Nice to see a mainstream option de-Googled in the US.
For those considering getting this phone for sustainability reasons, just a reminder that the most sustainable option is to keep the phone you have until there’s something actually wrong with it
Thx you !
And this apply to everything you want to replace for sustainability reason.
The most sustainable stuff, is the stuff you don’t buy :)
I mean, as long as I chose to return/donate/hand-down/upcycle my current phone (whatever prevents it from going to a landfill) shouldnt it be fine?
If you have a plan for your current phone, then yea it’s not much different. I think you’re touching on the larger point at hand, because individuals have a miniscule fraction of a percent when it comes to things like e-waste. The overproduction of electronics is a much larger portion of e-waste
Sadly it’s old (2021) and underpowered. That’s not a huge deal breaker because it has pros like being repairable and pretty private. The real problem is that they are regularly late on os and security updates (multiple weeks to months). For example they only officially added support for Android 12 this February and there is still no official support for Android 13.
Unless you specifically want the repairability a Pixel with GrapheneOS is simply much more secure and private.
You can put Calyx on the FP4 (which is what I did).
for me it’s an ethical thing aswell. I bought a Pixel and am currently using GrapheneOS, but had I known about Fairphones earlier I would probably have gotten the FP4 back then. Sure they might not be as powerful as other phones, but if we don’t support them while they’re small, they will never get there at all. I gladly take the performance cut (to a certain extend), if that means buying an ethically (fair) sourced phone and supporting them becomming better in the future. I know this is not the case for everyone.
You’re right but I personally can’t overlook the security problems, that’s the main reason why I bought a PIxel and not one of their phones. If they at least pushed security updates on time I might have bought it. Ignoring the security flaws (and apparently the camera?) if you want a repairable and ethical phone it’s a great choice the best I believe, until they release a newer model).
As I liked the “fair” part of Fairphone I gave them a shot and bought the FP4. I cannot recommend them.
The camera app sucks, but by grabbing a GCAM APK from xda-developers and using that instead you can get acceptable photo quality.
Since Android 12 FP4 has a screen brightness bug that makes the phone rather unusable outside on a sunny day. This is the deal breaker as the problem hasn’t been solved yet.
https://forum.fairphone.com/t/random-screen-dimming-while-brightness-slider-stays-at-100-after-a12-update/93195Thank God, finally! Currently on a pixel 5a with /e/OS and I love it, but theyre not very repairable. Ill run with it as long as possible but this, or the FP5 if mine lasts forever, will be my next buy
I want to get one but unfortunately due to the nature of the phone, there is no resistance to water submersion which is a dealbreaker for me. I want my phones to be at least IP67 which I don’t think is possible while also being repairable.
I took a look at GrapheneOS when I purchased my current phone. Loved it for what it offered but the lack of Android Auto & tap-pay support ultimately turned me away - they’re both not supported for good reason but I use them almost daily.
Does anyone know what the situation is with this product? I assume it also won’t support Android auto for the same reasons
Sustainable
No headphone jack
They actually seem like quality phones when my girlfriend’s friend got one, but seriously? No headphone Jack and force you to use wireless buds that will have to be thrown away when the tiny battery degrades?
USB-c to headphone jack converters are an option. Not ideal because you can’t use it and charge the phone simultaneously, but certainly better than those wireless buds.
