The new fairphone 5 came out, it looks cool but the price is really, really high..
If it's a phone that can really last 10 years it could be good, but is that true? Is it worth it? I could get the one with /e/os from Murena because i want a degoogled phone with a bootloader locked, but is it usable on a daily basis?
Reminder that a used phone with a nonstock rom is more environmentally conscious.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Some other bloke skipped the first step, which is why the used phone makes sense.
I've had a Fairphone 4 for just under a year running CalyxOS, and I am very happy with it. Not sure when / if CalyxOS will be available for FP5, but unless they have locked down anything, I don't see why that shouldn't happen. If I understand your post correctly, it is already available with e/OS/?
Maybe the specs are underwhelming, but with the FP4, it does not affect me the slightest based on my use case. Phones are more than good enough already. I do not play any games on my phone. Camera could be better - maybe it is on FP5? Is it the perfect phone? Nope, but at the moment, I think our choices are too limited if you want privacy and repairability. Supporting a company that pushes these kinds of phone is also a reason I went with this phone.
Swapable batteries are nice - I've not made use of it yet, but I am planning on getting one or two spare batteries for travel to keep in a printed case. In the EU, this will be mandatory in the future, but first form 2027. Other than that, I am happy with the ability to buy spare parts if something breaks. I can't see myself ever buying something that is deliberately unrepairable again when there is no reason it should be. I don't mind the lack of 3.5mm-port, which I know irritates a lot of people. If you swear to this, I can understand that this is disappointing. There exists an adapter, but my experience with these kind of adapters is that they quickly wear out. That was my experience with the iPhone and Apple's own adapters at least. I burned through four in 1-2 years.
Running a Fairphone 4 with IodéOS (another de-Googled privacy focused Android) for close to two years now and I agree that it's a capable phone which doesn't limit myself in any way.
As you mentioned the biggest downside is the camera, which apparently has something to do with the firmware.
Edit: regarding the headphone situation: I'm using Austrian Audio (=former AKG engineering team) Hi-X25BT headphones, which are noticeably better than pods or cheap headphones and have been running well over a year now. They come with both (mini-)jack to USB-C and USB-C to USB-C cables, but I haven't tried the latter yet.
If you're not a power user, then it'll probably work fine for several years. And it will be cheap and easy to replace the battery in 3-5 years when it starts to degrade, or replace the screen if you drop it. Not sure if a full 10 year lifespan is realistic, though.
And you're right, the price is high, but it's not supposed to be an affordable phone. The stated goal of the Fairphone is to be better for the environment and better for people than most other electronics. So, they have to do things like use sustainable materials and source parts from places that treat their workers well. All of that means that Fairphones will NEVER be as cheap as other brands. Because doing things right costs more.
I use the FP3. It's an old device but I find it very responsive, and keeps up with what I need it to do personally. I like it, but don't like Android. I wish the device had more RAM though.
The FP5 looks promising (and big 😳) the only turn offs for me are no 3.5mm headphone jack, and the price could do with another 150-200 off at least. Since FP is a niche company with some special supply chain arrangements, I think this price is the best we'll get for now (unless you trade in an old device for recycling for money off), but it's still expensive.
If you value the ability to own and repair your device, the knowledge that people further down in the supply chain get paid a little extra when they're collecting materials for Fairphone, and that your device will very, very likely get supported for the full time they claim (and even longer in the case of the FP2), then it's probably worth it.
Otherwise, a new/recent Pixel (eligible to recieve GrapheneOS updates) is another very good option.
Regardless of what device you choose, if you want to keep your next phone for 10 years, you'll want a lot of onboard storage - but keep as much things as possible on an SD card. This is to avoid burning out your onboard NAND, since it has a finite lifespan and not replaceable.
Pixels don't support SD cards AFAIK, so if you go for one of them I'd recommend going for the highest builtin storage that you can afford (especially if it's a used one)
check your most used apps here to see if they work with mircoG: plexus.techlore.tech
I've been using degoogled phones for years and I bareley have any issues. only issues are snapchat and google maps give warnings, but work. other google apps work fine.
It used to be you had to regularly do some convoluted workaround to get things working with microG, but that hasn't been an issue for me for years now.
yeah the fp5 is expensive, but hardware wise it's the first one I could actually see myself using as a daily driver. Considering that I'd probably use it for 3 years at least, the price isn't that bad either. However, I'd love to have a folding phone instead, but I'm pretty sure it'll take a few years until good degoogled roms are available for those. so yeah fp5 seems like a good transistionary device.
It's too expensive for me. Not worth it when a used Pixel is way cheaper, has way better hardware and has support for GrapheneOS.
I second this. Got an open box pixel 6 pro this year for $400, still blows most non-flagship current year phones out of the water.
Nice, I got a renewed one from Amazon this year for $330. It was as good as new, no scratches whatsoever, battery health was at 99% and still had 3 months of warranty left.
Got me a refurb pixel 5a last year for $100. It's been great and way better then my moto g power I had previously.
Ten years is an extremely long time in tech and we might not even be using phones as we currently know them by then.
Since we are in a privacy subreddit, I will say that Fairphone is second only to the Google Pixel in terms of support for privacy focused versions of Android. For privacy specifically, they are a great choice.
Yes i was already considering that. Particularly i was looking to buy one on this website , seems like the cheapest option i've found so far
The price, no headphones plug...
Doesn't seem fair to me to be honest.
10 years ago the Samsung Galaxz S4 released, let's compare its specs with the current phone
Samsung Galaxzy S4 <> Galaxy S23
Display size: 5" <> 6.1"
Resolutuion: Full HD <> 120hz 2k AMOLED
CPU: 4x1.6 GHz Cortex-A15 & 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 <> 1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510
RAM: 2GB <> 8GB
Storage: 16-64GB <;> 128-512GB
The question is, do you want to run 10 year old hardware even if its software is supported?
Most of that progression was made in the first 5 years, the last 5 years for new phone tech have been a lot slower. I don't know if any spec in the next 5 will really make me want to upgrade, stuff just works atm
That's not the question. There is no singular reason to buy the Fairphone 5 and a purchase is not necessarily a commitment to a full 8 - 10 years of use. Focusing solely on one aspect of the device, like its modular components or the long-term software support, is missing the bigger picture.
But it is the question.
OP wants to know if fairphone will last 10 years. The retort is that even if you can have a phone that is supported for 10 years, you won't want to use it that long.
Even if they use it for 5 years and then move to something else, it still offers benefits that very few modern phones have. And it's still the most ethical by an absolute mile. You don't need to use a Fairphone for the entire support period for it to become a worthwhile purchase.
The newer hardware tends to usually have a longer lifespan. A 10-year old computer today is a 3rd or 4th gen Core i7, still decently powerful. A 10-year old computer 10 years ago was a Pentium 4, pretty much useless.
Same will apply to phones. I had an S5 that I bought in 2014 which by 2019 actually was getting too old, hobbled by it's paltry 2GB of RAM. Bought an S8 in 2019 which already was 2 years old and it's already outlived the S5 by almost 2 years. It's starting to show signs of age but will probably last at least another couple years. I'm expecting the S22/S23 Ultra to last into the 2030s.
No it sucks don’t get it.
If you’re serious about privacy and can tolerate apple stuff, get an iphone. If you’re serious about privacy and would prefer android you’re pretty much stuck with one of the pixel phones and graphene.
I went with an iphone last time I made this choice. The degree of difference wasn’t enough for me and I keep an android device for stuff that requires it anyway. Your mileage may vary but my recommendation is to get the device with the widest install base if you want it to last. Something’s gonna break but getting parts will be easier for idk a nexus 5 or iphone se than a blue branded tablet.
I believe that the price is reasonable overall: it has good specs and now that FP is an established brand you know it won't go out of business and support will last. /e/OS has become good enough lately to be reliable to daily drive (it requires some initial adjustment, but nothing to be worried about).
Also, they are phones that withhold their value in the secondary market: a used FP3+ on ebay costs more than 400€ and it had a launch price of 439€, so you can easily sell them for a good price if you ever change your mind about owning one.
The only thing that makes me hesitant to buy one is the fact that now the EU is pushing a lot of consumer friendly laws, like mandatory USB-C, replaceable batteries, extended software support and so on... So in two or three years the smartphone market might offer more high-end products that are long lasting and have a more accessible price tag. It only depends on how much time can you wait.Edit: added links to sources
Had the fair phone 4 since launch running e/os, then there was an update that was rinsing the battery so I went back to stock android. Performance just wasn't good on stock so i got fed up and got an s3 ultra. No more privacy but never had a better phone. Now the fair phone is just collecting dust; I like the idea of it but just needs a bit more juice
