Fairphone 5 Released (shop.fairphone.com)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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With 5 years of OS support and 8 years of security update.

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[-] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I really wish it had a 3.5mm audio jack. I don't see what companies stand to earn, other than money, when they remove the headphone jack.

I can see why Apple and Samsung removed it because the they can market their own wireless headphones.

Removing the jack only removes capability, it is not like older phones didn't have the capability to connect to Bluetooth headphones

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Yeah their original excuse to remove it was largely related to space due to the modular design.

If you want to read it is here.

https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9836188988049-Audio-jack-3-5mm

[-] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

get wit the times

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Wish it was degoogled. I’d love one, but… android 🤢 privacy hell

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Pixel 6a you can find for 250-300 and flash graphene.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

It doesn't have a 3,5mm jack or a microsd slot

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Good luck with that headphone jack on the Fairphone

[-] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

oh don't worry, i ain't holding out hope

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

I understand why is the device so expensive (they wanted to make sure that everyone in the manufacture pipeline is properly paid, and that the materials are ethically sourced as much as humanly possible) but yeah, unless I can be absolutely sure that I won't be changing devices in the next five years, I don't think I'll be able to afford this one.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Isn't it wonderful playing a rigged game?

Here is a phone that ticks many, many boxes for sustainable and ethical production. It's the phone that "free market will fix it" neoliberals insist should bring the downfall of companies that just release e-waste.

But of course the free market won't fix anything.

Neoliberals built a managed democracy and giant corporations were allowed to use outsourcing, slaves and environment-unfriendly manufacturing.

The influx of cheap goods subsidised by the misery of foreign workers and future generations made it harder to notice our shrinking wages. We could still afford to fill our homes with tat, just like our parents did.

But your grandfathers tools lasted 30 years and yours will last 3 (and be worse for the duration). Very few companies even bother offering good products, let alone ethical ones.

Because nobody can actually afford "good" any more. Not the consumers who want to buy it, nor the handful of companies trying to sell it. You have to buy crap. Companies have to be unethical.

It's dug us a very very deep hole that's going to be a lot of hard work to climb out of and it's looking like politicians and billionaires are only interested in selling us new shovels.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Millions of people could afford this phone, they just don't care about ethics.

Instead the Samsung S's, Folds and iPhones sell by the tens of millions because they are trendy and give more "bang for the buck".

[-] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

And millionaires could afford to pay their workers fair wages, but apparently you'd rather blame the general public instead.

It's not at all unreasonable for people to assume the goods they buy are ethically produced.

If someone gets food poisoning from a restaurant, do you blame them for eating there? Do you try and shame them for not reading through 800 reviews to check it was safe to eat there? Do you insist they should have gone somewhere that was twice the price for half the portion?

Of course you don't. But apparently this deeply flawed logic is only used when it comes to corporate greed and only because rich people don't run restaurants.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

All those are fair points. There's not much freedom of choice because common people are struggling to live as it is, to splurge on something with a bad camera and battery life makes no sense (I believe those are some main points people upgrade their phones).

I'm running a 4 year old phone and probably will be going on 5th year because of economical strain.

In your analogy, it also doesn't help that there's only one ethical restaurant among hundreds of unethical ones. It's expensive because nobody goes there and nobody goes there because it's expensive.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I understand why people would hesitate to pay the price. Realistically, the Fairphone could have put in higher quality parts but that would have just blown their costs out further.

But exploitative wages -- for both foreign and domestic workers -- are at the core of many problems and I hate to see customers blamed.

The one in a hundred restaurant might be full of empty tables, but where would people eat if you doubled their wages? If there were two chocolate bars with identical taste, being offered at an identical price, except one of them used child slaves (and said so on the packaging), how many people "wouldn't care" then?

Ethical choices shouldn't be a luxury, unethical choices just shouldn't be an option. If that means people can't afford chocolate, they can take it up with the executives who have been pocketing their payrises.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

I wonder if IP55 is enough to mount to motorcycle handlebars in heavy rain.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Doubt it but for that use an otterbox case or similar would be your best friend, hell nowadays you can mount phones within a waterproof bag.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Doesn't seem like there are any waterproof cases for the 4, so I doubt we will see any for the 5. Maybe more likely now that the phone is available in the US at least. Not a fan of the waterproof bag idea myself.

At least my tank bag has the option for a waterproof cell phone pocket though, I doubt the touch screen would work through the thick plastic. Never tried it because I don't have the pouch required to keep the phone in place on the bag.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

Threads for Fairphone often fill up with "it's not going to work if they don't X." Lots of people don't seem to understand that their personal viewpoint can be quite different from other's.

There are people who are aware of the trade-offs of a Fairphone, but still choose to get one.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

I've always been in favour of a phone with a shitty camera. I don't give a fuck about posting on social media, and these days a huge chunk of a phone's price is determined by how powerful of a camera they were able to cram into it.

I recognize that this apparently sounds insane to most people.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

I don't post on social media either, but my phone have replaced the compact camera that I used to pack for family vacations.

I suspect that's what most people use their phone camera phone: to take personal photos that will only be shared with family members.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

This is a pretty great phone, I just wouldn't spend this much on a phone. Even if it lasts let's say 6 years, I can buy 3-4 mid range androids at this price & as the years go by they could be far better than this one near the end.

Also while Iphones are really hard to repair, they do last very long & there are people out there who can replace my iphone battery for like $40 and it too would last 5-6 years. (a recent enough refurbished SE for example)

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Even if it lasts let's say 6 years, I can buy 3-4 mid range androids at this price

Something tells me you missed the point of the Fairphone...

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I think a very small percentage of users would justify a purchase on repair-ability & sustainability alone (privacy is not it!), if it does not save them at least a little money in the long run and as things are it does not. If it was just a bit cheaper they could sell 10x as many units & normal people like me would be happy. I think this is reasonable to ask for, yes the phone is more expensive to make, but software support is not nearly as expensive as you think. Android is very easy to update and port these days, sure it's like 4 engineer salaries to keep some degree of testing running alongside development, but if they sold more devices, then the relative cost would go way down.

Then again, if they can maintain profitability by targeting that niche market it's good for them, I just wish someone took 'right to repair' & 'right to own' to the masses.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

The problem is, paying fair wages, sourcing fair materials und make sure the phone ist repairable and lasts longer will always be more expensive than let's say Xiaomi. If the phone lasts for example six years instead of the usual two they will only sell a third of the phones other manufactures will sell, even if they reach the same customer base.

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I pre-ordered already.

Ok, so honesty time: The fact that this company is good for the environment, pays people well, etc.. is NOT my main "thing" for wanting to own this phone.

It's the fact that it is open. I can unlock and flash whatever I want, I can fix things by ordering replacement parts, a new screen is TOTALLY do-able both price wise and doing it myself.

Also it does not come with bloat, or vendor-lock in software like on ALL samsung shitty phones.

Out of all the phones, this one makes the most sense.

(And my current FP4 goes to my mother, perfect for her and many more years of support)

[-] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

I see Google Drive, Gmail, Google Messages on screenshots so it does come with bloatware.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

While unfortunate, not shipping these standard Google apps is not really an option for any Android manufacturer due to Google requirements. Including them is required if you want to use anything from the GSM, which includes things like the Play Store and everything it touches. You can technically ship a different Android distribution like Lineage or /e/, but that's not really what most people will be expecting of an "Android" phone and will narrow the viable target demographic even more than the value proposition already does.

this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023

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