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How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

arstechnica.com

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Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#141

Post by rustcleaner »

eleventen wrote: post #34

Are ya'll really repairing your phones? I replace mine when it can't run Google Maps smoothly anymore. After 4-5 years, on every phone I've ever had, user interactions begin to lag noticeably. Apps launch much more slowly. Intense graphical apps like maps become frustrating to use. At some point I can't take it anymore and replace the phone, long before its physical parts or battery have worn out.

I've replaced batteries on Pixel 3 XL and Pixel 6 Pro, both having run GrapheneOS. I use OSMAnd~ with no network permission (except during maps/POI updates). OSMAnd~ shows me where ALPRs are, so I can plan my routes around Flock. :^)

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#142

Post by btschaegg »

prmoustache wrote: post #57
eleventen wrote: post #34

Are ya'll really repairing your phones? I replace mine when it can't run Google Maps smoothly anymore. After 4-5 years, on every phone I've ever had, user interactions begin to lag noticeably. Apps launch much more slowly. Intense graphical apps like maps become frustrating to use. At some point I can't take it anymore and replace the phone, long before its physical parts or battery have worn out.

I am not sure what you are doing to your phone for it to act like that

I had the same experience. Repeatedly. IMO it's the software, not the hardware. The issues always start/get worse with a big update to Android or the main Google apps.

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#143

Post by pbhjpbhj »

declan_roberts wrote: post #88

I love the phone, but I really hate the "ethical" framing of device repairability. This is an engineering problem and we don't need to twist it through a moral framework. Phones that are repairable have superior engineering, not superior morality.

Surely it's morally superior to limit resource use by using things for longer and repairing them when broken. I often use a weak Kantian Imperative that I couch as "if everyone did what you do would it be good, sustainable?" as a _guide_ to moral choice, it's a starting point really, but from that I think moral superiority of more repairable goods follows.

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#144

Post by throwa356262 »

mapontosevenths wrote: post #138
throwa356262 wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dont know. Does your Linux distribution immediately upgrade to the latest kernel when Linus releases a new one? Besides, the phone software is highly optimised for the specific hardware. It is not a generic software like Windows

Why though? Seriously, why can't Android just be installed? Are they building it like the old-timey kernel before modules and embedding drivers in a giant monolith or something ridiculous?

Android is even more modular:

https://source.android.com/docs/core/architecture/hal

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#145

Post by gib444 »

robin_reala wrote: post #120
hn_submit wrote: post #118

EU regulations already mandate that the batteries should be user-replaceable and other parts easily replaceable. The difference between Fairphone and the competition will narrow in the future. Except for the fact that Samsung is the 800 pounds gorilla in the smartphone space which you'll know will be around for some time. How long is Fairphone going to last? Maybe the founders want to retire early and sell to the hig…

There’s a get-out clause in the law that allows your battery not to be required to be user replaceable if it can last 1,000 cycles while remaining at 80+%. Apple’s phones certainly meet that these days, and I imagine Samsung’s will as well (though I’m not sure if silicon carbide changes that at all).

> There’s a get-out clause in the law

As all too common

GDPR: "legimate interest"

EU261: "exceptional circumstances", no deadlines for paying compensation etc

yes yes, "no law is perfect" etc..nobody could foresee anything...downvote away

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#146

Post by teekert »

evolve2k wrote: post #106

Anyone have any updates on why this device can’t support or get behind Graphene OS? A repairable and secure phone is my desired option for a phone that’s truely mine and I’m sure this is true for many others also. From my understanding it’s not there as the Graphene team says that fairphone haven’t taken security hardware seriously and there’s key hardware security features missing that means they are not even intere…

Someone from GrapheneOS was very active in this thread: [0], here is a response the GrapheneOS person links to themselves: [1]

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344811

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49355122

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#147

Post by [deleted] »

teekert wrote: post #146
evolve2k wrote: post #106

Anyone have any updates on why this device can’t support or get behind Graphene OS? A repairable and secure phone is my desired option for a phone that’s truely mine and I’m sure this is true for many others also. From my understanding it’s not there as the Graphene team says that fairphone haven’t taken security hardware seriously and there’s key hardware security features missing that means they are not even intere…

Someone from GrapheneOS was very active in this thread: [0], here is a response the GrapheneOS person links to themselves: [1] [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49344811 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49355122

[deleted]

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#148

Post by epihelix »

throwa356262 wrote: post #136
artisinal wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Linux, macOS and Windows user it’s really strange to me that you can’t just install the latest OS on your device. Even my iPhone updates to the latest version as soon as it’s released.

I dont know. Does your Linux distribution immediately upgrade to the latest kernel when Linus releases a new one? Besides, the phone software is highly optimised for the specific hardware. It is not a generic software like Windows

Even distros often provide a kernel mainline branch to let you install the latest and greatest kernel in a click.

But there's also nothing to stop you simply building the latest kernel from source and using that - it's pretty easy and it will work fine.

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#149

Post by butz »

Would be neat if Fairphone would build a real compact smartphone, something with 4" or 5" screen. Current device is too large for human pockets and all those protruding camera bumps and buttons are really uncomfortable.

Re: How Fairphone built the Fairphone Gen 6+

#150

Post by gib444 »

rustcleaner wrote: post #123
Borealid wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe the GrapheneOS team demands, in particular, a security feature called Memory Tagging Extensions (MTE). This feature has a phone's processor attach a "tag" to each memory location saying what's stored there and requires accesses to that memory to bear a matching tag. Buffer overflow type attacks are effectively prevented because a read into the adjoining region having a different tag gets rejected. This feat…

While yes I am on GrapheneOS' side on these issues, I'm surprised nobody clones the GrapheneOS repo and simply disables the minimal handful of features which block it from working on devices. Maybe calling the clone CarbonOS? If MTE is required to boot GrapheneOS and Fairphones don't have MTE, then Fairphone clones GrapheneOS and disables MTE for its images. Graphene has so many features beyond just hardware security…

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