Unpopular opinion for this probably, but the majority of people don’t care or want to repair their own phones. On this forum, yeah, probably, but majority of people would rather just go sign another contract and get a new one or have insurance on it.
You're correct, of course, but these types of communities tend to be occupied by people outside of the mainstream who care more about these issues. Also, I think it's important people have the freedom to repair the technology they own even if the majority of people will choose not to, having the ability is still important.
Also keep in mind that when phones are designed for repairability, there's less chance of a slip-up when it is being repaired, even by a professional, and the process can also be much faster, which I think everyone is probably happy with.
Indeed. It also reduces the cost to do the repairs, which is good for everyone.
I agree with you but I think the reason these things aren’t more popular is because the majority of people don’t care. Companies want to make money so usually they’ll make products for the larger group of potential customers.
Just because the majority don't, it doesn't mean we shouldn't
All I’m saying is it takes money to make stuff. A small, niche product is harder to justify unless it’s a hobby.
For the companies, it's usually a case of weighing how much adding the feature will cost vs. how much they'll expand their market by adding it. For Fairphone, their whole schtick is that their phones are repairable and upgradeable, so in this case it's that they've determined that there's enough demand in the U.S. market to justify the cost of entry, as they've already added the features. In this case, the majority of people will probably not purchase a Fairphone, but that's not their goal, they occupy a market niche.
... I dunno. Screen replaceable with 8 screws? it's always the easiest thing to damage. Same with the USB C port. That was the only reason I swapped out from my original pixel last year.
Also depending on how easy that battery is to remove... that's an audience right there. Throw in an external charger, now you have swappable batteries. That's been a feature many have missed.
A repairable phone doesn't mean you have to repair it yourself. It also means you can get it repaired quickly and cheaply by a local tech compared to other phones, and especially compared to buying a whole new phone.
I'm a big fan of upgradable hardware, but lately I've found that the bigger problem with Android phones is the lack of software support. I had my last phone for 5 years and finally upgraded not because there were any major hardware problems, but because the android version was so far out of date that I was starting to feel the pain of missing out on some major improvements, plus some apps actually were starting to break. I picked my current phone specifically because Samsung was promising to support four major version upgrades which is, unfortunately, industry leading among Android OEMs despite lagging hugely behind Apple's software support for their older models.
Fairphone seems to have a mixed track record on this. According to their website the Fairphone 2 got 5 major updates (great!). But the Fairphone 3 got only one update (bad). And the fairphone 4 has received one update so far with a second one promised. After that they say that they'll try to provide two more updates, but they're not making any promises because the processor will be out of support with Qualcomm by then.
This is, unfortunately, a very understandable position to take. The fact that Android OEMs rely on third parties like Qualcomm to design and support their processors is definitely the major problem here. Big guys like Samsung and Google can throw their weight around and squeeze a year or two of extra support out. But for small players like fairphone it's not surprising that they find themselves in this position.
The fact is that any sane company would prefer to make money selling new chips, rather than spending it to support old ones. This problem will persist until consumers start demanding longer software support on their devices and making it a major part of their buying decision.
I've posted about this elsewhere on this instance, but LineageOS has made a good start on supporting Android phones beyond their official support
I actually flashed lineage onto an old (5th gen?) Amazon Fire tablet I had gathering dust recently. I've been very satisfied with the result, but I'm personally not at the point where I'd trust it as my daily driver OS. My smartphone holds sensitive bank data, I rely on it to call for help in emergencies, I use it as an alarm clock to ensure I get to work on time, etc. There's just too much at stake for me to trust pulling a build off some thread on XDA-developers and hoping for the best.
quick edit: Maybe there's collaborative a way forward though, where the LineageOS community and Fairphone work together to extend support through Fairphone approved Lineage releases. I'd totally be down for that.
to add another layer, this US version is shipping with the /e/OS fork of Android which is going to be on its own upgrade cycle …
For what it is worth, at least for Fairphone 3 the support in, e.g., LineageOS is excellent and I recently updated to LineageOS 20 (based on Android 13).
That said, I would hope that Fairphone does make at least one more major update of their official Android version for Fairphone 3.
Only thing keeping me from being interested in this phone is the lack of 3.5 mm headphone jack.
After my last phone upgrade where I chose a phone with a headphone jack, I found that I just did not use it that often. But when I did use it, it was absolutely critical. Being stuck with on a flight with bluetooth headphones without charge is awful, but aint no problem when you got a headphone jack (and the wire to connect your dead headphones). I could see myself getting a phone without it, but there would have to be a really good reason for it, and so far there has not been one.
I just can't stand the inconsistency of Bluetooth. The quality is worse. Every single mic on a Bluetooth headphones sounds worse than just a cable mic. Only reason to remove it is for company profits. Plus my set of wired headphones will work for years maybe decades the same can't be said about Bluetooth headphones.
I was super interested in this phone, but that omission has made me lose all interest. What the fuck.
They removed it as soon as they launched their bluetooth headphones... Curious how these coincidences work... That's why I really don't trust these "consumer first" brands anymore, they always eventually collapse into the same strategies that increase profits in detriment of user satisfaction.
I focus on products rather than brands. The fairphone and teracube are about the only options for the things I'm interested in. They both have flaws. I believe that of the two, the fairphone is the less critically flawed.
No headphone jack is a critical flaw for me. Can't beat something compatabile with like 50+ years of headphones and sound systems and something that will always have better fidelity and less technical issues.
The teracube doesn't play nice with android auto because of its slow slow processor. I do love the headphone jack, though. I definitely hear you. However, I'd rather have a phone with a long-term warranty that I can fix than an otherwise perfect phone with a headphone jack that's dead after a year and a half because I'm clumsy, and I dropped it. There's basically two phones for that, and I use android auto and other performance bottle necking apps more often than I use wired headphones.
There is literally no reason for fairphone to not include a headphone jack. Beside lining their own pockets. It is easily user serviceable and replaceable. And I'd even argue the the demo this phone is targeted at i.e. ppl who even give enough of a shit to service their own phone would be excited to have a headphone jack. I mean they used to but fairphone removed it when they introduced their Bluetooth headphones. Something that is easily way less "green" or user serviceable than a nice pair of wired headphones.
Everything about them not having a headphone jack leaves a bad taste in my mouth especially in perspective with this companies "misson"
I definitely agree all the way down. Like I said though, the teracube can be borderline unusable though with its poor CPU. The ideal would be an upgraded teracube
well, the fairphone 5 is coming so, we'll see if the US will get that too
Fairphone - listen up! (I know they're definitely here and I'm not just shouting into the wind.)
Go find a Samsung Galaxy S5. Upgrade the internals, move the button to the side, and you're done. Waterproof, wireless charging, swappable batteries, SD card, headphone jack. It's the last good phone I've used.
No major "supported for 1 generation by the manufacturer then forgotten" hardware gimmicks (if this were a just universe, the guy that suggested the Bixby button would be reassigned to manually unclogging toilets with his hands), no notch (oh Apple, you think we didn't look at the 'functional notch' and start betting on how long before that's gone?), a satin feeling back and shiny bevel made of plastic (it flexes, doesn't bend, and who gives a shit when it's in a case), thin but not so much so that you have to worry about sanding 0.00001 mm off the battery to fit it (0.5mm thicker and 4 more hours of screen on time? Puhlease. My college laptop weight 10 pounds and I took it everywhere. Load up those energon cubes).
You wanna play around with the dimensions and cameras and add a retractable feline flossing utensil? Fine. The phone everyone wants already 99% exists. It's maddening!
I really like the idea of this phone. I bought a framework laptop because of the maintainability and linux support.
I just wish the fairphone had a headphone jack.
Finally been holding out for a while for the fair phone. Was thinking about getting one once I went to Europe again.
One "little" thing makes it very frustrating for me: the volume button does not change the volume of the notifications/rings. It defaults to media sound and there is no way to change the default. Has been an open ticket for years, and that stupid thing alone makes me consider buying a different phone next time.
I've had that one every single android phone since 2019 and it makes me very upset that they don't set it up the sane and proper way (the way it was from 2009-2019)
What the hell? It also failed to wake me up when one of my priority contacts tried to contact me on an emergency because some defaults had changed.
I have resisted installing replicant on my phone because I feared some core functionalities would be missing, but now I don't see why not anymore.
I'll probably stick with my current one for now, but if they start opening up and bring their future phones to the US , I might consider switching over. Depends on the specs, but the idea of being able to just get a new battery once the old one starts dying is a major plus.
Think it’s really interesting (and more than a little funny) that while all the big corporate services are failing and shutting down user stuff that used to be free, things like open street maps are better than ever
Had a fairphone 4 for a bit but carriers kept giving me issues so I gave it up. Also with lacking a headphone jack I couldn't use it long term. Hopefully a USA version can come down the line with a headphone jack in a fairphone 5
Conservatives will be calling this the "wokepbone" and will outlaw it in red states claiming it can only call pedophiles and immigrants.
The article doesn't seem to explain the reason, so I'll ask here: why wasn't it already available in the US? I feel like this product has been available in Europe for years now
Radio frequency licensing issues. Fairphone didn't feel they had enough market interest in America to go through the FCC approvals. Murena, however, believed there was enough interest and went through the process, hence why Fairphone still isn't selling any phones in the US, but Murena is selling a Fairphone in the US
Oh I see, didn't think you had to get through that much trouble to enable the US market! Thanks a lot!
Anyone have experience with magic earth for directions?
I have a spare fp4 louddpeaker module if anyone here wants it? I can't bring myself to recycle a brand new part, but I'm not changing from my fp3 for a few more years.
Great, but I can't really consider any phone without a headphone jack.
Are you never gonna buy a phone ever again? Your options are slipping.
Technology for a Solar-Punk future.
Airships and hydroponic farms...