With 5 years of OS support and 8 years of security update.
Related threads:
This is a pretty great phone, I just wouldn’t spend this much on a phone. Even if it lasts let’s say 6 years, I can buy 3-4 mid range androids at this price & as the years go by they could be far better than this one near the end.
Also while Iphones are really hard to repair, they do last very long & there are people out there who can replace my iphone battery for like $40 and it too would last 5-6 years. (a recent enough refurbished SE for example)
Even if it lasts let’s say 6 years, I can buy 3-4 mid range androids at this price
Something tells me you missed the point of the Fairphone…
I think a very small percentage of users would justify a purchase on repair-ability & sustainability alone (privacy is not it!), if it does not save them at least a little money in the long run and as things are it does not. If it was just a bit cheaper they could sell 10x as many units & normal people like me would be happy. I think this is reasonable to ask for, yes the phone is more expensive to make, but software support is not nearly as expensive as you think. Android is very easy to update and port these days, sure it’s like 4 engineer salaries to keep some degree of testing running alongside development, but if they sold more devices, then the relative cost would go way down.
Then again, if they can maintain profitability by targeting that niche market it’s good for them, I just wish someone took ‘right to repair’ & ‘right to own’ to the masses.
The problem is, paying fair wages, sourcing fair materials und make sure the phone ist repairable and lasts longer will always be more expensive than let’s say Xiaomi. If the phone lasts for example six years instead of the usual two they will only sell a third of the phones other manufactures will sell, even if they reach the same customer base.
I was exited for this phone, but as I said in another thread: I am a bit disappoited about the CPU and the substantial price hike, but most of all aqout the size increase. Is there any market research at all indicating that customers want 6"+ displays?
It’s roughly the same size as the Fairphone 4, isn’t it? Like 1mm less thick.
Is there any market research at all indicating that customers want 6"+ displays?
Unfortunately, yes. People who buy smaller phones are the people who buy a new phone less often, and small phones tend to sell worse than the big models (see S10e, iPhone 12(?) Mini) so don’t get renewed. Would be nice if they did.
I picked up a 13 Mini back in March, and will ride this bad boy for as long as I can, in the hope that Apple eventually release another Mini model.
So perhaps it’s true that we hold onto our little phones for longer, primarily because we’re waiting for another little phone to come along.
This is so true. I had a 12 mini and upgraded to the 13 mini in December. The battery is better, and I plan on keeping this until the next mini phone arrives. (If any)
It’s so frustrating that this is true. I use devices until they’re dead or at risk of serious compromise before getting another, but the only options are ones that I can’t even hold comfortably with one hand. I’m seriously considering the Jelly 2 at this point.
For the FP4 they said one of the reasons they remove the aux input was that more people asked them to reduce the size of their phone than to keep the input.
substantial price hike
it’s €50 more expensive than the FP4 with the same RAM/storage configuration on its release (€650 fot 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage).
Also it’s 3x cheaper than my pentium that i bought in 1997 and it has 3000x less ram than this. I know that we don’t have that kind of exponential growth of hardware like we had 10 years ago, but still there is progress and it’s expected to have a better product for the same price each generation.
I get that they wanted to increase the battery and put out a new cpu, but I’m disappointed they’re not offering any camera or screen upgrades for my Fairphone 4.
Were you actually expecting that? No manufacturer has ever created an upgradeable smartphone, let alone one as small as Fairphone. The Phonebloks concept died ages ago.
The situation with the camera on the Fairphone 3 was unique and mainly in response to problems with the original module. It shouldn’t be taken as evidence that they have the ability to do this with every edition of the Fairphone, or extend upgrades to other areas like the display.
Fair enough. Framework is definitely able to do those sorts of upgrades, but laptops are a lot more standardized than phones.
That’s the focus of Framework’s business. Fairphone is a lot more focused on improving working conditions, pay rates, reducing environmental footprint, etc. The modular design is really more of a side-effect of that last bit rather than the reason the company exists.
With you on almost all points. Only the size didn’t actually increase. The phone’s dimensions are exactly the same. Only the weight went up a bit. The screen size was increased by using up more of the phone’s front side.
The phone is still a massive brick.
The CPU choice is great, why are you disappointed with it? It’s the reason they can offer a minimum of 8 years of support on this model.
I would also like to know what the problem is with the CPU. My current phone has this CPU and it works fine.
Edit:
Geekbench FP4 Vs FP5 https://browser.geekbench.com/v6/cpu/compare/2432096?baseline=2439889
Unfortunately I think a lot of people just have zero understanding of how the smartphone industry works. They think small manufacturers like Fairphone just have free reign to get whatever parts they want, offer updates for however long they want, etc.
The reality is that Fairphone have to find a way to work within the system that has been created by big tech. That means selecting parts based on their suitability for the long-term support goals they have. It’s one of the reasons why the specs are mid-range, because these parts stay in circulation for longer. For example, the 4 had a very generic 60 Hz IPS notch display because it was a widely used panel within the industry at the time. Now that higher refresh rate OLEDs have become more common on mid-range devices, Fairphone has been able to put one into the 5.
You have a Qualcomm QCM 6490? Google told me, there is basically no phone out there that uses it, because it’s an IoT SoC, not one made for phones.
Crosscall Core-Z5 https://www.crosscall.com/en_FR/core-z5-COZ5.MASTER.html
How did you end ab with that phone? I never heard of that company.
I live in France, I wanted a phone with buttons that wasn’t just an ODM with a different logo on it. It is an interesting company. I’ve had some contact with them. They are legit going to pull out of China and move production back to France. They uphold their 5 year warranty promise as well.
And, they update their stuff. I’m on Android 13 and apparently older devices are still receiving updates too.
I’m getting some low-key Fairphone vibes there. Cool stuff!
Just wish it had a US release…
Their website doesn’t seem to specify which GSM bands it has (simply “More Bands and Band-Combinations for better reception”). I want to know how much of a given provider’s spectrum I’d be missing out on trying to sneak one of these to the states.
Fairphone 4:
4G supported bands: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B18/B19/B20/B28/B32/B38/B40/B41/B71
5G supported bands: n1/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n41/n71/n77/n78Fairphone 5:
4G supported bands: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B20/B28/B32/B38/B40/B41/B42/B48/B66/B71
5G supported bands: n1/n2/n3/n5/n7/n8/n20/n28/n38/n41/n48/n66/n71/n77/n78Relevant comment about Fairphone 4 in the USA
TL;DR: By adding band 66, Fairphone 5 has better compatibility with cellular network providers in the USA. Band 48 also gives better compatibility with Verizon. T-Mobile is still the best for Fairphone in the USA.
Thanks! Yeah, it looks like it covers T-mobile minus the GHZ/ mmWave bands, which is good for me. A solid consider, especially if they (eventually) drag it over to the states like the Fairphone 5.
I really wish it had a 3.5mm audio jack. I don’t see what companies stand to earn, other than money, when they remove the headphone jack.
I can see why Apple and Samsung removed it because the they can market their own wireless headphones.
Removing the jack only removes capability, it is not like older phones didn’t have the capability to connect to Bluetooth headphones
Yeah their original excuse to remove it was largely related to space due to the modular design.
If you want to read it is here.
https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9836188988049-Audio-jack-3-5mm
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5 years of OS updates is more than you get from any other Android manufacturer. For everyone else in the space, you are lucky to get 3.
Samsung offers 4 years of os updates for many phones and watches. And news reported that pixel 8 will have better.
If I recall correctly, Xiaomi recently declared the same for some of their phones.
There’s a clear trajectory where this is heading. From 2027 the EU will enforce replaceable batteries and it looks like some other markets might follow. Software support duration is increasing a lot as well.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d get most of the Fairphone’s benefits on a regular Samsung in a few years.
Well…aside from the fair supply chain, liveable wages, humane working conditions, environment footprint…
- It’s 8 apparently
- 5 years is as long as most phones that I used last so there would be no point to buy it
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Fair wages for the people making the phone is also a selling point of this phone. It’s not just about repairability.
That said I’m also not writing this from a Fairphone, because the price is too high for me.
That may be true but how are they guaranteeing this on a component level? As far as I know, they use off the shelf stuff so they only have assembly wages. And that doesn’t justify the price imo.
You can take a look at their impact reports they release every year: https://www.fairphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fairphone-Impact-Report-2022.pdf
They keep close track of materials used and wage paid for all their suppliers. They also pay wage bonuses to the workers at some of their suppliers (page 41).
According to Fairphone “We plan at least 5 Android OS version updates after Android 13”.
Let’s see. There is still no Android 13 on the FP4.
At least CalyxOS, DivestOS offer Android 13 builds for FP4 (and obviously LineageOS, but it doesn’t have OTA updates, afaik)
They are offering a minimum of 8 years of software support. 5 years is the warranty. I’m not sure why OP wrote that, it’s not what was announced.
Unfortunately it’s impossible to offer support for longer than the chipset
Actually in the past they updated their software even past the support from qualcomm, rewriting by themselves what was needed to allow and old chipset to run newer android version
Yeah, well, they are just doing what custom ROM makers have been doing for a decade and a half.
My old Droid 4 was also EOL after Android 4.1. Custom ROM makers pushed this up to Android 7.1 by ignoring the parts (e.g. the Kernel) that they couldn’t update.
Sure, but the good is that this is the only company doing it. Also my Galaxy Nexus received a big kernel update from people at xda developers, but was by chance and good will of the people involved. Here they did it because they kept up the commercial promise behind the product they sell, something that basically no other company in this sector does (or they do, but with very short term promises).
still waiting for the next unfairphone release
September 12th for the new iPhone.
a day after the
I pre-ordered already.
Ok, so honesty time: The fact that this company is good for the environment, pays people well, etc… is NOT my main “thing” for wanting to own this phone.
It’s the fact that it is open. I can unlock and flash whatever I want, I can fix things by ordering replacement parts, a new screen is TOTALLY do-able both price wise and doing it myself.
Also it does not come with bloat, or vendor-lock in software like on ALL samsung shitty phones.
Out of all the phones, this one makes the most sense.
(And my current FP4 goes to my mother, perfect for her and many more years of support)
I see Google Drive, Gmail, Google Messages on screenshots so it does come with bloatware.
While unfortunate, not shipping these standard Google apps is not really an option for any Android manufacturer due to Google requirements. Including them is required if you want to use anything from the GSM, which includes things like the Play Store and everything it touches. You can technically ship a different Android distribution like Lineage or /e/, but that’s not really what most people will be expecting of an “Android” phone and will narrow the viable target demographic even more than the value proposition already does.
That’s correct, and people who want a fully degoogled OS usually know how to install it, people who expect to see the Play Store and other Google apps are less likely to know how to install that.
As a side note, Google Messages replaced the recently discontinued AOSP SMS messaging app
Easily removed, though. The great thing about Fairphones is, like Pixels, they have loads of deGoogled OS support.
What OSes support the fairphone? I’d consider one if I could run something other than android on it
Nice, I still had this in my browsing-history: https://forum.fairphone.com/t/operating-systems-for-fairphones/11425
That’s quite a list. Nice.
What are you currently running? Just curious what non-android and non-ios is working well for you.
no headphone plug, no removable storage, gonna be a no from me dog. when cell companies charge by the gig, and/or limit bandwidth for their “unlimited” data plans, expandable removable storage is a must, for me. end of story.
Please stop bogging down the conversation with this every single time fairphone comes up.
It’s a valid point tho. Like, i wouldn’t even hesistate with buying a Fairphone if it had a jack
no headphone plug
This used to be something I cared about until I found a bluetooth headset I really like. Going wireless is fantastic, in my opinion.
This is a preorder, not actual release.
If it a) comes to the US, and b) comes with stock Android out of the box, I might get it for my next phone. Currently leaning toward a Pixel with Graphene.
b) is already given and a) depends on whether you’ll find someone to bring it to you.
b) is not already given. The only company that brought the FP4 to the US loads it with /e/.
Which you can remove easily. Or just organize someone buying itv in Europe.
Wish it was degoogled. I’d love one, but… android 🤢 privacy hell
Pixel 6a you can find for 250-300 and flash graphene.
It doesn’t have a 3,5mm jack or a microsd slot
Good luck with that headphone jack on the Fairphone
It will be deGoogled soon enough. The Fairphone 4 is supported across several deGoogled versions of Android including CalyxOS, iodéOS, LineageOS, DivestOS and /e/OS. The Fairphone 3 and even the 2 are also supported by some of those operating systems.
If you were to pick the most mature one, which would you choose?
Lineage is the oldest one (Divest and /e/ are forks of it). Calyx has a focus on security and privacy (comes with a free VPN with no signup requires). Currzntly Calyx is based on Android 13, even on the Fairphone 4 which doesn’t have it supportes. I son’t know enough about iodé to comment about it though.
CalyxOS is the most advanced of those I mentioned. They have a monthly update schedule and a larger team. My favourite is iodéOS, though, because of the iodé ad and tracker blocker app which can be used simultaneously with a VPN.
Is that ad and tracker blocker just browser level or are there… ads in the OS?!
No, I mean it runs system wide and can block ads and trackers from any application. There are definitely no ads in the OS lol
Normally these ad and tracker blocking apps are detected as a VPN by Android, which means you cannot use a real VPN at the same time. iode’s blocker is unique in this area.
Looks pretty nice tbh! Probably going to stick to my current phone a few more years until it stops being updated but if I manage to break it this might just be the replacement.
Wish they sold it in the U.S.
I’m pretty sure I got this link from somewhere on their website, but here is a company that ships to the US. https://murena.com/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairphone-5-fr/
At that link:
Are you looking for the new Fairphone 5? It is not yet available in your market.
Yeah the place i linked does a cool thing where they degoogle it. Seems interesting.
Threads for Fairphone often fill up with “it’s not going to work if they don’t X.” Lots of people don’t seem to understand that their personal viewpoint can be quite different from other’s.
There are people who are aware of the trade-offs of a Fairphone, but still choose to get one.
I’ve always been in favour of a phone with a shitty camera. I don’t give a fuck about posting on social media, and these days a huge chunk of a phone’s price is determined by how powerful of a camera they were able to cram into it.
I recognize that this apparently sounds insane to most people.
My socially isolated self rarely if ever needs to take a single picture. I’m doing perfectly fine with the base camera that my old devices came with.
The cameras aren’t even bad, they are perfectly acceptable for a mid-range phone. If you use a GCam port they can look great.
It’s nice to have a decent camera, but honestly, 90% of the people (including myself) are so bad at taking pictures, that the difference between mid range and ultra premium is almost zero.
The only thing that’s really really cool is night mode. My Pixel can take really great photos with extremely low light levels.
I don’t post on social media either, but my phone have replaced the compact camera that I used to pack for family vacations.
I suspect that’s what most people use their phone camera phone: to take personal photos that will only be shared with family members.
