Great news. The more sustainable options the better. Hopefully it will do well
Ohhh, I go between Europe and the US a lot and own one of these. Hopefully this means US companies will offer more support for the fairphone 4!
This is pretty exciting. I wish it would have happened sooner though. It was at the top of my list when I was looking at phones last year, but it was still unavailable when I decided to go with the Pixel 7.
I have a Fairphone 3 for several years now and if it dies I will probably get another Fairphone. The camera could be better but I’m alright with it. The audio is broken when recording concerts. But I actually like my phone and it’s pretty robust too.
I have a Fairphone 4 and I’m very happy with it. Strong recommend.
That’s a step in the right direction, hopefully in the future phones will be more like computers, where you can buy parts and build your own. At least that’d be my dream.
Well not all computers can be upgraded unfortunately. Looking at you MacBooks with SSDs welded to the motherboard…
Well, that’s not a PC, it’s a Mac :P
There aren’t lots of compact devices that are upgradable, even on windows. Most use soldered ram and flash storage.
Then maybe it’s time we changed that!
It’s already happening:
Fairphone was literally my top choice before I bought my current smartphone, until I found out I couldn’t get it. So this is great, hopefully they still sell it whenever I update my phone (which won’t happen for a few years). Several other people have already commented something along these lines, but I’m just happy about it.
Dangit Fairphone where were you 6 months ago when I was looking for a new phone.
I love my Fairphone 3. This is great news.
Also interesting that it ships with /e/OS!
/e/OS is a de-googled version Android. Most Google services are replaced with Nextcloud integration, but somehow all apps are still available through a software store that bridges to the Play Store while letting you browse for free apps anonymously. Google Play Services are replaced with the wonderful microG.
I used it on my Fairphone 3 for around half a year, and for the most part it was a very pleasant experience. And whoever doesn’t like it can of course (re)install stock Android. :)
the most sustainable smartphone is the one that you already have
Funny coincidence: Fairphone has a blog post titled exactly that. And they say the same thing on their shop page. You’re going to replace your phone eventually, but Fairphone is the only phone company I know trying to stretch that out.
yay!!!
I love Fairphone’s mission, but no headphone jack equals no purchase from me.
Does anyone know why they don’t have a headphone jack?
The fact that even they don’t include one actually makes me respect the existing phone manufacturers a lot more. I always assumed that Apple did it to sell airpods, and then the others did it just to copy Apple or sell their own dongles/headphones.
But if even an organization like this chose not to include one, then maybe not including it really does make the phone a lot smaller or cheaper or waterproof or whatever.
That being said, I can’t believe cars don’t have aux ports anymore. Surely the cost and size isn’t significant on that scale.
Disclaimer: both for cars and my phone, I’m generally happy with Bluetooth. But I want the option to use a headphone jack without needing to buy or remember a dongle. It’s insidious because the kinds of things that you would need a headphone jack for are uncommon enough that you won’t get into the habit of bringing a dongle for them (e.g. road trips, full day of phone interviews)
The CEO claimed it’s because the USB C port can withstand more than the 3.5mm so it’s more sustainable to use that. I honestly don’t buy that argument because now you’re putting all of that load from 2 ports into 1. Also, if they were truly Fairphone, I should be able to buy a replacement headphone jack if it does break.
I think he eventually admitted it was a mistake, but it turned from a definite purchase to a zero for me.
I though the official response was that they couldn’t fit one without making the phone larger than it already is and that it was a hard decision.
Can we use it for daily use ?
Yes, it’s a perfectly usable device.
Sorry I was thinking of Pinephone. Any update on that ? Fairphone is just another android but better than major android players.
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It has a microSD slot, no headphone jack though.
No headphone jack is a deal breaker honestly.
Eh it used to be for me, but genuinely Bluetooth is way more convenient and relatively low power too.
The concept is cool but I think it is more sustainable to have a high end “normal” android phone. The Fairphone ships with a lowend chip that is already older. It may be usable now but it won’t be in a few years apps and OS will be more ressource-intensive. A high-end chip of a “normal” device (8gen1/2) is way more powerful and will surely be enough for the next 5 years. The SD750G will propably not.
Not to mention that the software updates will be more reliable on big brand phones.
I have the fairphone 3 and it’s still doing fine. I don’t game on it but map navigation and 1080p videos run well.
