The Dutch brand Fairphone has struck again and delivered us the next generation of the most sustainable smartphone on the market—the Fairphone 4. The new generation catches up to the modern connectivity standard of 5G, has a 5-year warranty (something you don’t see very often), and is electronic waste neutral.
What is new with the Fairphone 4
The design has been overhauled, bringing it one step closer to a modern look while still keeping a recognizable and signature Fairphone look. Admittedly, the display still looks a bit outdated, partially due to the notch, but mostly because of the thick bezels at the chin and forehead.The display itself is a 6.3-inch LCD Full HD+ or, to put it in pixels, it has a 1080 x 2340 resolution. On its sides, you will find a metal frame that houses the fingerprint sensor on the right. The back of the phone is made of plastic that is durable and easily removable.
On the top left corner of that plastic back you will see the new camera system triangular layout. Unfortunately, the cameras on the back are only two—the main 48MP one with OIS and a secondary ultrawide camera with macro focus capabilities. Housed in the teardrop bezel is the 25MP camera with HDR support.
Inside the Fairphone 4, you will find the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, and depending on which option you go for, either a 6/128GB (€579) of RAM and storage combo or 8/256GB (€649). You can get it in three different colors: grey, green, speckled green. It comes with Android 11 out of the box.
Why Fairphone 4?
Having gone through the specs for the Fairphone 4, one is left a bit underwhelmed, even more so once you find out it starts at €579 for the base model and €649 for the upgraded one.
Nevertheless, that is not the point of this product. As you probably already know, the point here is repairability and sustainability. The barrier for DYI repairs is so low that you can swap your screen and battery on your own. No part of the Fairphone 4 is glued shut (which means no water resistance btw), so all you need is a screwdriver.
Not only is it electronic waste neutral, but this is also the first and only smartphone with Fairtrade Gold certification. Another environmental step Fairphone has taken is to let you choose whether you want any accessories like a charging cable, charging brick, or an audio adapter included.
Hot take on Fairphone’s message
Fairphone’s message at first seems quite clear, positive and inspiring. However, I can’t help but feel a bit confused when I take everything into account.On one hand, Fairphone markets their device saying that “keeping your smartphone for longer is important to us,” and they show that by giving you a 5-year warranty and offering industry-leading reparability.
On the other hand, would you really want to keep a phone that already comes with an outdated design and not the best specs out there? Well, yes, why not? But that is not the real issue here.
Many of us don’t need our daily driver phones to have the latest and greatest the mobile tech industry has to offer. The issue, in my opinion, is when you get to the price—it simply does not match the hardware you get for it.
Having said that, there are certainly very good reasons for the higher than the expected price tag. Manufacturing a smartphone using sustainable and ethical methods can’t be easy. So, in a way, you are making a sacrifice, but in turn, you reduce your impact on the environment, support a good cause, and even save some money on repairs.
For now, the biggest downfall with the case of Fairphones is that they still haven’t broken into the mainstream, and it doesn’t look like the Fairphone 4 will be the one to do that. Nevertheless, It is thanks to companies like this one that a future of more sustainable and repair-friendly smartphones is still possible.
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