Fairphone CEO says it’s a ‘myth’ that sustainable tech has to cost more and be of lower quality: ‘Neither is needed’
‘The perception of Fairphone being too high-priced? That’s something we needed to take away’: Fairphone CEO on the Fairphone 6 and the ‘myth’ behind the cost of sustainability
Bought a fp 5 lately. It's a quality nightmare. Has a bug regarding 'fluid in usb port' error message. Consequence: phone does not charge. Phone is brand new. Google the bug. Turns out a hundreds of other users reported the bug already 9 months back via fp user forum. Nothing has happened. They just let it rot.
Sent it to repair. Got it back with the same bug again. Have had all fp models in the past. Was okay happy, but my fp journey ends here. I think the company has serious problems.
Fairphones are almost certainly less profitable than their Apple/Pixel competitors.
But a big chunk of that cost is coming from advertising. Another big chunk is stock buybacks. There's so much fat to cut before you actually get to hardware/software quality.
Fairphones have a worse record than any other phone I ever owned in regards to sustainability for me. The phones become unusable as soon as the new model releases due to their non existing software quality, and it seems that they just stop bothering with tests for their previous models. I bought the Fairphone 4 for myself and the Fairphone 5 for my mother and both had software issues without end. In both cases the ability to make and receive phone calls broke after an android update. Imagine not being able to call emergency services because of a software update. Imagine dying because the developers at Fairphone didn't bother to test their shit. That is not even mentioning that security updates were also always months late. I truly wanted to like them but I couldn't be bothered with these broken phones anymore and bought a refurbished Pixel, for not even half the price of a Fairphone, and flashed it with GrapheneOS instead.
Bummer.
Imagine dying
I gotta say, you had me until you cranked it to 11.
Not being able to call with a phone after an OS update is definitely a deal breaker. But "if I don't have my phone on me, I'll die" is the kind of hyperbole that has me doubt your entire testimonial.
Imagine dying wasn't hyperbole it is a real concern of mine. I commute with a bicycle to work and also cycle a lot in my free time. I wouldn't be the first cyclist injured or even killed in a hit and run accident, so a phone that is unable to make a emergency call when I need it is not something I am willing to risk.
It was referring to not being able to call emergency services, which may realistically lead to your death. It's a fairly unlikely scenario, but not a completely crazy one. It's just a highlight in a sea of issues. Or at least that's how it looks to me, as I've never used a Fairphone. Some people say they work flawlessly.
Also the best path for sustainability is to NOT BUY A NEW PHONE EVERY 2-3 YEARS.
Don't buy fairphone. Try to run your current phone for 7 more years.
I use my phones until they start crashing due to battery issues.
Tends to be about 6 years for that to happen, at least with the mid range phones I tend to buy.
My Nexus 4 did not survive an intense summer of Pokemon Go, and my Huawei Honor whatever number it was eventually would die just from opening the camera. I'd get the batteries replaced, but by the time they die I'm feeling the age of them even more than in my knees.
I agree and that was the reason I initially chose a Fairphone but the promised 7 years of security updates also turned out to be a half-truth, after three years I only got quarterly security updates. I tolerated four years of buggy software the update that broke the phone part of my smartphone was just the last nail in the coffin.
Only if you still get security updates for those 7 years, which is I think the case with the Pixels, and some Samsung flagships, but is very far from being the norm. You don't want a non-updated phone.
Edit: of course that also works if you can switch to an alternate rom that does receive the updates.
I'd love to, but manufacturers are complete shit at supporting phones. Most don't get security updates after 3 years.
This is probably the main point - not buying a new phone when the manufacturers release a new model.
I would add though that Fairphone are also improving the entire industry by not using cheap labour, paying fair wages and not using conflict materials, so there is more to this than just eWaste
But, I agree don't scrap existing phones just to buy another - even if it is Fairphone
Try to run your current phone for 7 more years.
Isn't the entire appeal of Fairphone that its modular and easy to repair?
I can't extend my OnePlus for another 7 years because the charging port is flaky and the battery is burning out. The ringer switch is busted, so I can't take my phone off silent. The camera's focus is always a bit off. I can't disassemble and fix the parts that are broken while keeping the bits that still work without getting a fucking engineering degree.
For me Fairphone has been good. I bought my fp3 on release in 2019 for about 400 euro and it is still going strong today, 6 years later (I am in fact using it right now)
Not to say that there haven't been software problems at all but it has not been that bad and was fixed over time.
Also had no big problems with my FP4
Same here with my FP3+
Skill issue
Except Fairphones are usually overpriced for the quality...
Where's that headphone jack boyo?
Every time someone mentions the headphone jack, comes a legion of people defending the corporations. People will really accept anything they do and bully the ones who don't want to submit. That's impressive! And we're in a place with higher-than-average corporation haters.
It's even more impressive when we think about how Bluetooth earphone users don't gain anything by removing the jack, neither lose anything by keeping it. It literally doesn't affect them, but heavily affects anyone who uses wired phones or other stuff. People simply use their energy against others, in favor of corporations for absolutely no benefits for them, but simply for fucking the other people. I can't understand this behavior.
The GD phone is modular and repairable. How TF did they manage not to make the jack at least an option?
People will really accept anything they do and bully the ones who don’t want to submit. That’s impressive! And we’re in a place with higher-than-average corporation haters.
I don't see it that way at all. Would I personally like to see the headphone jack return? Sure. But there are about 5,002 more important issues when it comes to tech corporations (Ie. privacy, repairability, software support, obsolescence, etc... just to name a few). People aren't defending corporations as much as they are "picking their battles".
Your headphone jack battle is inconsequential and frankly kind of stupid in the larger scheme of the war right now. Would it be great to get to a point where all the battles are won and all we have to worry about is a damn headphone jack? Absolutely. But we're not there.
It's been long time that i didn't use wired one but i have a problem of removing stuffs just because the majority of people no longer use it. Wired one still have 34% marketshare which is still a lot of people
Are we not well past a point where the Fairphone 6's DAC for the 3.5 mm jack would be better for audio quality than Bluetooth 5.4 with aptX Adaptive/LDAC? When headphone jacks were being removed from phones around the mid-2010s, it was ridiculous, greedy, and premature. Now, though? I find wireless earbuds vastly nicer and more convenient for phones, and I would only go with wired, say, on a vacation where I can use a cheap $20 junk drawer pair and not mourn them if they get lost somewhere – at which point I can just use a dongle for a weekend or whatever.
I still always want a microSD card slot, but I'd prefer that my phone not have a headphone jack at this point. I think the people who still mourn the loss of the 3.5 mm jack are a vastly smaller minority than they think they are. Which is fine; you're still welcome as a consumer to buy or not buy a phone based off that. But I also think that nagging Fairphone over the removal of the 3.5 mm jack with the Fairphone 4 in 2021 is "old man yelling at clouds" territory.
Idgaf about audio quality. I don't have to charge wired headphones and the port is designed to spin unlike a dumbass dongle plugged into a USB c port. Let alone the environmental considerations.
For me, I already have very good headphones from years ago, and they are all working. I don't want to buy additional Bluetooth headphones just for a Smartphone. Why do I have to buy additional gears just to be able to use my perfectly functional old ones? Or do I have to accept that Smartphones nowadays are just not for music?
Pushing wireless has been frustrating to me because of the fact that the batteries inside those tools will die sooner or later. Majority of the time, I am fine with being wired. The good news is that IEMs have evolved a lot over the past decade with great options even at $20 that include detachable cables from the earbuds. What's even cooler is that you can choose for your audio connectivity to be USB-C for those that miss the 3.5mm jack. I'll provide a $20 example below:
https://hangout.audio/products/tangzu-waner-sg-2?variant=41999443132464
Now, though? I find wireless earbuds vastly nicer and more convenient for phones
Love the fact their tiny, non-replaceable lithium batteries means they're quite literally disposable products you'll have to keep buying and throwing away.
Also, if you need wired you can get USB-C headphones.
We need a return the headphone jack movement, it makes me glad I still use my pixel 3a for Ubuntu Touch.
Sorry, the phone doesn't have a headphone jack?
They removed it 2 models ago
Yeah I'm still stuck with my LG V30 and refuse to upgrade because the DAC + Jack is soo good.
Fairphone 6 is great by the way! Coming from a long time iPhone user.
Came from Pixel 6 and picked up a fairphone 6 last week. The camera is sadly not as good but everything else is great (so far).
Why is the fairphone more expensive than comparable hardware, then?
A lot of it is also economies of scale and full control of the supply chain. The unethical behavior is to squeeze as much profit as possible.
Each new Fairphone is increasingly more custom whereas the first ones used more stock parts. When you order elections from China, manufacturers might refuse to make custom parts for a small room, or charge a lot for it.
Is the Fairphone 6 really significantly more expensive still?
I don't think it is. In the UK its price and specs seem pretty on par with the Pixel 9a
cause its marketed towards richer westeners who cant even unlock a phone
I like the look of the fairphone 6. I like the look of having screws on the back, like a more industrial/mechanical design language (sharper edges, etc...) But I can't justify that kind of money for a phone, no matter how much I may want to.
Then tell us your failure rates and prove it.
I can see I'm being down voted so let me explain in more detail. There is a serious problem in the industry where failure rates are not being considered in regards to how environmentally sound a device is. Some manufacturers have historically very low failure rates and while others are very high.
There needs to be a lot more visibility of this as a high repair rate will absolutely kill any positive environmental impact these phones have. So tell us what you're repair rates are.
Of course, if you genuinely want to help the environment stop getting new phones or buy secondhand.
The phone is repairable and parts are mostly user replaceable, that's why you are being downvoted. Sustainability starts with making sure you support the device with software and parts over time, not just ethical sourcing.
The main problem, consistently is the battery and fairphone makes it fully user replaceable. It sure as shit is much better than just exchanging the device or charging so much for repairs that it's equal/cheaper for the user to get a new one(*cough Apple, Samsung...).
The same company that did away with the headphone jack because of reasons