Sustainable and repair-friendly Fairphone 5 released
Different users have different requirements when it comes to selecting a new mobile phone, but there are is some common ground to be found. Device support plays a role, as it determines for how long a device will receive updates, including security updates.
Fairphone 5 may set a new record when it comes to support, as the manufacturer promises to support the device until 2031. This moves support into the realm of Apple and leaves all major Android device manufacturers, including Google, behind it in terms of device support.
Fairphone 5 ships with Android 13 by default. The manufacturer promises that the device will receive at least five Android operating system version updates, which means that it will reach Android 18 at the very least.
Another feature that stands out is that the mobile device uses a modular design. It improves repairability of components, especially since no part of the device is "glued shut" according to the announcement. Fairphone 5 owners may order broken parts from the manufacturer to repair the device "within minutes" at home. While that won't be the case for all types of damages, it is certainly the case for major device components, such as the camera, battery or the SIM slot. All in all, Fairphone 5 features 10 components that owners may swap out by themselves, without having to send in the device for repairs or ask professional shops to do the repairs.
Spec-wise, Fairphone 5 is powered by Qualcomm's QCM6490 processor, which was selected by the manufacturer specifically for Qualcomm's support commitment until 2031. The chip offers mid-range performance, which, may not be sufficient for some use cases, such as high-end gaming, but still a worthwhile upgrade from Fairphone 4.
The AGM G2 appears to use the same chip; you can check out our review of AGM's Glory G1S here.
Here are the main specifications of the Fairphone 5:
- 8GB RAM
- 256GB internal storage.
- microSD support, up to 2TB.
- 6.46 inch FullHD+ OLED display with a 1224x2700 resolution.
- 90Hz screen with 880 nits peak brightness.
- 162mm x 75.5mm x 10.5mm dimensions.
- 50MP main camera, F1.88 Sony IMX 800.
- 1080p @ 30/60 fps and 4K video at 30 fps video capture.
- 4200mAh removable Li-ion battery.
- Wi-Fi (2.4GHz + 5GHz 6GHz) • Bluetooth® 5.2 + LE.
- NFC support.
- Dual SIM, 5G enabled.
- IP55, ICE 60058-2-31 and MIL-810H passed.
The Fairphone 5 is available for 699 EUR in the colors Matte Black, Sky Blue and Transparent Edition.
Closing Words
Fairphone 5 pushes the limits of support on Android to 5 major operating system version upgrades and support until at least 2031. While the original battery of the device will lose some of its capacity over time, it is easy enough to replace it with a new one.
The specs of the device make it a mid-range device, and some might say that the price is high for the hardware that is integrated into the device. There are certainly phones out there that offer better hardware at the same price point, but they may lack in other areas, including support, sustainability or repairability.
The Fairphone is not the right device for people who want the latest and greatest, and that every year, but this is not the target demographic. It is designed for people who want a device that they can rely on for years to come, one that continues to be supported by its manufacturer in all those years, and one that is "made fairer" than comparable devices.
Now You: is the Fairphone 5 a device that you may be interested in?
Thanks for the tip Martin.
It is for these kinds of posts that I follow GHacks.
What’s up with the generic comment, are you a bot?
2G?
Where on the planet is that still in use? I was forced to give up using my RAZRV3 years ago because 2G was phased out by AT&T.
Everywhere 3G has been turned off and you don’t have LTE coverage, and believe me there are many developed countries where this is the case and if it weren’t for 2G you wouldn’t even be able to make a phone call.
Maybe I missed it, but I don’t believe tha term “2G” is in the article. Perhaps you are referring to “AGM G2”??
@Martin
Your website has gone insane.
When I the post button I then saw my comment posted on a different article page. When I opened this article again, it is here.
@Tachy @Martin Brinkmann
” Your website has gone insane. ”
Same here. Has happened several times.
@Tachy,
@Martin P.,
For over two weeks now,
I’ve been seeing “Comments” posted by subscribers appearing in different, unrelated articles.
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572991
https://www.ghacks.net/windows-11-update-stuck-fixed-for-good/#comment-4572951
For the time being,
it would be better to specify the “article name and URL” at the beginning of the post.
@tachy a lot of non-phone devices with a sim in them rely on 2G, at least here in europe.
Usually things reporting usage or errors/alarms on something remote that does not get day to day inspection in person. They are out there in vast numbers doing important work. Reliable, good range. The low datarate is no problem at all in those cases.
3G is gone or on its last legs everywhere, but this stuff still has too much use to cancel.
Anyhow, interesting that they would put that in. I can see the point if you suspect a hostile 2G environment (amateur eavesdroppers with laptop, ranging up to professional grade MITM fake towers while “strangely” not getting the stronger crypto voip 4G because it is being jammed, and back down to something as old ‘stingray’ devices fallen into the wrong hands).
But does this also mean that they have handled and rolled out a fix for that nasty 4G ‘pwn by broadcast’ problem you reported earlier this year? I had 4G disabled due to that, on the off chance that some of the local criminals would buy some cheap chinese gear, download a working exploit and probe every phone in range all over town in the hope of getting into phones of the police.
>”While most may never be attacked in stingrays, it is still recommended to disable 2G cellular connections, especially since it does not have any downsides.”
The downside would be losing connectivity. I spend a lot of time way out in the countryside where there’s often no service or almost none. My network allows 2G, and I need it sometimes. I have an option on the phone to disable 2G, I may do that when I’m in the city and I have good 5G connectivity, but not out in the country.
I would imagine that the stingray exploits, like most of the bad things in this world, are probably things you will run into in the crowded big cities.
I stopped using it in a mobile (Wi-Fi line) environment, so I’m almost ignorant of the actual situation,
But the recent reality in Japan makes me realize that “the infrastructure of the web is nothing more than a papier-mâché fiction”.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/17/google-chrome-to-enable-https-first-by-default-for-all-users/#comment-4572402
It is already beyond the scope of what an individual can do.
What we should be aware of is the reality that “governments and those in power want to control the world through the Web”, and efforts to counter (resist and prevent) such ambitions are necessary.
Why do you want people to disable the privacy features? Hmmmmm?
Now You: do you plan to keep the Ads privacy features enabled?
I’d like to tell you, but apparently if you make a post critical of Google, you get censored. * [Editor: removed, just try to bring your opinion across without attacking anyone]
@Martin
You website is still psychotic. Comments attach to random stories.
@Martin please do fix the comments, it’s completely insane commenting here! :[
@Martin
The comments are seriously messed up on gHacks now. These comments are mixed with the article at the below URL.
https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/18/android-how-to-disable-2g-cellular-connections-to-improve-security/
And comments on other articles are from as far back as 2010.
What does this article has anything to do with all the comments on this article? LOL I think this Websuite is ran by ChatGPT. every article is messed up. Some older comments from 2015 shown up in recant articles, LOL
The picture captioned “Clearing the Android Auto’s cache might resolve the issue” is from Apple Carplay ;)
How about other things that matter:
Drop survival?
Screen toughness?
Degree of water and dust protection?