iFixit gives new Fairphone 6 top marks for repairability: 10/10 The sixth generation of the Fairphone repairable mobile was launched at the end of June. Now spudger-flingers iFixit have got their hands on it, and liked the result. port swap made easy. Image courtesy iFixit The pleasure of an easy charge port swap (click to enlarge) – image courtesy iFixit The iFixit site is a top …
My 2.5 year old phone with a former flagship chipset (Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1) is no longer supported and the last security update is 1 year old. And the bootloader can't be unlocked. So fuck Asus.
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in Fairphone 6 should have a similar performance and I'm pretty sure it will be enough for me for the next 5-6 years, I don't play games. The easily replaceable battery is another reason why I'm giving Fariphone 6 a try. Was considering the /e/OS version, but I'm not sure I'm ready to ditch everything from Google. Maybe next time.
Can you sell your ASUS phone (I don't think any ASUS phone after the Zenphone 8 can have the bootloader unlocked) or trade it in for a new phone? Last time I checked Fairphone did has their stock OS available for flashing (not sure about the Fairphone 6 at the moment, but I would imagine it will become available later). I feel for you in having a phone where you can't unlock the bootloader and do anything, I have/had a few phones like that - very frustrating.
Liam isn't shy about telling us what laptops he spends his own money on. I'm curious to know what handset(s) he uses day to day, and what he likes or dislikes about them.
For reference, I'm currently on a Volla 22 running UBPorts. It works pretty well, but app (non-)availability is a bit of a downer, despite having the theoretical ability to run Android code. It's a somewhat shonky, to be honest. I've previously run Lineage, let down by dreadful Huawei/Honor hardware, some Maemo/Meego Nokias, which were pretty good, and way back a succession of Palmos devices which I loved to bits, but which fell well behind on technology before the plug was finally pulled.
-A.
> I'm curious to know what handset(s) he uses day to day,
https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/02/murena_e_foundation_phone_test/
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This reporter is a fan of cheapo Chinese smartphones. In recent years, I've had an iRulu Victory V3, a PPTV King 7, an Umidigi F2 and most recently an Umidigi Bison.
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The next one was a Xiaomi Poco F5. It is still going strong but I am less happy. Twice the price and twice the bloatware.
Not even as swapable back cover? Why? Why not including one of the feature I ask for so long? Not even as official optional accessory in the shop?
OK, my next phone will be Xiaomi again. Currently the Mi 9 with Qi, and the battery is starting to go down - 6 days on average at the beginning are currently a bit about over 2 days.
Tbh outside Apple wireless charging is still a bit of a gimmick. The newest version could have fixed that, but they didn't make the magnets mandatory iirc so it still has the same problem - if I have to fiddle with the positioning, I'd rather just plug in the cable and be sure my cat won't move it off the charger.
Though I have to admit charging headphones from a phone was useful a couple of times (but then I can do the same with the cable too).
Not a gimmick at all on the Pixel 7 at least. My USB port has been on the blink for about a year now (something physical - the plus just don't stay connected), so I've been wireless charging it daily for at least that long.
The phone's nothing special, so I imagine wireless is about as good on many other models
> Tbh outside Apple wireless charging is still a bit of a gimmick.
Shirley you are joking right? Oh no, you meant that cereal! Apple was the LAST VENDOR to incorporate Qi!
Qi was introduced in 2010, and improved over the years. Even Windows Phone had numerous Qi models since 2012! The later Qi versions improved efficiency a lot, so 85% to 95% efficiency is the norm today.
Apple needed until September 2017, and their first Qi implementations were as inefficient as the first Android Qi versions seven years before: The phone got very warm during charging. Apple was late for other Qi stuff too: Charging with 20 Watt up to 100 Watt.
I have two Qi chargers integrated in my (self made) desk slab to have them non visible, two of the Ikea Sjömärke. The previous self made desk slab, which got too small, had "only" one integrated, invisible style too (nokia 900 charger in that case). You can buy desks with Qi integrated for >10 years now, even before Apple started to integrate it.
> Tbh outside Apple wireless charging is still a bit of a gimmick.
I used to think so, but now I consider wireless charging to be a quality of life improvement. I started using wireless charging for my Pixel (running grapheneos) because the usb-c port would gradually get clogged up with pocket lint and I didn't want to have to keep cleaning it out. I have wireless charges on my desk and in my car. No need to fiddle with the positioning of the phone, it just works. I even have a wireless charger that came with my wife's kindle and I can easily charge my phone on that too.
Today's efficiency is usually 90% or better. Old phones (Android until 2016, all Windows phones, Apple until 2020) were indeed inefficient in the 70% to 80% range. You notice the difference in the heat the phone generates during Qi charging.
With 50 Watts and more such a high efficiency is mandatory, else the phone would need to dissipate > 10 watt of heat, which is impossible OR would make it too hot to touch. Or you have to go the ASUS way: Integrate a fan into the phone - I am not talking about the external ROG-plug-on cooler. (Correctional edit: ZTE, not ASUS, was the first)
No USB wear is the one thing, but simply "pick the phone, don't unplug" when it is ringing is the other thing. And if you have a wife, you know how important "I want to see less cables" is (does not apply to all of them, some are more Lain about it). Add solar as source on top, at least for me, and you main argument falls apart completely.
Fairphone hardware is apparently not bad, but if customer complaints are anything to go by, they tend to fail hard on the software layer (lots of bugs, some of them never fixed, apparently), and Fairphone's customer support is symbolic at best (several weeks, sometimes months to just get a support ticket). A pity, because the easy parts swapping sounded like a really good idea.
My better half is not exactly a power user but she's perfectly happy with her stock FP4 and believe me, if there were major software bugs I'd be told about it.
/e/ isn't the only alternative. There are builds of Lineage for the 4 and 5 and I dare say the 6 will be along soon, so if no-google is your preference then you could save the €50, buy a stock device and swap the OS yourself. (May also be possible with /e/ but I'm not that familiar with it)
This also gives a potential way forward when FP eventually stop OS updates; Lineage is likely to carry on for a couple of additional versions, but a promise of seven versions for the FP6 is quite a long way down the road, and if the hardware is getting a bit worn, just swap out the relevant bits as you go along.
On the other hand, the last few phones I've bought for family have been second hand. Good experience with a Moto Edge 20 Pro which is still getting the latest Lineage updates and a Pixel 4a5G, likewise. Not so good with an Xperia something-or-other which would have been fine, had the supplier not sent an Oceania model to me in the UK. Lineage is available for lots of variants of that Xperia, but not for the Oceania model, which also apparently doesn't have an EU capable radio, so actually came with a letter in the package saying it doesn't work on Three or Three-based MVNOs! Bit of a downer for a Smarty user. Back it went.
M.
Couldn't you just buy it with Android and then flash /e/ OS yourself or is there some OEM "BIOS" licence thing going on?
I am still using my Galaxy S5, the micro sd card slot no longer works and the back is full of duck tape. And the battery lasts so little I have to use it with the charger plug in all the time, but it still works.
Samsung used to make durable phones the key here being "used to".
Heck remember old Nokia? My Nokia N8 still works! The software is just too outdated to do anything with it but use it as a MP3 player and play Symbian games.
I am still using my Galaxy S5, the micro sd card slot no longer works and the back is full of duck tape. And the battery lasts so little I have to use it with the charger plug in all the time, but it still works.
A replacement S5 battery is a tenner for third party, double that for a Samsung branded one. Surely you can stretch to that?
The upfront cost is pretty bad, but if it lasts for 7 years, that's not a terrible deal. Comprable to a mid-range iPhone, and I'm not sure about Pixel price ranges. Unfortunately, I don't think these are ones that carriers are either gonna subsidise or allow payment plans (one nice thing about being locked in a contract while I pay off the new one is my bill not increasing).
It's got ages of support, and any commonly failing bits can be replaced by the user. It's not bad for the money, especially since it's not pretty much obsolete at release like previous Fairphones were. This is the first time I can say it's a decent spec, albeit on the pricey side for said spec.
Yeah, it's just that upfront cost that can be a hurdle. I recently went from a Fruitphone 11 to 16 a couple of years before planned[1] and a big part of deciding to do things that way was being able to get it financed through my carrier for $20 a month rather than buying even a cheap phone in one lump payment. Unless people can get a Fairphone through a carrier deal like that, it's going to price a lot of people out of the market even if it's an excellent overall value.
[1] A friend of mine had a phone break, and it made more sense to me to just upgrade early, and give him a perfectly (at least for a couple of years) good phone rather than buying him a cheap android and have to replace mine anyway down the road.
Thought about it, opted for a new iPhone 13 instead, from Argos of all places.
iPhones still have a good resale value after years of use. High demand drives that.
Fair phone? Not so much.
I finally got tired of Android phones after it became clear to me personally that the Samsung S9 that lasted me 6 years was still better than most of the newer stuff on the market, but the screen and battery were dying.
If the fair phone 6 had equivalent looks and specs, I’d buy it without hesitation.
It doesn’t.
The idea of switching Gemini off or having another OS entirely is very appealling, quite apart from the parts replacement option. The only reason I am not jumping in just now is that my FairPhone 4 is still soldiering on happily, especially with the battery replacement I could do myself without any tools (although having to use a screwdriver in the next version is no issue whatsoever.
Does anyone know if the /e/ version (preinstalled) is any different from the normal one if you install /e/ (or LineageOS) yourself? I'm asking because sometimes apps (especially financial apps, but not only) complain that Android is a "custom ROM". Technically, this wouldn't be the case if /e/ is preinstalled, but I'm not sure if they just blacklist anything that's degoogled, preinstalled or not.
I really appreciate the repairability and their new phone is the first I would seriously contemplate. It's just about powerful enough for the price.
I think their biggest contribution is putting paid to the bollocks that phones cannot possibly allow somebody to swap batteries or repair screens. Sealing phones was always a cynical ploy by Apple and other makers to build obsolescence into devices and no other reason.
One criticism of Fairphone is their webstore promotes Klarna which doesn't exactly jive with their "ethical" stance.
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