed a random crash that could occur, when switching from 4G only mode (which is enabled by default) to 5G mode.
I've been looking for a replacement for my rather aged iPhone SE (2016). I really like the long-term software support and ease of repair because I really do want a phone that'd last 10+ years. I would however miss the headphone jack and small size as I'd be going from a 4" display (10.16cm) to one that's over 6.4" (16.25cm)... I had also strongly considered the Asus Zen Phone 10 for its small size or the Motorola Z4 due to its great accessories, but my concerns over the short-term software support are quite possibly deal breakers for me. I'm just stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. While I understand that a small phone would be financially risky for a small company like Fairphone to commit to, one can dream lol. One criticism I do have of FP is that there is a lack of backwards compatible parts; you cannot swap components like the charging port nor the cameras between the FP4 and FP5. I hope that going forward they will be able to unify parts of the design to continue using your old screen, cameras, charging port, speakers & such, like what they did between the FP3 and FP3+.
WTF? Bad fingerprint sensor? I own my fp5 for over 9 month now and I can tell that the fingerprint sensor isn't bad! Actually, I like the position as well as the performance of it. I never had problems unlocking it. It works much better than on Samsung Galaxy S20, where the sensor was indeed a pain
Currently daily driving a Pixel 7a. It costs 2 times less, original parts are available from ifixit (including guides for repair). Good brightness, comfortable to hold, display finger print scanner (which is a hit or miss), nice speakers, camera is in the top 10. Most importantly - Graphene OS (if you are into privacy and custom ROMs). The phone still makes me happy and absolutely delivers. Currently its also greatly priced as its been live for a few years, might be discontinued soon, but I don't think there is anything else on the market that I would recommend. I'm not a very big phone person, i only use it for greyjay and signal, so can't really give much on performance. Hope this helps :^)
I really don't recommend fairphone 5. Their update for the operating system recently came out and its litterally a step backwards when it comes to functionality. They mentioned that "audio can now be lower" as an upgrade smh ....
Thanks for making this video. I like your detailed and honest review. Considering I have been using my phone for 6 and a half year, I still think my next phone will be fairphone 5 or 6.
Fairphone should really go the Framework route and offer upgradable components rather than LTS ones, it doesn't matter that the LTS chip will get 10+ years of support, if its already slow *now,* most ppl prob wont be using it in 5 years, and since they didn't make parts cross-compatible, everything will become e-waste.
I've owned my own fairphome 5 since mid October, and I thought I'd weigh in on some of the opinions in this video.
My usage is social media, and lots of media consumption.
I got my phone with their official case, and been using it since day one. Yeaaaah the recess to reach the fingerprint sensor is kinda ass. But I've been getting used to it. But the sensor definitely misreads often. Though it's hard to tell wether it's a bad sensor, or the case preventing me from touching it properly. I never used the phone naked.
The speakers are very loud imo, and they compare well enough to my 4 year old phone. I'd call it average quality, with good loudness.
Funny how the bezel issue is mentioned, because literally all reviewers point out how they're thicker than other phones. But I agree, I sometimes fatfinger something too. But this isn't a fairphone issue. It's a modern phone design issue.
The clicky volume buttons are very nice. The buttons are a bit wiggly though.
The edges ARE sharp. I kinda hate it, but what can you do.
The adaptive brightness is very much awful. Fully agree with everything said.
Coming from a phone that lasted 4 hours on a charge, I can't not be biased when I praise the Fairphone for a full day battery. It drains very fast when you make the phone work, but it's also very solid when you just browse and scroll and watch videos. Very big range of battery life.
Performance is fineeeeeee. Sure its a midrange phone, but it's modern enough. Hearthstone plays at 90fps, fortnite runs well. But my phone definietly heats up decently when I make it work.
The camera, is the most fine camera that ever fine camerad. Pics are sharp enough. I LOVE how fast the auto focus is. Though I fully agree with the Internet, that they have to bump the saturation up just a little, because all pics the phone take, are juuuust a bit more faded, when you compare it to any other phone. They lack punchy colors. But again. It's. Fine.
It's stock android. Yes. It is very much an android. It's. Fine. Though the option to buy it with a google-less OS is very nice for someone probably.
Yes, the case is pretty big. It nullifies the camera bump though!
And yes, it's a terrible value. You get more betterer phones for this price. But considering I would have kept using my 4 year old phone, if I could replace that ass battery, I guess I've reached the point where I'm fine with less. Just let me buy an other battery in 3-4 years time, and keep me up to date software wise.
As long as it can play TH-cam, run discord, and open emails, I'll be happy.
Jesucristo te ama muchísimas, arrepiéntete de tus pecados y ten perdón de pecados en Su Nombre
Thanks for this. While our individual efforts matter, we should be pushing our legislators so all phones can last longer and use less critical materials.
Together we are making the change.
Thank you for your comment, it brought me a smile :)
I got the Fairphone 5 at launch because my previous phone had a battery life of something like 20 minutes.
So far the experience has been fairly good: Using a case gives the phone a good grip and makes it comfortable to hold. The size is something to get used to though. I can't do as many actions with one hand as I could with my old phone which was smaller. This is less comfortable.
I got the first party case for free because of my early order. I would however *not* recommend anyone to buy that case! It is not only way too expensive, but it also doesn't have a lip which means the phone rests on the screen when placed faced down and if dropped on the corner it would probably slide off instead of protecting the phone. It also makes the fingerprint sensor difficult to access. I will get another case eventually.
Screen protectors are also overpriced, but good third party options are hard to come by. I'm still searching.
In the end, I'll be using CalyxOS for the system, and gcam for the cameras. I've already tried out the latter which has been quite good. For me that makes this phone: kinda expensive with a nice design, decent cameras, no headphone jack, unwieldy sized, privacy respecting, repairable and supported for a long time. It's definitely not the perfect phone, but there's nothing that could replace it for me.
for a small channel this was a great and honest review.
just bought one, the price is a bit high tho, but i dont change phones that often and 8+years for software support and no worries if/when screen cracks.
Also feels good to support a good company that also gives you the option to change OS, its really neat.
I have been rolling on linageos, works good, just problem with the mobile network data on the phone, cant change the APN, it refuses to save.
So ill try stock at first with FP5
Fairphones team is very small. It is great what they achieved
Now they do have repairable earbuds! Called Fairbuds
Thank you for this review
A phone without 5G that you are supposed to use for 10+ years would have been a bad decision, though.
5G is superior in many ways, not just bandwidth.
The cost of the phone is not that high if you consider the relatively cheap replacement parts. A fair comparison to the iPhone for example would be to add Apple Care to the price, which is another 200€ (and only lasts 2 years, and you still have to pay at least 30€ for repairs).
The Fairphone is one of the cheapest phones if you add at least one display-damage and a battery replacement during its entire lifetime.
Repairs are not even considered for most phones after 3 years.
Great review!
The FP5 supports 5G, I remember there was even a Software update that fixed a random crash that could occur, when switching from 4G only mode (which is enabled by default) to 5G mode.
I've been looking for a replacement for my rather aged iPhone SE (2016). I really like the long-term software support and ease of repair because I really do want a phone that'd last 10+ years. I would however miss the headphone jack and small size as I'd be going from a 4" display (10.16cm) to one that's over 6.4" (16.25cm)...
I had also strongly considered the Asus Zen Phone 10 for its small size or the Motorola Z4 due to its great accessories, but my concerns over the short-term software support are quite possibly deal breakers for me. I'm just stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment. While I understand that a small phone would be financially risky for a small company like Fairphone to commit to, one can dream lol.
One criticism I do have of FP is that there is a lack of backwards compatible parts; you cannot swap components like the charging port nor the cameras between the FP4 and FP5. I hope that going forward they will be able to unify parts of the design to continue using your old screen, cameras, charging port, speakers & such, like what they did between the FP3 and FP3+.
It's so tragic the ZenFone 9 and 10 we're basically impossible to recommend because of their software promises or lack thereof.
WTF? Bad fingerprint sensor? I own my fp5 for over 9 month now and I can tell that the fingerprint sensor isn't bad! Actually, I like the position as well as the performance of it. I never had problems unlocking it. It works much better than on Samsung Galaxy S20, where the sensor was indeed a pain
I like your style, thanks for the review
Waiting for 6
Fingerprint sensors are fake security anyways
I like your comments, what annoys me most is the missing headphone jack. Its counter to what they claim, one more fn adapter to loose
They just released the most repairable Bluetooth buds at least.
Other than fairphone what flagship android phone do you recommend, repairability wise?
Currently daily driving a Pixel 7a. It costs 2 times less, original parts are available from ifixit (including guides for repair). Good brightness, comfortable to hold, display finger print scanner (which is a hit or miss), nice speakers, camera is in the top 10. Most importantly - Graphene OS (if you are into privacy and custom ROMs). The phone still makes me happy and absolutely delivers. Currently its also greatly priced as its been live for a few years, might be discontinued soon, but I don't think there is anything else on the market that I would recommend. I'm not a very big phone person, i only use it for greyjay and signal, so can't really give much on performance. Hope this helps :^)
the phone is so expensive comapre to other smartphone in the market
I really don't recommend fairphone 5. Their update for the operating system recently came out and its litterally a step backwards when it comes to functionality. They mentioned that "audio can now be lower" as an upgrade smh ....