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Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

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Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#51

Post by maegul »

Buxato wrote: post #26
sowbug wrote: post #8

Motivated by this article, and already thinking about handing down my current phone to a family member as a Christmas gift, I visited the Fairphone store ( https://shop.fairphone.com/ though likely available only on Amazon in the US) and read one review ( https://www.theverge.com/23895548/fairphone-5-review-price-f... ). Here's why I'm holding off. 1. No wireless charging. Switching to this phone would require a big…

1. Always sad for me to know how much popular are wireless chargers, wasting 47% more energy aprox for charging the same as a wired charger. https://debugger.medium.com/wireless-charging-is-a-disaster-... (too much catastrophic conclusions in this article but that percentage is real, you could check it in another tests, articles, whatever ..) 2. Totally agree with that, if camera is fundamental for you maybe not the…

> 1. Always sad for me to know how much popular are wireless chargers, wasting 47% more energy aprox for charging the same as a wired charger.

Lots of sibling replies pointing out that the absolute energy loss is negligible and reasonable price for the convenience.

That’s fine.

But there’s a bigger point. This convenience is being used as a justification for sticking with big brand phones. Which maybe tips the balance on the reasonableness, and, more broadly, raises the general issue of how much buying for convenience is a slippery slope. Maybe just charge with a cable?

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#52

Post by dtx1 »

fgeiger wrote: post #35
dtx1 wrote: post #14

I'm really considering Fairphone 5 as an Upgrade to my Pixel 3a with Graphene OS. Hardware seems fine (5g, Wifi 6e, reasonable SoC, MicroSD, etc.) but the absolute terrible state of Fairphone Software and their abhorrent record on dealing with security issues is really putting me off. So I'm waiting for Lineage OS to officially support it, hoping that they get this done better.

What do you mean with "abhorrent record on dealing with security issues"? And you would even prefer Lineage OS? Isn't that still more or less mandating userdebug builds and entirely open? Disclaimer: I work for Fairphone.

Hey, thanks for answering!

So in regards to security let me first refer to this thread: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/7208-8y-security-updates-on...

And it might sound unfair to compare the fairphone to a pixel device or a pixel device with grapheneos but the practical reality is that if this is going to be my one phone, than it will be the hub for all my private conversations, my bank forces me to use an app based authentication so basically my entire finances are on that device, e-mails, including those with doctors, etc.

It has to be secure and it has to up to date. And I am aware that my Pixel 3a currently isn't but I'm literally between buying the fairphone or the pixel 8. And I really don't want glued in batteries.

Now, let's see what the current state is for the fairphone 4: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/440585822094...

Release date: 3rd Nov 2023 Security Patch Level: 5th October 2023

According to the Android Security Bulletin there are two more bulletins out right now: https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2023-11-01

In November and December each there is at least one Critical System CVE, with google noting:

> Note: There are indications that the following may be under limited, targeted exploitation. > CVE-2023-33063 > CVE-2023-33107 > CVE-2023-33106

So...Those aren't patched right now on the fairphone 4, are they? Now I'm not arguing most other companies are doing better, but that doesn't make it a good situation.

> And you would even prefer Lineage OS? Isn't that still more or less mandating userdebug builds and entirely open?

As far as lineage is concerned, i'll be waiting for an official release to even be there before evaluating the security but I am aware of the userdebug issue.

Though let me say that "abhorrent" is propably not the best adjective to describe it here. Unsatisfying would be fairer. As for the rest of the software... I just have to look at the forums dude...

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#53

Post by maegul »

binkHN wrote: post #4

> Fairphone promises five Android version upgrades and at least eight years of security updates, with an aim for a total lifespan of a decade. Impressive

So I’m completely out of the loop on the whole de-googling your Android phone thing.

How workable is it today and how well would it work on a phone like this?

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#54

Post by tmtvl »

rcarr wrote: post #36
chrysoprace wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody needs a smartphone; a dumbphone would suffice for most people. We buy smartphones because we want them. For my personal use case I have an expensive pair of headphones which I used to use (lasted over a decade so far) with my Nexus 6P and while using an amp/DAC is better; it's just more convenient to plug and play.

Hard disagree. Not having some kind of device (be that a smart phone, tablet or laptop) is going to make life very difficult, particularly if you have to access any kind of government service in the developed world. Might be different in the US but in the UK almost everything is digital or moving to digital. For example if you're claiming benefits because you're unemployed in the UK then you would be expected to both…

Of all the things which should be accessible without internet, government services should pretty much be number 1 on the list. Especially unemployment benefits, because how is someone without a job going to afford a device which can access the internet plus the corresponding internet access?

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#55

Post by prmoustache »

maegul wrote: post #53
binkHN wrote: post #4

> Fairphone promises five Android version upgrades and at least eight years of security updates, with an aim for a total lifespan of a decade. Impressive

So I’m completely out of the loop on the whole de-googling your Android phone thing. How workable is it today and how well would it work on a phone like this?

The fairphone 5 is available new preinstalled with /e/os from the murena store:

https://murena.com/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairpho...

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#56

Post by technothrasher »

numpad0 wrote: post #49
Buxato wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. Always sad for me to know how much popular are wireless chargers, wasting 47% more energy aprox for charging the same as a wired charger. https://debugger.medium.com/wireless-charging-is-a-disaster-... (too much catastrophic conclusions in this article but that percentage is real, you could check it in another tests, articles, whatever ..) 2. Totally agree with that, if camera is fundamental for you maybe not the…

Qi receivers on phones don't wear out as fast as physical connectors do. There are no hard reasons why wireless is better in durability but practically they tend to be more reliable.

This is exactly when I've used wireless charging the most, after my physical connector has broken. It let's me extend the life of the phone.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#57

Post by [deleted] »

maegul wrote: post #53
binkHN wrote: post #4

> Fairphone promises five Android version upgrades and at least eight years of security updates, with an aim for a total lifespan of a decade. Impressive

So I’m completely out of the loop on the whole de-googling your Android phone thing. How workable is it today and how well would it work on a phone like this?

[deleted]

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#58

Post by fgeiger »

maegul wrote: post #53
binkHN wrote: post #4

> Fairphone promises five Android version upgrades and at least eight years of security updates, with an aim for a total lifespan of a decade. Impressive

So I’m completely out of the loop on the whole de-googling your Android phone thing. How workable is it today and how well would it work on a phone like this?

You can quite easily install the Google-freie /e/OS: https://doc.e.foundation/devices/FP5

Murena also sells it preinstalled: https://murena.com/shop/smartphones/brand-new/murena-fairpho...

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#59

Post by bb88 »

Buxato wrote: post #26
sowbug wrote: post #8

Motivated by this article, and already thinking about handing down my current phone to a family member as a Christmas gift, I visited the Fairphone store ( https://shop.fairphone.com/ though likely available only on Amazon in the US) and read one review ( https://www.theverge.com/23895548/fairphone-5-review-price-f... ). Here's why I'm holding off. 1. No wireless charging. Switching to this phone would require a big…

1. Always sad for me to know how much popular are wireless chargers, wasting 47% more energy aprox for charging the same as a wired charger. https://debugger.medium.com/wireless-charging-is-a-disaster-... (too much catastrophic conclusions in this article but that percentage is real, you could check it in another tests, articles, whatever ..) 2. Totally agree with that, if camera is fundamental for you maybe not the…

> Always sad for me to know how much popular are wireless chargers, wasting 47% more energy aprox for charging the same as a wired charger.

TBH some wired chargers are only 60 percent efficient in converting AC to DC. Then you'll also have energy losses inside the phone converting 5vdc to 3.7vdc for the lithium battery.

But, what? this is ~7 watts per charge completely full charge?

One could do the following and offset those 7 watts with a lot more to spare:

Add another layer of insulation.

Add a heat pump.

Add solar panels to your roof.

Stop mining Bitcoin.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#60

Post by prmoustache »

sowbug wrote: post #8

Motivated by this article, and already thinking about handing down my current phone to a family member as a Christmas gift, I visited the Fairphone store ( https://shop.fairphone.com/ though likely available only on Amazon in the US) and read one review ( https://www.theverge.com/23895548/fairphone-5-review-price-f... ). Here's why I'm holding off. 1. No wireless charging. Switching to this phone would require a big…

1. People in my household put their phone to charge only once a day, when they go to bed. How hard is it to plug a phone once a day?
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