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

androidcentral.com

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

#401

Post by neilv »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #341
dvdkon wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's certainly technically possible. Phone motherboards have limited wired IO, but USB host mode is enough for a lot of things. The problem is how locked-down most phones are, and how hard it is to modify their software. Even for the Fairphone, you have to fill out a form on their site to get a bootloader unlock code, and they could close that form if they wished (see Asus). That all means starting an "ecosystem" of…

> Even for the Fairphone, you have to fill out a form on their site to get a bootloader unlock code, and they could close that form if they wished (see Asus). You also need to sign up with Google to even get past the setup screen, and the phone needs to reach Google's servers and ask for permission to be used. Even if Fairphone would like to keep phones usable, Google can decide otherwise at any time. I started a thr…

That doesn't sound like a good sign for holistic sustainability.

I've been forming a theory about companies that want to do good. Something like, they need a C-suite executive who is a true-believer, and, figuratively, a pissed-off street fighter, who can see threats to the mission coming from a block away.

For a familiar example of when this isn't happening: most of, say, privacy efforts I see can be classified into one of: (1) well-meaning, but don't really know what they're doing, and hopelessly out of their league against the supposed threat; or (2) it's really just a product marketing angle, for individual pursuit of career or riches.

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

#402

Post by wisenull »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #216
TremendousJudge wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to settle for a phone with no headphone jack. I thought it can't be that bad, I got a usbc adapter. It's a strictly worse experience: - It disconnects easily - It's much more uncomfortable to keep in the pocket with it plugged on, since it's longer - I feel like I'm stressing the usbc port much more - I can't charge and use headphones at the same time (unless I buy a different, bulkier, adapter) - If I don't ha…

> I can't charge and use headphones at the same time (unless I buy a different, bulkier, adapter) Well, that's better than things used to be... I had a Zen Stone that I used to play music in the car by plugging a cassette tape adapter into the audio jack. For convenience, I bought a cigarette lighter adapter to power it, so that I wouldn't have to take it out of my car when it needed charging. Except it turned out no…

I also had a Zen Phone (if that's what you meant) and it definitely played audio while charging.

All the phones that I have had with a audio jack would charge and play audio without any issues, ranging from a lot of different Samsung Galaxy to Wiko phones.

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

#403

Post by wilsonnb3 »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #229
SlowTao wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There seems to be more movement in the standards space on wireless headphones. The wireless standard today could be very different in 5-10 years time. The 3.5mm jack is over a century old, it isn't being changed dramatically in any way. Personally, I am just not a fan of something that requires both a software connection that usually isn't always the smoothest thing rather than a direct hardware connection. And havin…

Hot take maybe but I think it would be a worthwhile endeavor to come up with a replacement for the 3.5mm audio jack. It’s served us well but there’s several improvements that could be made to it that’d make it more durable and less prone to issues like becoming loose. It’s probably longer than it strictly needs to be too.

Regarding the length, the smaller 2.5mm jack used to be pretty common on smaller devices. Now the only thing that I know uses it is the input on Bose QC headphones.

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

#404

Post by freeAgent »

johnsea wrote: post #282
beeflet wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their phones are sold in the USA through Murena. I've bought a fairphone 4 through them. It was preloaded with eOS but I loaded calyxOS on it, which is similar to GrapheneOS. https://murena.com/products/smartphones/ It also supports a lot of linux distributions, including UBPorts and postmarketOS. I wish that they would just stick with one form factor and do the "framework computer" approach though.

calyxOS is _not_ similar to GrapheneOS

It’s similar in some ways, like being de-Googled, more private than Google’s Android OS by default, etc. Both are based on AOSP. They are “similar.”

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

#405

Post by GTP »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #341
dvdkon wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's certainly technically possible. Phone motherboards have limited wired IO, but USB host mode is enough for a lot of things. The problem is how locked-down most phones are, and how hard it is to modify their software. Even for the Fairphone, you have to fill out a form on their site to get a bootloader unlock code, and they could close that form if they wished (see Asus). That all means starting an "ecosystem" of…

> Even for the Fairphone, you have to fill out a form on their site to get a bootloader unlock code, and they could close that form if they wished (see Asus). You also need to sign up with Google to even get past the setup screen, and the phone needs to reach Google's servers and ask for permission to be used. Even if Fairphone would like to keep phones usable, Google can decide otherwise at any time. I started a thr…

> You also need to sign up with Google to even get past the setup screen, and the phone needs to reach Google's servers and ask for permission to be used

IIRC they offer a version with a de-googled custom rom preinstalled, does this apply to this option as well?

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

#406

Post by mhitza »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #356
stiray wrote: post #265

I am still waiting for Fairphone and Graphene OS collaboration. This is match made in heaven. Any Fairphone/GrapheneOS developer reading this? Just do it, document if something is not secure enough for you, but do it. Nothing to think about, you fit together like hand and a glove and any seconds thoughts are depriving the planet of THE PHONE! Pick the cash we will throw at you and make second generation with the cpu…

I recently suggested that GrapheneOS support devices with average security on Mastodon. Much like yourself, I think "moderately okay security" is better than "just use Google's spyware infested OS". The GrapheneOS folks replied in disagreement, insisting that this is a terrible idea because security would be less than perfect. They then started making up stories about me and throwing around unfounded accusations. I d…

> They then started making up stories about me and throwing around unfounded accusations.

That sounds oddly similar with Louis Rossmann's video when in disagreement with some (the?) project owner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4To-F6W1NT0

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

#408

Post by FirmwareBurner »

sylware wrote: post #366

I have to buy such a smart phone hardware: issue, I won't run android for sure, probably something based on a super custom linux. I will need open source and _LEAN_ drivers (including their SDK) with complete hardware programming manuals for at least the modem (the critical part, and the drivers on complex hardware is NEVER enough, not to mention the official list of known hardware bugs) and the remaining hardware bl…

Lemme know when you get all that.

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

#409

Post by kevincox »

sebtron wrote: post #189
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

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 repaired or indefinitely).

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

#410

Post by Tmpod »

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...

Yeah! I use that quite a lot on my Pixel 4a. It's particularly useful to close the system quick settings, since I can just scroll once instead of 4 times x)
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