Fairphone continues to believe in modularity and sustainability

Fairphone 5 was officially launched recently and it brings a lot of positive surprises. The phone is designed for easy repair. It allows us to easily replace as many as 10 components, including the battery, screen, camera and USB-C connector. The device costs 699 euros and will be available in Europe from September 14. It is equipped with a 6.46-inch OLED screen, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage and a triple camera. The battery is removable, but has a slightly smaller capacity of 4200 mAh.

One of the most interesting aspects is the choice of processor. Instead of the standard Qualcomm Snapdragon, Fairphone chose the "industrial IoT" chip QCM6490, which promises longer support. According to the Dutch company, the device will be supported for as long as 8-10 years, which is a big leap in the industry. For comparison, Samsung, which is one of the more advanced ones, offers 4 years of Android upgrades and 5 years of security patches.

Updating Android usually requires the cooperation of several parties: Google, Qualcomm, and the phone manufacturer. Qualcomm often ends support after a few years, making devices less useful over time, and after a few years, incompatibilities with some apps and services are already noticeable. Fairphone is the only Android phone manufacturer that continued to provide support even after Qualcomm ended its support.

The phone is designed with repairability in mind and offers a five-year factory warranty. The battery will cost around 50 euros and the screen around 100 euros.

Overall, the phone is a big step forward in sustainable electronics, extending product life and reducing e-waste. They were also very careful in choosing the materials themselves. They used recycled steel, nickel alloy, tin and plastic. They are working to improve the conditions of workers in their supply chain for other key metals such as lithium, gold and cobalt.