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Was lucky enough to get my Fairphone 4 on sale, but I'd happily pay full price now - even though the Fairphones are pricey for the specs, unless you absolutely

Was lucky enough to get my Fairphone 4 on sale, but I'd happily pay full price now - even though the Fairphones are pricey for the specs, unless you absolutely need 24 cores etc. I'd say they are worth it, knowing the company is at least trying to improve the parts supply chain, and knowing you stand a chance of fixing the devices yourself (luckily I've only had to replace the USB-C port, which was trivial) About the only thing I'd ding Fairphone on is not communicating earlier that they were having trouble getting Android 14 out to the FP4s, but the security patches have been consistent. (Okay I'm also dinging them on getting rid of the headphone jack, yes I know it's a lost cause... )

onli 1y ago
Not really a lost cause in general, there are a bunch of regular phones that have a headphone jack. But fairphone seems unwilling to listen to all the feedback they are getting telling them this is a blocker, so yes, in that way it is a lost cause there. A shame really.
exabrial 1y ago
+1 for headphone jack. At least they got the MicroSD correct!
lawn 1y ago
I've been very happy with my Fairphone 4 that I've had for 4 years now running CalyxOS. I could probably use it for a few more years but I may upgrade to the 6 if the speakers/microphone are better (and to support the company).
- thaumasiotes 1y ago
  > I could probably use it for a few more years but I may upgrade to the 6 if the speakers/microphone are better I don't get this. Isn't the whole concept of the company modular parts? Shouldn't you be able to put the better speakers in your existing phone?
  - Foobar8568 1y ago
    It's not modular, and each fairphone is not compatible with the previous one. FP3 had an update camera if I remember well but it was the exception.
    - forty 1y ago
      Yes, people often get that wrong, it's not modular or upgradable, it's repairable, which is already great. IMO we are far past the point when we should have decided smartphone hardware is good enough, and stop having people upgrade over and over. But I guess capitalism needs to be fed and everything is made to make sure that never happens (including making sure everyone thinks we do need better hardware)
      - thaumasiotes 1y ago
        > it's not modular or upgradable, it's repairable, which is already great. Well, I was going to observe that I broke my phone recently for the first time out of more than 10 years of having a smartphone. But I remembered that while I didn't break it, my Nexus 5 spontaneously broke and couldn't be fixed, causing me to lose about a year of chat history that I would like to have back. That said, if the parts are replaceable, there is no good reason to prevent you from replacing them with upgrades. That is by far the highest-value use of the ability to replace parts.
        forty 1y ago
        Since 2019, I replaced once the battery of my FP3. I often see people with broken screens. USB ports can get damaged by too many plug cycles etc. None of these reason should justify buying a new phone, but in practice if replacing the part is not relatively cheap and straightforward, this is what happens. And yes upgrade can be cool too but much harder and probably unrealistic for a small company like this one. Look at how well it works for PC, after 10 years you have to still change everything to upgrade anything (your new CPU socket forces you to change the mother board, and the CPU fan, then your old ram is not compatible, etc and at the end you keep the case and maybe the PSU. And this is on a relatively open ecosystem compared to the mobile world with their SoC/SoM, high space constraints and a single supported kernel etc...)
bombela 1y ago
The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend. Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption. Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned obsolescence. And this is legal.
- KingOfCoders 1y ago
  After years of a Fairbuds XL (never again!) and Bose QC for my Zoom sessions, I've ordered a Sony MDR-7506 because it does not need to be charged, and bluetooth doesn't need to be reconnected etc. Hurray for headphone jacks.
  - kevincox 1y ago
    I'm generally a fan of wired-everything but headphones are the one thing that I love to have wireless. Not only is it not a tangle with the cord but I can go grab a glass of water without any interruption even still listening to a meeting while I do. The biggest downside is worrying about the battery level. But they last so long on a single charge that it isn't even an issue if you forget to plug them in many days in a row and the battery charges fast even on a slow charger.
    - KingOfCoders 1y ago
      Mine don't last an 10 hour day :-(
- jack_pp 1y ago
  I don't think it's about planned obsolescence. It's about cutting costs and having one less hole water can get in. Also wired headphones are a very niche market. If you care so much there are wireless DACs that can feed your wired headphones better than any phone in history.
  - 1y ago
Artoooooor 1y ago
Still no headphone jack in fairphone 6? Damn, I was almost sure it will by my next phone :(
- yanosc 1y ago
  I'm curious. Why is this such an important thing for you? I seems like a usbc to 3.5mm jack would solve most of the issue.
dotancohen 1y ago
I've replaced the USB-C port on a few Samsung devices as well, recently a Note 10 Lite (my second, I loved that phone enough to replace it with the same model). It was trivial, even opening the back case was not too difficult. And the battery was right there had I wanted to replace it as well. These things are not as difficult as tech writers make them out to be.
Foobar8568 1y ago
Security patch once every 3months... I regret buying a FP4.
- karussell 1y ago
  Yeah, last patch is from 5th March. I regret buying FP4 too. Unfortunately the hardware is very sturdy and does not break justifying buying a different one. But the software feels half ready in a few critical parts (GPS and phone/sms in my case) and the support is non existent (very bad) for my two issues I had (still have).
xorcist 1y ago
I will not buy another phone without a headphone jack. Either I will have to buy Xperias or stock up on old Pixel 4 phones.

onli 1y ago

Not really a lost cause in general, there are a bunch of regular phones that have a headphone jack. But fairphone seems unwilling to listen to all the feedback they are getting telling them this is a blocker, so yes, in that way it is a lost cause there. A shame really.

exabrial 1y ago

+1 for headphone jack. At least they got the MicroSD correct!

lawn 1y ago

I've been very happy with my Fairphone 4 that I've had for 4 years now running CalyxOS. I could probably use it for a few more years but I may upgrade to the 6 if the speakers/microphone are better (and to support the company).

thaumasiotes 1y ago
> I could probably use it for a few more years but I may upgrade to the 6 if the speakers/microphone are better I don't get this. Isn't the whole concept of the company modular parts? Shouldn't you be able to put the better speakers in your existing phone?
- Foobar8568 1y ago
  It's not modular, and each fairphone is not compatible with the previous one. FP3 had an update camera if I remember well but it was the exception.
  - forty 1y ago
    Yes, people often get that wrong, it's not modular or upgradable, it's repairable, which is already great. IMO we are far past the point when we should have decided smartphone hardware is good enough, and stop having people upgrade over and over. But I guess capitalism needs to be fed and everything is made to make sure that never happens (including making sure everyone thinks we do need better hardware)
    - thaumasiotes 1y ago
      > it's not modular or upgradable, it's repairable, which is already great. Well, I was going to observe that I broke my phone recently for the first time out of more than 10 years of having a smartphone. But I remembered that while I didn't break it, my Nexus 5 spontaneously broke and couldn't be fixed, causing me to lose about a year of chat history that I would like to have back. That said, if the parts are replaceable, there is no good reason to prevent you from replacing them with upgrades. That is by far the highest-value use of the ability to replace parts.
      - forty 1y ago
        Since 2019, I replaced once the battery of my FP3. I often see people with broken screens. USB ports can get damaged by too many plug cycles etc. None of these reason should justify buying a new phone, but in practice if replacing the part is not relatively cheap and straightforward, this is what happens. And yes upgrade can be cool too but much harder and probably unrealistic for a small company like this one. Look at how well it works for PC, after 10 years you have to still change everything to upgrade anything (your new CPU socket forces you to change the mother board, and the CPU fan, then your old ram is not compatible, etc and at the end you keep the case and maybe the PSU. And this is on a relatively open ecosystem compared to the mobile world with their SoC/SoM, high space constraints and a single supported kernel etc...)

bombela 1y ago

The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend. Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption. Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned obsolescence. And this is legal.

KingOfCoders 1y ago
After years of a Fairbuds XL (never again!) and Bose QC for my Zoom sessions, I've ordered a Sony MDR-7506 because it does not need to be charged, and bluetooth doesn't need to be reconnected etc. Hurray for headphone jacks.
- kevincox 1y ago
  I'm generally a fan of wired-everything but headphones are the one thing that I love to have wireless. Not only is it not a tangle with the cord but I can go grab a glass of water without any interruption even still listening to a meeting while I do. The biggest downside is worrying about the battery level. But they last so long on a single charge that it isn't even an issue if you forget to plug them in many days in a row and the battery charges fast even on a slow charger.
  - KingOfCoders 1y ago
    Mine don't last an 10 hour day :-(
jack_pp 1y ago
I don't think it's about planned obsolescence. It's about cutting costs and having one less hole water can get in. Also wired headphones are a very niche market. If you care so much there are wireless DACs that can feed your wired headphones better than any phone in history.
- 1y ago

Artoooooor 1y ago

Still no headphone jack in fairphone 6? Damn, I was almost sure it will by my next phone :(

yanosc 1y ago
I'm curious. Why is this such an important thing for you? I seems like a usbc to 3.5mm jack would solve most of the issue.

dotancohen 1y ago

I've replaced the USB-C port on a few Samsung devices as well, recently a Note 10 Lite (my second, I loved that phone enough to replace it with the same model). It was trivial, even opening the back case was not too difficult. And the battery was right there had I wanted to replace it as well. These things are not as difficult as tech writers make them out to be.

Foobar8568 1y ago

Security patch once every 3months... I regret buying a FP4.

karussell 1y ago
Yeah, last patch is from 5th March. I regret buying FP4 too. Unfortunately the hardware is very sturdy and does not break justifying buying a different one. But the software feels half ready in a few critical parts (GPS and phone/sms in my case) and the support is non existent (very bad) for my two issues I had (still have).

xorcist 1y ago

I will not buy another phone without a headphone jack. Either I will have to buy Xperias or stock up on old Pixel 4 phones.