cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/214933
You can access and swap out several components in the Fairphone 6, including its battery, with a single screwdriver. | Image: Fairphone
Fairphone has announced its latest repairable smartphone, nearly two years after introducing the last upgrade. The new Fairphone 6 is smaller and 9 percent lighter than its predecessor, but it includes a larger 4,415mAh battery — easily replaceable by removing just seven screws — that will power the phone for up to 53 hours on a full charge. It’s also more modular than previous versions, with new accessories like a card holder and finger loop that can be attached to the back of the phone.
The Fairphone 6 is available now through the company’s online store and other European retailers for €599 (around $696). There are black, green, and white color options. But as with previous versions dating back to the Fairphone 3, the new model will only be available in the US through Murena, and delivery is expected sometime in August. Instead of running standard Android, the Murena version of the Fairphone 6 will feature a privacy-focused and de-Googled version of Android that the company calls /e/OS. It’s available for preorder now for $899.
The Fairphone 6 has a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 mobile processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage that’s expandable up to 2TB using an SDXC card. It also features a 6.31-inch LTPO OLED display that’s slightly smaller than the Fairphone 5’s 6.46-inch screen, but with a refresh rate boosted from 90Hz to 120Hz.
On the back, you’ll find a 50MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera, while the front has a 32MP hole-punch camera for selfies and video calls. That’s a significant step down from the Fairphone 5, which used 50MP sensors on all three of its cameras.
The Fairphone 6’s physical design is similar to the previous model, although the lenses on the back are no longer located on a small camera bump and instead sit directly on the back panel. That panel is more modular now, allowing the lower section to be removed using just two screws and replaced with alternatives that add more functionality, like a wallet for holding cards or a finger loop for more securely holding the phone with one hand. The idea is similar to the swappable accessories Nothing offers for its CMF Phone 1 and Phone Pro 2, but how useful it will actually be depends on how many accessories Fairphone makes available.
Repairability is still a priority for Fairphone, and its new phone carries forward the same modular design of past versions. The modular aspect lets you access and swap 12 different parts — including the screen, battery, and USB port — using just a single standard screwdriver instead of specialized tools.
To further extend the Fairphone 6’s lifespan, the company includes a five-year warranty and promises eight years of software support through 2033. But the downside to not having everything inside the phone being glued in place and sealed tight is that the Fairphone 6 still has a limited IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. It can get splashed or even blasted with a jet of water, but it won’t survive an accidental submersion.
Aside from performance improvements and the new modular accessories, Fairphone seems to be staying the course with its latest smartphone, but it is introducing one additional new feature on the software side: Fairphone Moments. Activated through a physical switch on the phone’s side, it will let you “toggle between a full-featured smartphone and a minimalist experience.”
We don’t know exactly what Fairphone Moments will be minimizing, but since the company describes it as being “a mindful way to engage with technology, putting owners in control, not their notifications,“ it sounds like an alternate mode that reduces distractions so you can focus on specific tasks.
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I really want one, but it’s unfortunately too expensive for me. I’ll keep my fingers crossed they make it more affordable soonish!
The economies of scale can help with that.
The Fairphone just isn’t a device with mass appeal. It will always cost more compared to phones with similar specs. The ugly truth is that only exploration of labor made phones as cheap as they are. Once you pay workers fairly, price of everything goes up.
Second, a lot of people aren’t looking for repairability. They care about having a working phone, doesn’t matter to them if the device is repaired or replaced. With repairability though come restrictions regarding design (both visual and technical) people might not agree with, further limiting the possible audience.
Personally I’m surprised they were able to lower this gen’s introduction price with how things are going; I’ll probably get one after reviews are out, replacing my Redmi Note 8 as the kernel is no longer supported. Was a good run though, almost six strong years, love the device and cost me 130 euros back then. But of course totally different focus from the Fairphone. I was in a different financial spot back then.
I get that people want a headphone jack. But I don’t get them saying that it is off the table because one feature that no other phone has.
What other phone would you buy?
Cheap moto phone that can do that and calyx. Linux phone, etc.
Pixel if you want graphene now that youre “forced” into no jack.
My Moto g83 is under 200 nowadays.
One plus nord
Ifixit score 6/10 vs Fairphone 5 10/10, probably same for the new model
No focus on ethically sourced components
I don’t know why people ignore the raison d’être for the Fairphone completely when making these comparisons. You could just say “I don’t care about those aspects”, and then just ignore it completely because it will always lose in other aspects to its competitors
I don’t think it’s that people don’t care. I do- but you have compromises with no matter what you pick. I think it’s fair to say that people just rate a jack higher than fairly sourced components.
And “raison d’etre” rings hollow when they remove the jack and claim to be environmentally conscious. I have headphones from over a decade ago and shouldn’t have to go buy new BT ones or a dongle, etc. Not very “green” ya know.
The alternative would be to install a jack on all devices, even in those of people who won’t use it. Not very “green” ya know.
We don’t know exactly what Fairphone Moments will be minimizing, but since the company describes it as being “a mindful way to engage with technology, putting owners in control, not their notifications,“ it sounds like an alternate mode that reduces distractions so you can focus on specific tasks.
Just head over their website and scroll a little… It’s similar to T-UI, a minimal experience with adjustable apps in profiles. You can add Slack for a work profile. And keep the remainder apps available, with their notifications, at a home profile. Seems convenient, since you can have multiple custom profiles. Plus, they have a dedicated harware button… For me this latter point opens a vast amount of posibilities we are yet to see if they’re exploited by users…
still no headphone jack, dont care.
With no 3.5mm jack and no Qi charging or sharing, this beautiful phone is unfortunately off the table for me. Those are anchor features.
I hope it provides the rest of you with a good decade of service, though.
great to recommend though
Lighter, smaller, better battery life than the 5. Very happy about those features.
A tiny bit sad you need a screwdriver to swap the battery, and a tiny bit sad you don’t get a headphone jack.
Seems like they keep moving in generally the right direction
I’m actually happy the battery is screwed in. Most people wouldn’t be swapping the battery in a daily basis (and those who do have a screwdriver anyway so it’s not really a problem), but the benefits are more secure connection and less fiddly locking mechanisms that just prone to fail.
I’d have preferred a click lock of sorts, because in the cases I’m wanting to swap my battery, I’m probably on the move with no access to power / charging, such as hiking, coach rides, camping etc.
Currently I’m pretty happy with a portable charger but I’d much rather have one or two fully charged batteries, both for the speed of getting back to full charge and reducing the speed of battery degradation.
I’m already a big fan of having a minimalist daily carry, I have my phones with my bank cards on it, my house keys and maybe my camera or water bottle, and that’s all. If be happy to shove a few spare batteries in a little case when I know I’ll be out the house for some time, but a screwdriver is something I’d prefer to not have to carry every day.
I remember all those plastic clicking solutions that held batteries back then. I remember them because they always broke, always. I always have a small multitool with a screwdriver on me, and I can’t recommend it enough
I wonder if having screws helps with er protection. It will definitely help with safety, with the new accessories… I know my FP4 cover is now super loose because I keep playing with it 🙃
Definitely. I was getting worried that the phone was growing bigger and heavier with each new model until the 4. Seems like they successfully reversed coursed and the phone is now pretty “small” for today’s standards (screen is iPhone Pro size)
I’m actually quite fond of a large screen, but it’s not enough of a selling point for me to not go for this as my next phone. I have large enough hands that I don’t struggle with reach on a large phone, so the main drawback is the additional battery power. But the fairphone has a swappable battery anyway, so that issue is more or less nullified.
My pet peeve is the front camera, I cannot wrap my head around the lunacy of having a large dead spot on the front of the phone, to the point I’d rather have a phone with no front facing camera than a big dead spot. People throw out screens for less.
Fairphone is almost the ideal phone for me, except this, and although I can probably remove the camera module, I can’t swap the screen for one without the dead patch.
Looks great. Might consider it when my current phone dies.
The power of new… but I have fairphone 5… so my next model will be between fairphone 10 - 12 😀 (every 2 years is a new model, I want my phone to last at least 10 years)
Fairphone’s current line-up almost makes me wish my current phone would break, so I’d have an excuse to upgrade.
I have the same thoughts but my Galaxy S10 is just indestructible
bro, I had one plus 6. two years ago (when it was 5 years old) I though my battery swelled. I had to act and bought fairphone 5, then I found out the battery was okay enough to change (the swelling unclear, but something lifted my display/back apart). I now have Linux on that phone and it recently entered its 8th year of life still working 😯 Though I use it for smart home dashboard now, because I have the fairphone. OnePlus is indestructible?!
I also still have a working oneplus 6 with lineage os on it. Funnily I have newer android on that than on my actual phone.
yeah, LineageOS is awesome, it give the phones so much more life. 😊
The only real issue is my banking app does not work on it so it is not my daily driver. I do have CRDroid on my current phone.
Yeah on one hand its a pity that banking app usually don’t work on LOS, on the other hand at least I don’t have to have their app on the phone, I bet they do a lot of tracking.
I have an spare s10e as a BYOD work phone… That thing will never break.
It’s honestly such a solid phone, I love it. But it doesn’t get security updates anymore which is a shame.
I installed Bitdefender on it since I already have that in use on my PC
Yeah sadly when I was getting this phone the fairphone ojt at the time I think it was the 4 was not to my liking. This current one really is though.
How long will they provide spare parts for?
For a long time. They still sell (some) parts for the Fairphone 2 released in 2015. The Fairphone 3, released in 2019 seems to have all modules still for sale. https://shop.fairphone.com/shop/category/spare-parts-4?category=4&filters=38
Dropped my fairphone 3 yesterday, smashed the screen
Really annoying I’ve dropped this loads and never broke it.
~35 quid for a new screen isn’t bad
Just wish the later models had, you guessed it, a headphone jack.
I was a bit sad when they removed it, but honest I never need it anymore. Is using a USB-C dongle that inconvenient?
People are complaining you can’t get spare parts for the Fairphone 4, though.
Really? I replaced my screen, my battery and my back cover when they broke. Maybe some supply issues?
Wait, USB 2.0? Whyyyy, that’s unbearably slow
I was confused with this too. Why the downgrade??
But, how often do you use it for bulk file transfer though?
Everything on my phone’s transferred over wifi with syncthing… or https://pairdrop.net/ (etc)
I always use wired to transfer photos and stuff, it’s just easier for me to browse on my PC. Plus my PC is at the edge of my WiFi range so transfer speeds would be way slower over wifi than USB 3.
Edit: also, didn’t know about pairdrop, that’s really cool
Yeah, I do get it - I pulled a (single) photo off my phone recently and it took “a second” (ie slurp of coffee), which - to me - is fine.
But, yeah, if I was browsing them all and copying loads… I get your point.
I’m not interested by external display capability.
I’m hoping it’s a typo.
I want to buy one, but need to email about this for clarification first.
Can’t wait to swap out the OS for Linux when they come out with that feature.
I put calyx on mine. It was super easy.
But no android would be great.
Fairphone 6’s physical design is similar to the previous model, although the lenses on the back are no longer located on a small camera bump and instead sit directly on the back panel.
Hurrah away with that ugly camera bump!
Instead of a single island they are three pimples now. Yay?
Honestly this is the best, no camera bump and more space for battery. On the other side are leaks of new iphone with ginormous camera … erm… can I even call it bump if its half of the phone?..
I’d really really like a phone with cameras that are flush with the back of the case, and don’t care whatsoever how thin my phone is once it’s under 1cm.
It feels like the entire ethos of smartphone design (led by apple) had sleek minimal design as it’s guiding light, but keeps adding exceptions. As much as I enjoy a versatile, bulky laptop and photography camera, I really enjoy the style of a smartphone being a piece of glass in my pocket.
I understand. You probably like the new thin Samsung, eh? :) I actually like the small foldable factor (v that opens to normal smartphone size) but until its made fairly or at least repairably I will stick to my Fairphone :)
Before I got my Fairphone 5, I considered waiting for the FP6 in hopes of a better camera. The FP5’s isn’t bad, it’s just not on par with many other phones. Glad I didn’t though:
On the back, you’ll find a 50MP main camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera, while the front has a 32MP hole-punch camera for selfies and video calls. That’s a significant step down from the Fairphone 5, which used 50MP sensors on all three of its cameras.
Why would they go that route? Is there anything obvious I’m missing here?
Anyways, still love my Fairphone, especially in regards to repairability and privacy (running CalyxOS).
I have no clue what the different Fairphone cameras are like but in general it doesn’t make sense to compare two different models by looking at the megapixels only. That says nothing about the image quality.
4K images just have ~8 megapixels, full HD only ~2 megapixels. More pixels just make the picture bigger, not necessarily sharper, better colours or more natural.
Especially because virtually all high megapixel country cameras have smaller physical pixel size and use pixel binning and combining to try to recreate a better image through computation where smaller megapixel cameras can have bigger pixel sizes and absorb more light, leading to better raw images. (Of course there are great and bad implementations of both ideas)
Its weird, on the other hand pixels are not everything. I don’t understand it well enough but from what i heard other attributes of the cameras are better.
I’m conflicted on the battery. On one hand it’s nice to have a more solid back, it’ll feel nicer, on the other I like the idea of being able to hot swap the battery in a few seconds wherever without a screwdriver.
Yeah, me too.
t’s great ripping off the back of the phone and swapping a battery whilst all the iMoan users are staring in disbelief, tethered to the power outlets
That’s the real thing I wasn’t ready to admit until you said it. I don’t want a screwdriver because it’s less impressive to see. People will look at me and make the mistake of thinking they couldn’t do it, but when it felt like LEGO, people were more likely to be interested.
Personally, I think it’s the best advertising point of these devices - “effortlessly” making your phone fully charged again.
That single (non-verbal) action has made more people reconsider their choice of phone than anything else.
Died 2013 - Born 2025
Welcome back, phonebloksI used to own the first batch of the Fairphone 1 over 10 years ago! different times indeed. The phone was pretty terrible but I loved it dearly. Nowadays I prefer buying used phones I can flash custom roms on, but I am glad the company is still around.
