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Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

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Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#111
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By applying Psychoacoustics. Lossy compression is a problem long solved.

that's not avoiding lossy compression, that's choosing a form that people (hopefully) won't notice

By that logic, so is using 16 bits and 44khz sampling rate.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#112

Dreams: >Framework-like upgradability / repairability / modularity >Support for GrapheneOS >Sold in USA

GrapheneOS support for Fairphone is unlikely to ever happen. Their hardware is too insecure to satisfy GOS's reasonable requirements [1] and have stated that they aren't interested in improving it [2]. Software is also lacking and they've partnered with Murena [3], who has been slinging shit at GOS [4].

On a more positive note, due to the AOSP/Pixel drama there now is a real possibility a different major OEM will be supported: https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/114711328082841462

[1] https://grapheneos.org/faq#future-devices

[2] https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/114733211017800480

[3] https://murena.com/

[4] https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/114235396540176085

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#113

Was lucky enough to get my Fairphone 4 on sale, but I'd happily pay full price now - even though the Fairphones are pricey for the specs, unless you absolutely need 24 cores etc. I'd say they are worth it, knowing the company is at least trying to improve the parts supply chain, and knowing you stand a chance of fixing the devices yourself (luckily I've only had to replace the USB-C port, which was trivial) About the…

I've replaced the USB-C port on a few Samsung devices as well, recently a Note 10 Lite (my second, I loved that phone enough to replace it with the same model). It was trivial, even opening the back case was not too difficult. And the battery was right there had I wanted to replace it as well.

These things are not as difficult as tech writers make them out to be.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#114
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend. Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption. Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned…

I use my USB-C port to listen to my wired headphones all the time, no problem. Phone jack is now redundant now that USB-C can output audio

Unfortunately there are major, intentional, compatibility problems with USB audio.

During early COVID, USB audio worked perfectly, but an Android update disabled, supposedly for "security" reasons.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#115
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend. Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption. Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned…

I use my USB-C port to listen to my wired headphones all the time, no problem. Phone jack is now redundant now that USB-C can output audio

That USB-C jack is not nearly as strong and robust as a proper headphone jack.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#116
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's not avoiding lossy compression, that's choosing a form that people (hopefully) won't notice

By that logic, so is using 16 bits and 44khz sampling rate.

16-bit 44 Khz almost perfectly reproduces human hearing. It wasn't a coincidence that the makers of CDs chose it. Anything above is studio-grade stuff to give extra headroom for editing (applying filters in studio editing can amplify noise which is unwanted, for just playing audio there are no advantages).

With standard Bluetooth codecs you get nowhere close to that and there is a significant noticeable delay for video content. Headphone jack is easy to make IP68. All rugged phones have it and all non-rugged ones have a USB port which is bigger and more irregular than a frigging circle.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#117
post #7

They mention the Pixel and I just got to say, I wish someone would bring back the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. That was seriously the best solution. Fastest way to unlock your phone, because no matter how slow the fingerprint reader is you activate it while pulling it out of your pocket. I honestly don't get why people like Face ID more (what I currently use). Someone, please bring this back

I was a FaceID skeptic and it quickly won me over, not because of the unlocking experience, but for the authentication during use. What used to be a prompt, followed by an active fingerprint scan, turned into something completely seamless and automatic.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#118
Always interested in new Fairphone releases! I cannot justify a new phone while my Samsung S10 is still alive and kicking but I do think a bit about what I will replace it with when it finally dies. I am very much drawn to the Fairphone, but the price to quality ratio is quite high compared to the mainstream flagship phones (of course, I understand why). And when the company is young it is hard to know how credible the repairability promise is. The other phone I lean towards is a second-hand Pixel (somewhere in the Pixel 7-9 range most likely).

Would be very interested to see how much of an improvement it is over the FP5. Fairphones seem to get negative reviews but I think that is due to people not really being able to look past the price-to-quality ratio compared to phones that don't care about ethics.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#119
post #7

They mention the Pixel and I just got to say, I wish someone would bring back the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. That was seriously the best solution. Fastest way to unlock your phone, because no matter how slow the fingerprint reader is you activate it while pulling it out of your pocket. I honestly don't get why people like Face ID more (what I currently use). Someone, please bring this back

The Pixels had the worst option for a while: the under-screen optical sensor. Slow and prone to failure. They've since switched it out for an ultrasonic sensor, but it was shockingly bad for a few years.

Re: Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

#120
post #7

They mention the Pixel and I just got to say, I wish someone would bring back the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. That was seriously the best solution. Fastest way to unlock your phone, because no matter how slow the fingerprint reader is you activate it while pulling it out of your pocket. I honestly don't get why people like Face ID more (what I currently use). Someone, please bring this back

It's nice that it was working for you, and I also wish we could build more options for ourselves.

I think, even having a stable physical design would help tremendously: imagine each new Pixel with the same standard screen size and casing attachment. Google could still change the overall outer feel as long as it fits the inner latching mechanism.

Then building a third party back panel with a fingerprint reader becomes somewhat realistic. And we don't need Google to build an ecosystem, just stop doing their minuscule size tweaks every year and stabilize the attachment mechanism. Just that.

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