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Fairphone 5 - release date and US support?? (www.fairphone.com)

submitted 1 year ago by Polymath@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Ever since I learned about the Fairphone, I keep trying to figure out when they'll release the Fairphone 5.

Further, I keep wondering whether it'll be usable easily and realistically by Verizon, since there's some complications with Fairphone being based in the Netherlands, but I believe generally supported across Europe since so much of their website is in English.

Just about anything I find over on Reddit seems to be outdated, speculating and guessing, or otherwise unreliable.

Anybody know many details about when it might come out, and whether it'll be supported here in the US??

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[-] jet@hackertalks.com 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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[-] Polymath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 year ago

(Not trying to be combative/pedantic/"devil's advocate")
What kind of phone do you personally use, and/or prefer, that's more user-friendly, as opposed to user-hostile?

I'm not necessarily opposed to anything specifically, and trying to find less-corporate alternatives that are, ideally, more eco-friendly or whatnot, but obviously "no ethical consumption under capitalism" and all. Fairphone is just the least corporate and eco-fucked thing I've found thus far that's reasonable with current technology and interoperability.

Thoughts? Suggestions??

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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[-] Polymath@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago

Good looking out. And thanks for explaining all that! There's lots of stuff with the security and platform that's still currently beyond my depth of understanding (it doesn't help that tech and cybersecurity are screaming ahead so fast that it's one of those Red Queen "it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place" fields where I can't seem to catch up or stay anywhere close to current)

Mine is currently a Pixel 4a, and, ironically enough to your feelings about the headphone jack, which my Pixel 4a does have, one of my personal/primary gripes related to capitalist consumerism and spending, is that it doesn't have a removable microSD card slot, and I personally prefer to keep and backup my photos and files and everything on the local microSD card that I can switch out to whatever, rather than being forced to pay for Google's additional cloud storage.

So it sounds as if we have similar reasons behind the

Removing choices from users, to put them into ... sales
distaste.

I wish I could just pick and choose a company and device that's not massive, that does have a microSD slot (and ideally a second one for a dual SIM), not un-fixable and un-updatable, and reasonably eco-friendly. And I can't help but see flagship models now of major companies soaring upwards of $2,000 USD, which is just fucked. Ugh, le sigh

[-] jet@hackertalks.com 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

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[-] Polymath@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I often also wonder about when we'll shift towards some combination of like Google Glass types of vision wearables, communicating seamlessly with some form of headphones (or ear pods, since those seem to be so goddamn popular, even tho I see somebody lose one of their two every dang day it seems...) and communicating seamlessly with the FitBit-style watches that so many people sell their souls to

But I'm still also personally really a fan of big screens, hence why I really love seeing the foldable technologies like Samsung's Z Flip and/or Z Fold

...and then there's the part of me that keeps wondering how long it'll be until there's secure (encrypted?) ways for someone to just like 2FA-verify that they're the owner of a car and use like the Near-Field Communication/NFC or Bluetooth or something of their phone/wearables to unlock and drive their car, or, far more importantly and bringing cybersecurity into question, being able to like "AirDrop" like a 2-hour limited usership to a friend or family member that needs to pick something up or borrow it.
Like, I envision some way to use tech to share driveability of a car digitally to friends or family, but I'm sure that all the layers to make it so it's not like the Kia hotwiring problem are gonna take several years, and be a cat-and-mouse continued struggle.

IDK man, I'm just rambling

[-] PanaX@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 year ago

Not trying to downplay your point about removing functionally, I completely agree. But I bought a 3.5 to usb-c adapter and it works just as well.

[-] original_reader@lemm.ee 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Totally with you. Won't buy it without a headphone jack. I need a jack way too much to give it up.

There's an entire discussion on that going here.

[-] trainline@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I'm with you brother

[-] AstralPath@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 year ago

I'm seriously considering a Fairphone for my next device. If only GrapheneOS could run on it... It would be a no brainer at that point.

[-] Devjavu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 year ago

I would, but sadly the security hardware just isn't there. Calyx works though!

[-] TomViolence@lemmy.one 8 points 1 year ago

The last two Fairphones (three if we count the 3+) have been released in September. If they release the fifth one this year, we should know soon enough.

Also, the 3 and 4 have been released two years apart, and the 4 has been released two years ago…

[-] PlantPowerPhysicist@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 1 year ago

I hope it comes out soon - I'm still using my Fairphone 2 but it's really time for it to retire

[-] Polymath@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

So how many years of service is that, that it has been going alright and not giving you issues??
And are you US-based, and with which provider?

It looks like it was released it like 2015... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone_2

[-] PlantPowerPhysicist@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 year ago

I've had it since 2016, so it's close to 7 years now. I replaced the screen and battery on it, but it has been pretty solid. Actually, uptime is something that's an advantage for self-repairable stuff: when the screen needed to be replaced, it still worked enough to use, which I did until the replacement arrived. Takes a minute to swap the screen and then it's running again.

I'm based in Germany so I only used it in the US when traveling. Maybe the 5 will be the one where they decide to cover the US officially? It seems like there's more attention to repairability than there was 7 years ago...

[-] 0x96EA@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Never heard of them before but this looks like a really cool product!

[-] NotAPenguin@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

If there were any details out you would have found it.

I have a Fairphone 4 and really like it :)

[-] Polymath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

I should also ask, how long have you had it (it appears that the release date was just shy of 2 years ago; 30 September 2021), and do you thus far anticipate it continuing usage several years into the future, or does it seem like after 2 years of usage you might be headed towards needing to get another/new phone?

Longevity is another of my main wishes/desires

[-] NotAPenguin@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

I've had it for about a year now, I'm not feeling any need to upgrade :)

[-] Polymath@gehirneimer.de 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

And you're US-based, @NotAPenguin ?? Which provider do you use for it? Verizon?

Any issues with US towers and connectivity or setting it up to "talk to" the US infrastructure?

[-] NotAPenguin@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

No sorry, not US based so I'm not sure.

[-] Lime66@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Fair phones are scams, I have a pixel 4a 5g, the fair phone 4 is literally a downgrade from my phone and costs the same price as a pixel 7 or nothing phone (2)

[-] NotAPenguin@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Fairphone costs more because they give a shit about their impact and workers, of course it's not the best bang for your buck when they gotta spend more money paying their workers fairly instead of squeezing as much profit as they can.

That does not make it a scam in any way.

[-] Lime66@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

You can still buy a refurbished phone, it arguably has less environmental impact to any new phone, even a fairphone

[-] Polymath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 year ago

For some bizarre reason, although I prefer and lean towards certified refurbished electronics in like every other arena and regularly suggest them to friends and family, I hadn't considered one here, for my next cell phone. Thank you for this so-simple suggestion! 🤦‍♀️

this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2023

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