Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

androidcentral.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

411–420 of 531 posts

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

#411

Post by kevincox »

userbinator wrote: post #139

When unscrewed, users are likely to be greeted with an option to remove the battery as well as it isn’t attached to the device with the help of glue but rather with additional screws. What a horrible state of things that "not gluing the battery in place but screwing it in" is considered an improvement. IMHO smartphones have been on a horrible decline ever since ~2016. Before then, most Androids had [1] easily replace…

I loved older phones where you could just pop or slide off the back and replace the battery. So many people carry around portable battery packs to recharge which is large, heavy and clunky (you need to hold these two devices while the phone charges). I used to just carry a spare battery and could do a swap for an instant full charge in about the same amount of time it takes most people to get out and plug in their battery pack.

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

#412

Post by JeremyNT »

ZeroWidthJoiner wrote: post #30
godelski wrote: 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 backside fingerprint reader could even be used as an input device on some models for scrolling, or pulling down/up the notification bar. Great for scrolling through content or swiping through screens without having to cover your display for gesture input: https://www.androidauthority.com/miss-rear-fingerprint-scann...

Ironically, some devices (Pixel 9 at least) have now added a tiny little touch sensor exactly where the fingerprint reader used to be - it doesn't read the fingerprint, but you can regain this functionality by mapping taps to actions.

I can't even imagine why they decided to keep the fingerprint sensor on the front but add a whole separate sensor on the back.

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

#413

Post by kevincox »

KingOfCoders wrote: post #12
bombela wrote: 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…

After years of a Fairbuds XL (never again!) and Bose QC for my Zoom sessions, I've ordered a Sony MDR-7506 because it does not need to be charged, and bluetooth doesn't need to be reconnected etc. Hurray for headphone jacks.

I'm generally a fan of wired-everything but headphones are the one thing that I love to have wireless. Not only is it not a tangle with the cord but I can go grab a glass of water without any interruption even still listening to a meeting while I do.

The biggest downside is worrying about the battery level. But they last so long on a single charge that it isn't even an issue if you forget to plug them in many days in a row and the battery charges fast even on a slow charger.

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

#414

Post by Dylan16807 »

tsimionescu wrote: post #239
Dylan16807 wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you care so much there are wireless DACs that can feed your wired headphones better than any phone in history. Don't they all have 50-300ms of latency? If you have a quality non-bluetooth suggestion, or I'm wrong about the latency of bluetooth, I'd be excited to hear it.

I have no idea if those numbers are correct, but I'm curious - why would latency matter for high quality audio? Jitter is the only thing that impacts audio quality, unless you are doing two-way communication.

Because I press buttons and want immediate feedback.

And I want it to work with calls were any extra latency is bad. And I want it to work with my desktop where I play games and extra latency ruins things.

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

#415

Post by komali2 »

I think projects like this are really cool, and I think "oh cool, I should get this sustainable phone." But then I remember that there's a bajillion phones in perfectly acceptable condition in secondhand shops around the globe, and probably the most sustainable thing I can do is just only ever buy secondhand phones for the rest of my life. Honestly the globe could probably survive a couple years on secondhand phones alone if everyone stopped making new ones.

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

#416

Post by konfusinomicon »

ReptileMan wrote: post #350
autarch wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Removing a body part is also an effective way to get a pass code or pattern. If someone is willing to do you great harm to unlock your phone, I don't think it matters much what locking method you use.

The jurisdictions where a cop will with force put your finger to the fingerprint reader, but won't beat the keys out of you cover most of the first and parts of the second world. And if you are not in one of those countries just politely ask for a blank white sheet of paper to sign and let them fill the rest. You will save everyone some time.

boy messed with the law and done got the keys beat out of him

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

#417

Post by komali2 »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #342
TheDong wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People will usually only carry one phone, and they'll want one that is capable of running recent apps, storing their photos and music, and also taking high quality photos. If you upgrade a phone to get a new one with a better camera, well, the processor on the old one is probably decent still, it could be a mini PC where the camera quality doesn't matter. Also, it's a status symbol, you can't just _not_ upgrade.

> Also, it's a status symbol, you can't just _not_ upgrade. You can choose not to upgrade. Obtaining status symbols is a choice (and a pretty vain one too). Even if your lifestyle requires these empty displays of status, that's a choice of lifestyle that you've made. You can be perfectly successful in life with a 5 years old phone.

Maybe we can do to phones what tech bros did to suits in the early 2000's. There's that saying, something along the lines of, "It used to be that everyone looked to the one in the suit, now everyone looks to the one in a hoodie." Maybe we can convince people that a run down secondhand phone is a display of wealth and power :P

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

#418

Post by jvanderbot »

palata wrote: post #315
squarefoot wrote: post #245

All phones eventually become obsolete, but their guts could be used in so many ways. I'd love for example if someone made an enclosure acting also as multi port docking station so that old phones with unlocked bootloader (Fairphone being one of them) could be reflashed with a different operating system then used as mini PCs, media players, IoT wall terminals with bigger screens or other uses. Seeing all that perfectl…

> then used as mini PCs, media players, IoT wall terminals with bigger screens or other uses If they can be used like that, why couldn't they be used... as phones? Changing phone every two years is not sustainable, even if the old phone is used as an IoT wall terminal: it's still "consuming" one phone every two years. In a sense, an old phone in a drawer uses less energy than an old phone staying powered to control a…

I haven't bought a new phone in ages. I buy second-hand phones (making them often 1-2 years old), then I either resell them after I'm done (usually I cycle every 3-5 years), or I do precisely this - turning them into app controllers or wallets or something. Or games, etc. I keep two around in case one breaks.

This isn't hard. And it saves a ton of money.

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

#419

Post by howenterprisey »

kevincox wrote: post #409
sebtron wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess this is highly subjective, I was just talking with my girlfriend last night about how much I dislike when the fingerprint reader is not on the front. Specifically because only if it is on the front I can easily use it when my phone is lying on the table. Also, my current phone phone has it on the back and I can only configure one fingerprint, so if for some reason I am holding it in my left hand I am out of l…

Why not both? Let's also stick an extra USB-C port on the side of the phone so that you can charge from whichever port is more convenient at the time. Or use an accessory like wired headphones and charge at the same time without carrying around a USB hub. Or if one breaks (charging ports are one of the most common things to fail on the phone) you can continue using the other one (either temporarily until the other is…

My current phone actually has this (ROG 9) and it's really nice! I had to put my phone in a cupholder recently and the side charging port saved me from having to balance it on the charging cable. (It also has a headphone jack.)

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

#420

Post by snapplebobapple »

Pfeil wrote: post #108
guappa wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah it's great! I want to put off the screen and instantly after going off, it reads my finger and goes on again! Who came up with that idea?

Reading this on my Fairphone 5 and can't reproduce this issue. But I admit that sometimes I just want to see the lock screen and accidentally unlock the phone. Therefore, I still agree. The back is the better position for the fingerprint reader.

that also never happened on any of the string of cheap chinese phones I installed lineageos on before deciding the world was sketchy enough to mean grapheneos was the minimum viable level of hardening for my phone. I miss the power button fingerprint scanner dearly.
Post reply on HN