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Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

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Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#441

Post by Night_Thastus »

lucb1e wrote: post #380
pachico wrote: post #289

I never broke a phone, not even scratched the screen but I feel force to buy a new one every 3 years because they become obsolete (I guess apps require more and more memory to the point I cannot have two open at the same time, which kills my ability to pay online). I bought a Framework laptop for the same reason and I successfully managed to upgrade it, not repair it! Is there a phone that allows me to upgrade over t…

> I feel force to buy a new one every 3 years because they become obsolete Nowadays that's plainly not true anymore because chips hardly get faster year-to-year, but also my 2012 phone lasted 5 years before software support started to get mediocre for Android 4.4 (the hardware was still fast enough and the battery you could still replace in 20 seconds). I've only ever bought new phones for software support reasons (s…

Part of why people think they need to still swap phones is because of either battery degradation, or software bloat.

Generally, a battery swap and a factory wipe would bring most people's phones back to an acceptable performance.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#442

Post by marcellus23 »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #172
TrueGeek wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised you're getting downvoted. The iPhone has been IP67 since iPhone 7 (so 7 years now). I figured more people appreciated this. I assume most Androids are the same. It's nice to be able to go kayaking and not worry about having to have a waterproof case. Mine once spent 10 hours in a back cycling jersey pocket where it rained the entire time and it was perfectly fine.

Yeah, but to be honest the entire time I've been baffled that Apple advertised such a useless thing as a feature. I've never once dropped my phone in water. Not in some 15-16 years of owning a mobile phone. It's not really onerous to take a little care to not get my phone wet.

> I've never once dropped my phone in water.

It's not really about that. It's about being able to play music from your phone in the shower. Or use it in the bathtub. Or take it on a cycling ride while it's raining. Or put it on a bar table without worrying about spilling beer on it. It makes a big difference not to have to treat it like a delicate flower.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#443

Post by stronglikedan »

prmoustache wrote: post #60
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?

Then people in your household either (a) don't really use their phones that much or (b) get brand new phones with brand new batteries every year. There is no phone battery that lasts an entire day for a person that uses their >1yo phone a lot throughout the day.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#444

Post by cogman10 »

ratg13 wrote: post #340
trenchgun wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should not be a need. There is enough performance, and it has plateaued.

I also don't understand their comment. I've been buying either a flagship Android or iPhone every upgrade and don't remember not getting at least 5 years out of a phone. Even at 5 years I only ever felt like I was upgrading because it was 'time', not out of a direct need. I can only imagine a person getting 3 years out of a phone if they are buying junk.

I truly only upgrade my phone because it has fallen out of security support. I'd still be using my old Pixel 2 if it had security support.

Fairphone looks mighty tempting with a replaceable battery as the only annoyance I have with my current phone (Pixel 6) is the battery is starting to lose steam.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#445

Post by lopis »

whazor wrote: post #320
lopis wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really really hope FairPhone has a plan to start making their phones upgradable. They gave us a taste of it with the 3T. The FP5 is so similar to the FP4. I imagine they will eventually be able to estabilize the design and start offering backwards compatible parts. Until the 4, the hardware was just not up to industry standards.

You would not upgrade from the 5 to a 6, as it would be a small upgrade. You would likely want to upgrade from a 3, but the design is too old, the cameras are too small, and probably other problems. I think we need a very stable upgradable base.

But that's what I mean. In 3-4 years I don't want to upgrade my phone, but if I need to replace some broken parts, it would be nice to be able to upgrade them. I replaced my FP3 cameras at the time with the better ones in that exact scenario.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#446

Post by VoxPelli »

whatevaa wrote: post #270
VoxPelli wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With a 7-10 year lifespan it’s only the initial cost that may be big, the cost over time is much less and the resell value once one upgrades also holds up much better over time

I don't think this will hold resell value :) Fairphones aren't popular enough. You would have problems selling it in the first place.

Well, any serious phone reseller / refurbished only sells phones that are still getting security updates: And this one will get that for a long time.

It’s also going to be real easy for refurbishers to repair these, either by picking parts from other old ones or by buying replacement parts, hence even a slightly broken one may still be worth money.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#447

Post by digging »

pachico wrote: post #295
onion2k wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a phone that allows me to upgrade over time and not only fix it? Turning off app updates would have the same impact if you're right about the increasing memory requirements.

I wish I could simply run 3 year old apps. In many cases I am not allowed, especially the bank ones, which are the ones that I cannot run in the background as the OS kills them.

Bank apps seem to be a bottleneck in many aspects of phone development.

Are you not able to use your bank's mobile or desktop website in your phone's browser? I don't think I've ever installed a banking app. I also use a credit union though, maybe they're less incentivized to force people onto their apps.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#448

Post by wubrr »

weweersdfsd wrote: post #287
wubrr wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Most Android phones get updates only for few years compared to iPhones. That alone is a good reason to choose iPhone over most (but not all) androids.

Meh, you can switch android phones 4 times for the price of one iphone.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#449

Post by thih9 »

Say I own an iPhone and I’m considering a Fairphone. Which iphone model would I have to own for the transition to make sense, both for user experience and sustainability?

I.e. Iphone 15 surely not. But iphone 5 for sure yes. Where is the cutoff?

I’m choosing iphones because they’re recognizable and have a predictable release schedule. Let’s disregard ios vs android angle if possible.

Re: Fairphone 5: Keeping it 10/10?

#450

Post by wubrr »

enlightenedfool wrote: post #271
wubrr wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Nope. I was android user for 13 years. Just bored of switching between multiple android phones and bought iPhone. Not that I particularly like it, but I appreciate some effort on Apple’s part for privacy and security.

> I appreciate some effort on Apple’s part for privacy and security.

What effort? If you're truly interested in privacy and security you'd use something like grapheneos.

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