I hope they bring the Fairphone 5 to the US in a reasonable amount of time, because the 4 is just too old for the price being charged.
The Fairphone 4 costs 649 here in Sweden so it doesn’t seem that different to me. Plus if it too gets 7 years of updates, that doesn’t seem like a bad price to me.
The main reason I moved to iOS over Android is because I hate changing phones every year, not even Google supports their phones as long as Apple does.
This is a good move by Fairphone. Hope they succeed.
7 years of updates sounds good, but it could also mean anything. They can update localisation files for 5 years
This is a good point.
I mean, if you’re changing phones every year that’s on you
I never did, but keeping my OnePlus One functional for six years took a lot of manual maintenance which I hated. Particularly the last two years.
My iPhone is super hands-off. I input my pin, click “install update” and put it on the charger for ten minutes or so, it does the rest.
No need to figure out which gapps to get, no need to find a good ROM, no BS with console applications, no hooking it up to the computer, no workarounds with Magisk to restore functionality lost with the flash, etc.
That’s fair. I feel like it’s quite manufacturer dependant now, and unfortunately if you don’t look beforehand you can end up with a bum deal in that regard.
Samsung are good in that they’ll now update their phones with 4 years of Android updates, plus an extra year of security updates. Google are similar, but I believe they do 3 years of Android updates and 1 year of security updates IIRC. Both of these work fine for me as I run a 3 year update cycle, but I’d feel like I got shafted if I got something like the ASUS Zenfone 9 which only has 2 years of updates promised.
It’s no secret why there’s still so many old iPhones kicking about when you consider how they’re still getting updated. I think the difference though is that Apple makes money off of you being in their ecosystem, whereas a manufacturer like Samsung, Asus, etc. make pennies if anything at all.
You should’t change your phone every year. Just but phone with LineageOS support. And reflash it. 3+ years of additional support are yours.
My 2016 Xiaomi Mi 4S has received Android 13 update via LineageOS.
PixelExperience 13 is still being released for Redmi 4X, which is a 2016 phone as well
LineageOS is superior!!!
sure, depends what you’re looking for
Oh I don’t. Had my OnePlus One for six, and my current iPhone XS is 3. I just don’t like the hassle of flashing ROMs and enabling BS with Magisk and what not. I just want it to work.
Instead of all that, with my iPhone I input my pin, click “install update” and put my phone on the stand for ten minutes. It’s very hands-off.
I also only paid $500 for it so it’s been a value for the money.
fair opinion 🙂
I have been using my S10e for 4,5 years now. It’s great!
I used my OnePlus One (2014) until 2020. Ultimately what made me move away from it was that software support wasn’t there anymore, and having to manually find images, and flash them myself was just too much hassle. I just want something that works.
Here in Sweden, having a phone is almost a necessity. Lots of daily-life infrastructure goes through it. We have a service called BankID which is essentially a digital identification method (where your bank steps in and strengthens your identity) allowing you to do various things on the web.
- Medical services
- Making appointments
- Viewing journals
- Renewing prescriptions
- Transferring money
- Purchasing items
- Managing my account
- at my ISP
- Electricity provider
- Landlord
- Paying bills
- Managing my insurances
Everything here uses bank ID. Up until recently if I wanted to pick up a parcel at the nearby post office, I’d give the clerk a code, and show them my ID. That changed so I can verify my ID using BankID in the app, and they can scan a QR code. Now I just show the QR code to a machine and a robot fetches my parcel for me.
A while ago I called my ISP to cancel a service, and I had to validate my ID using bank ID.
And that’s just one of the online services. My municipal public transport doesn’t let you pay for tickets on the buses anymore. It started with them removing cash (to prevent robberies) to them now just not letting you pay at all. You either buy a card at a store (which you can then add money to either online, using bank ID, or at a store) and pay with that, or you use their app to buy a ticket.
Because of the safety requirements for BankID to work, if your OS drops out of support, and the phone manufacturer doesn’t update it, you’ll need to get a new phone. I work as a software developer and do not want to screw around with tech stuff in my free time, so going with an iPhone was really the way to go for me. It “just works” and Apple provides updates basically forever. The iPhone 6S (2015) received its last major OS update recently, and will likely continue to receive security updates for a while yet. I’ll be surprised if any Android OEM has provided a 12.0 update to any of their phones from 2015.
- Medical services
Why did they bring the Fairphone 4, but not the Fairphone 5?
There is no Fairphone 5 released yet in any regions.
The fairphone 5 isn’t out yet
The company actually skipped Android 12 to deliver Android 13 due to all that “build the BSP yourself” work. Monthly security updates probably don’t arrive all that regularly either.
This might be a dealbreaker for many people.
Yep. 7 years of updates is not worth a lot functionally if the updates are months or years behind. Almost as bad as them not getting them to begin with.
My last android phone was the Xiaomi Mi A1, supposed to 3 years support under Android One. The updates were delayed and it was a very bad experience overall, imo.
This is what made me leave android for iOS, just tired of having to change phones every 1-2 years and having several issues like the above.
*Cries in Poco X3 Pro*
Updating may very well brick your phone. (or cause other unpredictable issues) So I am staying with MIUI 12.5.5 and 01/01/2022 security patch. But it’s also known to randomly brick itself due to motherboard issues, so there’s that.
I’d buy this in an instant if they would have included a headphone jack. What an idiotic design choice to make especially on a device like this
Just to clarify, this is about the 2019 model Fairphone 3, which does have a headphone jack.
The Fairphone 3 still had one.
Honestly, the headphone jack days are gone and there’s not a lot we can do about it.
And honestly? Wireless Bluetooth headphones/earbuds are good enough now that I don’t see a need for wired ones though so I don’t see what the issue ism
I’m glad that it works for you. Doesn’t work for everyone, unfortunately. There are still a few brands out there that release new phones with the jack. Supporting them demonstrates that there’s still a market out there. I find Bluetooth buds, even the great ones, a frustrating enough experience that I don’t want to rely on ONLY that for music listening.
Same thing with small phones; there aren’t many out there, but I show my support where I can. I may not be the majority but I think the jack is a large enough “niche” that it will absolutely be out there for a long time. In fact I suspect as people get tired of the $200/year (for good bluetooth buds) hamster wheel the jack will actually increase in popularity. But it takes time for all of those bluetooth buds to break down on people, and for people to decide that enough is enough.
Fair enough. I’ve only ever bought one pair of wireless earbuds though that I got around 3-4 years ago so I didn’t realize it was common to have to buy new ones frequently.
I use my headphones on multiple devices. Pairing them every time I want to switch is a pain in the ass. Also, my current headphones are still good and will hopefully last for a very long time, as I specifically went after headphones that are study, easy to maintain, and repair. So I have no need for Bluetooth headphones, and I have no desire for Bluetooth headphones. I just want a jack to plug in.
What headphones are they? Can they not just pair to multiple devices? I have mine hooked up to my two laptops and my phone, and they just automatically connect to whatever one I’m using (unless I’m using both in which case I just have to toggle it on the second device if I want).
Sorry, to be clear, they’re not Bluetooth. I’ve got a set of Meze 99 Neos. I’ve got my desktop, laptop, phone, and Steam Deck that I use them on regularly. I’ve had Bluetooth headphones in the past and I’ve never had one that can pair to 4 things, not to mention trying to get it to connect to the right one when more than one has power is annoying.
These ones are also sturdy, easy to repair, and use a standard 2.5mm to 3.5mm connection. There’s no battery to wear out and no electronics of any kind to fail. So long as I don’t physically break them, I expect them to keep working for many years to come. There’s no wireless headphones I’m aware of and certainly no wireless earbuds that I can say that about. I have no interest in buying devices designed to be consumed and discarded past a certain date.
I hate the fact that so many manufacturers removed it that I refuse to buy a device like that purely out of principle.
My current device has a user removable battery aswell and seems like EU is going to make it mandatory for new devices so my next device will probably have it too. I can imagine someone saying the same thing about removable battery that you’re now saying about the headphone jack. Time will tell.
7 years. Wtf!!!
This is the way! Hope competition does its thing and others will follow. Today’s phones have great hardware. If apps and android releases in the future won’t require much more power for no reason, I can see sticking to phones for that long.
wen fairphone 5?
I got few years left on my current devices but ready for the switch
If I check phones released 7 years old … I do not to use them today. Even if updates would be provided.
Why not? If the phone is physically still functional, and receives software updates, why does it matter if its 7 years old?
To each their own. There’s more to a phone than just if it’s physically working and supported with updates. I definitely wouldn’t be using an S7 Edge today because phones these days have better cameras, larger displays, better battery life, etc.
better cameras, larger displays, better battery life
Gotcha, that’s exactly what I was asking. I can see how that could matter to some.
I need good pictures for my job. I have an s22 because the wide angle camera is incredibly useful, and I need a stylus from time to time (also for my job).
However, barring a huge leap in wide angle camera, a sharp drop in performance/battery life, I’ll run my s22 for as long as it lasts.
If a fairphone with the functionality I need becomes available (in Canada) sometime between now and when I need a new device, I’ll switch in a heartbeat.
Oh it’s absolutely understandable why a good camera (and subsequently a good screen to view pictures on) would matter to some.
It just doesn’t to me, at all, and so it’s not even the first thing that comes to mind when I think about a phone. I don’t like tablet-sized phones because I don’t use it all that much and when I do, there’s no added benefit of a larger screen over a middle-sized screen (or some higher-resolution display). I don’t use the camera at all, and so its quality doesn’t matter to me. I don’t use a stylus because I’d rather use a pen and notepad.
I’m not criticizing someone wanting those features, I just sometimes need to be told what features are important to other people.
It will be slow (new soft targets relatedly new he) Many technology improve noticeably on this time frame, für ne camera is important. 5 yars for a top spec phone is the limit for me.
I’m currently using a Oneplus 5T. Released in 2017. Slapped LineageOS on it, and that bad boy is still my daily driver and one of my most prized possessions. I dread the day when it will break, but it’s not yet showing any signs of weakness
I’m also using a OnePlus 5T (with LineageOS from day 1), and plan to replace it with a Fairphone should it die and there’s a good model available with US bands. I’m fine with importing the newest Fairphone should it release by that time, but the Fairphone 4 is also available directly in the US as well.
I think what’s impressive here is the first party, OEM support for feature updates on Android lasting as long as it has for this phone. That’s really not something you tend to see even on Google’s flagships (though security updates are still regular and better than what the Fairphone sees officially).
IMO, smartphones have basically plateaued in the past at least five years - a flagship model from 2015 should be sufficient for basic usage today, assuming the battery and modem hardware was somehow kept up to date and software updates were provided as well, and flagship models from like 2018 onwards were a better deal than today’s flagships, providing comparable real-world functionality at a lower price even if the spec sheet pales by comparison. I don’t think most other OEMs have the incentives to provide that kind of long-term support on older but still usable hardware, but Fairphone absolutely is.
with LineageOS from day 1
Same here! I had been living with degoogled ROMs since 2013-ish and I bought the OP5T with the specific intention of using Lineage from day 1.
Nowadays I struggle to find a potential successor: I need a headphone jack (so no Fairphone, unfortunately) and that makes it waaay more difficult. Sony Xperias are probably my best shot
I would really like to have a headphone jack but the other benefits the Fairphone brings (longevity, easily replaceable parts, more effort on ethically sourcing components than pretty much any other manufacturer) allow me to begrudgingly make that tradeoff and just have a dongle permanently occupying space in my pocket.
I recently gave up my 6t for a Pixel7 and it was the worst decision I’d made in awhile. I miss it so much, but the newer OP phones just aren’t any good from what I’ve been reading.
My phone is 4 years old and still going strong. I can easily see myself using this for another 2-3 years.
Nokia 6.1 from 2018 with LineageOS. Good phone still.
Why?
Many things are improved since then. For example cameras.
New os and new apps are done consider relatedly me hw, thew will not work great on an so old one (which was not the absolute top at the release date). I can imagine 5 years, not not 7 die my self.
Most 7 year old phones have more features that modern ones
Well, 7 yaars old fair phone 2 has 2gb of memory and 32 GB of storage. Not enough for my usecases in 2023. Not diving in microusb, BT 4.0, 2420mAh battery and other things.
I said more features. Such as removable battery, headphone jack, ir blaster, fm radio, SD card slot, notification led etc.
Ah sorry. Yes, if FM radio is more important than ram - this is a benefit.
Yeah because the only way to fit more RAM is to remove other usefull features instead of including both.
Why am I ever replying…
🙂 I do not know.
