1 yr. ago • 96%

Fairphone 5 - release date and US support??

www.fairphone.com Fairphone | The phone that cares for people and planet

At Fairphone we believe a fairer electronics industry is possible. By making change from the inside, we’re giving a voice to people who care.

Ever since I learned about the Fairphone, I keep trying to figure out when they'll release the Fairphone 5.

Further, I keep wondering whether it'll be usable easily and realistically by Verizon, since there's some complications with Fairphone being based in the Netherlands, but I believe generally supported across Europe since so much of their website is in English.

Just about anything I find over on Reddit seems to be outdated, speculating and guessing, or otherwise unreliable.

Anybody know many details about when it might come out, and whether it'll be supported here in the US??

37 comments

I'm seriously considering a Fairphone for my next device. If only GrapheneOS could run on it... It would be a no brainer at that point.

14
- I would, but sadly the security hardware just isn't there. Calyx works though!
  
  6
- I can't find the link, but there was some discussion from the graphene developers about needing some data that they couldn't get from fairphone. I searched the GitHub issues but I couldn't find it. Maybe it's in the forum.
  
  Interestingly fair phone forum blocks my country, saying data is not available in my country. Doesn't sound very fair to me
  
  -- update https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/820#issuecomment-978253711
  
  Found the link, but graphene has deleted the issue. That might mean they're actually working on fairphone. But that's just me guessing. But yeah if you dig it up in the archive, you'll see they're talking about they couldn't get the right data from fairphone. But that was a couple years ago. Maybe things have changed
  
  4
  
  It isn't a huge company and adhering to regulations on data collection costs money. If they don't operate in your country, not offering the website at all is the cheapest thing to do, so it almost surely isn't malice.
  
  7
  
  There's an archived snapshot of the issue: https://web.archive.org/web/20220623132457/https://github.com/GrapheneOS/os-issue-tracker/issues/820
  
  1
  
  Silly you, they're not fair to people! They're fair to their shareholders.
  
  -4
Headphone jack, if the fair phone 5 still doesn't have a headphone jack, fairphone demonstrates that their user hostile company. Removing the headphone jack while introducing earbuds was removing customer choice to force people to buy earbuds.

I don't care how repairable the phone is, if it's designed to remove optionality from me. I'd rather have a phone that gives me more options and is less repairable, then a phone that's very repairable but not user friendly.

Hell, they're all about replaceable, user serviceable modules. Make the headphone jack an optional module!

13
- (Not trying to be combative/pedantic/"devil's advocate")
  What kind of phone do you personally use, and/or prefer, that's more user-friendly, as opposed to user-hostile?
  
  I'm not necessarily opposed to anything specifically, and trying to find less-corporate alternatives that are, ideally, more eco-friendly or whatnot, but obviously "no ethical consumption under capitalism" and all. Fairphone is just the least corporate and eco-fucked thing I've found thus far that's reasonable with current technology and interoperability.
  
  Thoughts? Suggestions??
  
  11
  
  Pixel 5a - has a headphone jack.
  
  I want to believe in the fair phone mission, they're talking my kind of crazy. But removing the headphone jack and at the exact moment pushing their own Bluetooth earbuds felt extremely disingenuous to their mission.
  
  Removing choices from users, to put them into your sales funnel for some other device, might be a good business decision, but it is user hostile. It increases e-waste, because people cannot use their previous equipment.
  
  Somewhat off topic, I still use my headphone jack. I plug in my headphones into the phone when I'm on conference calls, or if I'm in a loud environment and I need to isolate the sound better. Headphones just work, I can carry a wired headphone in my backpack, and if I need to take a conference call I can always do it. And the audio quality never gets interrupted. It's simple. Simple works.
  
  Let's also talk about security, the more services you have available to the outside world, the larger your risk surfaces. For a secure phone that runs graphene, you would turn Bluetooth off if you don't need to use it. So removing the option of a headphone jack forces people to use Bluetooth when they're using headphones, out in public maybe, which means the phone has more attack surfaces available. Which is antithetical to the mission of a security hardened device.
  
  I honestly would have respected fairphone more if they simply said nobody else is offering a headphone jack, and we intend to support our business through the sale of Bluetooth earbuds, so removing the headphone jack makes our ecosystem more sustainable. I would not have liked it but I would have respected it. But the mealy mouthed water rating excuses a lie. And if you're lying to me I don't think you're being fair to me.
  
  13
- I'm with you brother
  
  3
- Not trying to downplay your point about removing functionally, I completely agree. But I bought a 3.5 to usb-c adapter and it works just as well.
  
  2
  
  I'm not in love with the idea of either carrying an extra dongle, or buying yet another set of wired headphones with the USBC device and a DAC built in. But I could get over it. If, and only if, the phone had two USB ports one on the top one on the bottom.
  
  6
- Totally with you. Won't buy it without a headphone jack. I need a jack way too much to give it up.
  
  There's an entire discussion on that going here.
  
  2
The last two Fairphones (three if we count the 3+) have been released in September. If they release the fifth one this year, we should know soon enough.

Also, the 3 and 4 have been released two years apart, and the 4 has been released two years ago…

8
- They are making an official anouncement on August 23rd https://shop.fairphone.com/event
  
  2
  
  I found it! I tried looking yesterday, but it still had a countdown. It looks like the Fairphone 5 is announced!
  
  https://shop.fairphone.com/event
  
  2
I hope it comes out soon - I'm still using my Fairphone 2 but it's really time for it to retire

7
- So how many years of service is that, that it has been going alright and not giving you issues??
  And are you US-based, and with which provider?
  
  It looks like it was released it like 2015... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone_2
  
  6
  
  I've had it since 2016, so it's close to 7 years now. I replaced the screen and battery on it, but it has been pretty solid. Actually, uptime is something that's an advantage for self-repairable stuff: when the screen needed to be replaced, it still worked enough to use, which I did until the replacement arrived. Takes a minute to swap the screen and then it's running again.
  
  I'm based in Germany so I only used it in the US when traveling. Maybe the 5 will be the one where they decide to cover the US officially? It seems like there's more attention to repairability than there was 7 years ago...
  
  4
Never heard of them before but this looks like a really cool product!

5
Permanently Deleted

3
If there were any details out you would have found it.

I have a Fairphone 4 and really like it :)

2
- I should also ask, how long have you had it (it appears that the release date was just shy of 2 years ago; 30 September 2021), and do you thus far anticipate it continuing usage several years into the future, or does it seem like after 2 years of usage you might be headed towards needing to get another/new phone?
  
  Longevity is another of my main wishes/desires
  
  1
  
  I've had it for about a year now, I'm not feeling any need to upgrade :)
  
  -3
- And you're US-based, @NotAPenguin ?? Which provider do you use for it? Verizon?
  
  Any issues with US towers and connectivity or setting it up to "talk to" the US infrastructure?
  
  1
  
  No sorry, not US based so I'm not sure.
  
  -1
Do yourself a favor and get a refurbished phone, more sustainable than a fair phone, less expensive, and also isn't more expensive and worse than a midrange phone released 3 years ago, fair phones are scams

1
Fairphone just stated that they will be "showcasing our latest design..." next Wednesday. https://shop.fairphone.com/event It is likely that this will be them officially announcing the release date and specifications of the new phone.

1
- Oh sweet! THANK YOU!!! I see it! Thanks for the link!
  
  2
Fair phones are scams, I have a pixel 4a 5g, the fair phone 4 is literally a downgrade from my phone and costs the same price as a pixel 7 or nothing phone (2)

-6
- Fairphone costs more because they give a shit about their impact and workers, of course it's not the best bang for your buck when they gotta spend more money paying their workers fairly instead of squeezing as much profit as they can.
  
  That does not make it a scam in any way.
  
  3
  
  You can still buy a refurbished phone, it arguably has less environmental impact to any new phone, even a fairphone
  
  1

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