Interesting that they seem to be using a consumer grade Snapdragon chip this time, typically they used weird chips ment for industry applications if I’m not mistaken. Wonder what sparked the change, did Qualcomm start supporting their chips for longer?
Did some digging, but it doesn’t appear the band compatibility with US carriers is improved at all. Am I wrong here?
From their own site it would seem they don’t. There is a “US” version but you can’t buy a Fairphone from the website directly.
https://m.gsmarena.com/fairphone_6-13955.php
There is some band overlap, but I am no expert.
There’s a deGoogled version too!!
I would prefer GrapheneOS (If I can live with the irony of getting a Pixel phone just to deGoogle it…). Sandboxing there is way better. But you lose the Repairability… Gotta check and compare the new EU metrics too.
They are just two different devices.
I not only want a degoogled version but also a secure one. Sadly developing a secure android is rather hard. The Graphene team does it pretty well. Others try it too, but sadly they are not close.
Degoogled version is €50 more, for whatever reason
the reason: support for developers. You can install it yourself to save that amount.
People don’t want to pay for privacy. That’s the real problem with end users. Imagine if more people did so. What a world we could have. Nah. Let’s be cheap AF!
I posted this elsewhere but the tech specs for the Fairphone 6 say the following:
USB-C 2.0 (OTG capable) can be used to connect USB Sticks/SD-Cards/Audio Amplifier/Network-adapters directly
I was really looking forward to use this with a pair of display glasses, like the XREAL One Pro, but this seems like the Fairphone 6 might not support display output? That’s sad. Especially since the Fairphone 5 had this in their tech specs:
USB-C 3.0 (OTG capable) can be used to connect USB Sticks/SD-Cards/display (also Android™ desktop mode)/Camera/Audio Amplifier/Network-adapters directly
But maybe it was not used enough?
main camera, AI-powered low-light magic
Can I turn it off? Can I? I just want my photos, the real ones, however bad they are. I don’t want them to be half generated.
Just to be clear, unless you’re shooting RAW you never have your “real” photos. Every phone/camera performs massive amounts of post processing, including using ml models.
AI is only a buzzword for something that has been the norm for a while.
I want my photos to be grainy, with natural lens distortion, instead of current trend of pictures being shouty to look good on social media
You can shoot RAW on your phone today.
Is there any chance this is the same HDR technology that has been around for at least 10 years, but using latest marketing buzzwords?
Also, working a bit on developing my photos from RAW over last years taught me how we actually expect a lot of magic from a regular camera. The brain does a lot of work and low/high light compensation, color balance, etc… are required to some extend. Of course sometimes it becomes a bit absurd : most smartphone pictures seems oversaturated, with clear blue skies and I one took a photo of a blue-ish mountain because (I think) some classifier thought it was part of the sky.
Yeah, it’s most likely just doing some “AI” (ML) denoising. Nothing to do with GenAI
No earphone jack again. That’s a bit sad. Even though I mainly use BLT earbuds, I still sometimes wish I could use my wired headphones. It’s just a small inconvenience
Not having a headphone jack is just a slap in the face from a company whose whole image is supposed to be longevity.
I never use wired headphones even though I have a jack in my phone. But I have never bought a phone without a jack and probably never will.
Ipersonally think it’s user hostile to remove the jack and also goes directly agains the green profile Fairphone wants to have.
I had a phone without before, that one came with a simple cheap passive adapter for USB-C to 3.5mm headset. You lose out on using headphones while charging, but other than that I was never really inconvenienced…
I disagree about this being a good solution. USB-C is not meant to take the strain of being used as an audio port when being used in the go so there is risk of damaging the port while a headphone jack is more stable and allows the plug to rotate. Plus I don’t want to have a dingle I can forget when in a rush.
After having a phone without a 3.5mm port or a microSD card slot, the top 2 features I want on a phone are a 3.5mm port and a microSD card slot.
Shame Sony discontinued their Xperia 5 series, even if they were also excessively priced.
aw man, this is the first i’m hearing about discontinuation. apparently it’s because people want larger phones?!
i have a 5 IV and it is by far the largest phone i’ve ever owned… i wish it was like an inch smaller. but it was the only model i could find that doesn’t have a non-rectangular screen. these bloody camera cutouts are everywhere and i never even use the front camera.
Yep… everyone wants phablets. Apparently.
I don’t mind the cutouts (if done right), they just sit in the notification bar, so they never obscure anything anyway. That’s a place Sony could have shaved off the extra height imo, the top and bottom bezels are pretty unnecessary.
We are slowly moving to under-screen cameras now though.
The Sony form factor is the best on the market IMO. You can hold it in you hand and get more screen in the height.
You also have to remember to have that adapter with you
An issue shared with the headphones themselves
I just leave the adapter plugged into the headphones. Then there’s nothing extra to manage.
I have like a dozen pairs of headphones
You can find adapters that can charge while still having a 3.5mm back
It’s really a small inconvenience, but using an adapter would mean I’d be prone to misplace it when I use my headphones on anything else, so it hardly makes anything better
The reason for not using a headphone jack is making it simpler for the manufacturer, one less connector to handle which also limits how slim a phone can be.
I’m not saying this is good for the consumer, but there are reasons for integrating the functionality into the USB-C port.
It’s not hard to manufacture a headphone jack. We’ve been doing it since the 80s. Probably costs them a penny BOM.
For $700 I’m not interested in compromising my own convenience for theirs.
Fair, though the fact doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
If you want easily replaceable parts and a system that can unlock the bootloader for example, your argument can be made for 99% of phones on the market. The more requirements you add, the smaller the scope gets until there are no devices left to choose from.
“Modularity” but still no headphone jack, couldn’t I just have a backplate with a big bump on it to accommodate a 3.5mm jack?
I was just hoping a phone like fairphone would give me the option to buy a small module or something to let me do it.
Yes, yes there’s adapters … yes, yes, you don’t need to use it … I understand. I just want it.
You have these usb-c to mini jack adapters. They are like 5 to 10eu. They are small enough to keep them attached to your jack headphone. It works perfectly for me.
I think it is better to view the usb-c plug as ‘one protocol to rule them all’. If you do so, it makes quite some sense.
Every adapter I had was broken after a year or less. I imagine if you keep them attached to your phone, they’ll break even faster. Do these adapters exist with a 90° angle which might help preventing broken cables?
Not really in the spirit of reducing waste.
I’ve never had one of those actually work…
For the amount of space a earphone jack takes it really doesn’t make sense for them to include it, when you can just use a cheap adaptor cable
I’d love one and have checked back each year after their first model, but they still don’t sell to Australia - and I’m not going to buy something I can’t get direct parts and services for, and would need to go through third parties for.
If their model is a successful business I honestly thought they would have expanded beyond shipping/supporting only Europe by now, its been a decade since their first model. Maybe they’re still not a very big player / modest success?
600 euros? That’s like 700 USD
Remind me again, wasn’t like 80% of the American population on the verge of poverty and homelessness if a 500 USD emergency happened?
Who’s benefiting from this?
Ethically sourced, fair wages to workers, etc. Makes you wonder what a factory worker in china makes to allow for cheaper phones.
Ooo they sell these in the US?
Who in the US is buying midrange or flagship phones without a loan?
They are hardly even in the US market. Only via Murena with their e/OS/.
3.5mm Jack or - sadly - GTFO
It’s too bad they dont ship to Canada. I’m in the market for a new phone and would seriously consider this.
Same US. EU gets the best stuff.
Clove Technology resells to outside the EU
But also consider potential carrier compatibility issues with importing
Thanks for the tip!
I had a look at the bands and it is indeed compatible in Canada! 🎉
Source: GSMArena + Fido support
The state of mobile phone market in Canada is so frustrating. Not only is our market dominated by 3 players who refuse to actually compete with each other, but we miss out on half the cool phones that the rest of the world gets too.
Is it me or did they get slightly more vague on their marketing materials, wrt the environmental impact ( at least compared to fp5 ) ?
Also the battery seems a bit harder to replace, as you now need a screwdriver. It does appear to be more flush, so it may be due to size constraints.
Edit: and there’s “more” replaceable parts because the back is split in two. That split might prove better for durability tho, because pulling the back on their older phones felt like it would break every time.
Screwdrivers are pretty entry-level tools though.
I know I know, but it was really convenient to keep a spare battery and do a quick swap on the fp4.
That’s a pretty fair point, though I assume a spare powerbank would solve the problem nearly as well (albeit slower and with a cable).
I don’t mind having a few screws to remove every few years when I need to replace my battery.
Although there is another thing, I’m not sure but I wonder if it has any impact. My FP3 has made a few very bad falls and nothing ever broke. I wonder if its “bad” integrity makes it very good at dissipating the fall’s energy.
My 3 greatest wishes are:
Replaceable battery
Replaceable usb charging port
120 watt cahrging
Why do you need 120 watts charging for a phone? Most laptops don’t even support 100w.
Ultra fast charging is so good though. I’ve got a oneplus 12 and it charges from 0-100 in like 30 minutes.
Surely, that impacts the battery longevity, right? Personally, I disable all fast-charging features and charge my phone overnight.
P.S. Sorry for calling you Shirley.
Hence item number 1 on his list.
I’ve been through two smart phones, and both of them were down to eventual battery issues and randomly powering off at (allegedly) 30% remaining battery when you fire up the camera or something.
See wish list item 1
I saw list item 1 more as “I want my phone to last for 5+ years, so I will want to replace my battery eventually”, rather than “I wanna wreck my battery fast, so it better be replaceable”. Being wasteful with your battery like that goes against the spirit of Fairphone, IMO.
It’s all about the heat. It’s not dumping 120w non stop even over 90% for example. OnePlus also use supervooc not standard usb pd. My phone legit does 150w max and while I mostly use my 80w charger because my tablet uses that I can’t say my battery seems affected much 2,5 years in.
A little more info on it https://www.androidauthority.com/supervooc-fast-charging-686000/
2.5 years isn’t that long to evaluate battery degradation IMO, and as you said, you mostly don’t even push your battery that hard. And the article even seems to imply that faster charging does impact battery life, it’s just that manufacturers consider 100w a sweet-spot between charging speed and battery degradation.
deleted by creator
Replaceable battery
40€
Replaceable usb charging port
20€
120 watt cahrging
33W
Snapdragon 7s Gen3 is a pretty decent chipset. Decent display too. 8GB RAM is a bit on the low side. Camera is all about how good processing is. It’s not that crazy expensive if all works well and considering what their goal is.
I’m sad that the battery swap requires a screwdriver, but it’s really fine. As long as it’s not glued in I don’t care honestly.
The modular back is cool, specs look nice, lighter and smaller than my FP5 is a great thing, cuz this thing is heavy and the battery is mid.
It looks cool! Good direction I think. Of course I want a headphone jack, but I am learning to live without
This looks pretty good. The main issue with Fairphone for me is the price. FP 5 is still about 2x as expensive as Pixel 8. I got my Pixel 8a on promotion for ~250 euros. FP 5 still costs over 500. I never paid more than 300 euros for a phone and I’m not planning to.
Fair wages and sustainable practices cost more than sweatshop labor
Pixel is build by Foxxcon. Foxxcon has 3.5 stars on Glassdoor. From what I found Fairphone is build by TCL which has 3.2 stars on Glassdoor.
It’s all still made in Asia. It’s really hard to monitor conditions there and it’s pretty much impossible to monitor conditions at every step of the supply chain. I understand paying extra for a more sustainable phone (repairable, longer support) but paying double for a vague promise of being more “fair”? Thanks by no thanks. Pixel has 8 years of support now so the difference in sustainability is minimal.
