Sustainable tech chief Fairphone unveiled its newest modular machine on Thursday at an occasion in Amsterdam, presenting a transparent problem to mainstream cellphone makers in all places. The Fairphone 6 is a completely repairable Android cellphone constructed to final, which the corporate says has the bottom carbon footprint of any machine its made but.
Fairphone is a cellphone maker like no different. Reasonably than being yet one more tech firm making yet one more generic Android cellphone, Fairphone is a value-focused Dutch social enterprise, which sources supplies ethically, pays fair-wage bonuses to its staff throughout the availability chain in factories the place they’re shielded from dangerous chemical compounds and given a voice to enact change. It additionally actively encourages individuals who purchase a Fairphone to hunt out substitute components somewhat than throwaway their units and improve regularly.
Whereas that is technically the Fairphone 6, the corporate desires it to be often known as simply the Fairphone — the pondering being that you just should not must improve your cellphone each few years to the subsequent technology of units. With this machine, Fairphone guarantees seven Android updates with software program and repairable components help lasting till 2033.
Fairphone’s earlier cellphone, the Fairphone 5 scored 7/10 in our evaluate, but additionally price listening to is the 10/10 teardown score given to the cellphone by iFixit. iFixit is a pacesetter in offering the instruments and data for folks to restore their electronics, and has been on the forefront of pushing right-to-repair legislation.
The Fairphone is totally modular, with replaceable components that make it each straightforward to repair and extra enjoyable. In addition to having the ability to substitute the battery, display screen, digital camera, ports and different components of the cellphone, you possibly can click on off the rear cowl to connect options with equipment, equivalent to a carry wire or a card holder.
A lime inexperienced change on the facet of the cellphone permits you to toggle between the usual Android 15 interface, full with all of the Google Gemini AI options you would possibly count on, and a pared-back monochrome “necessities” interface that provides entry to core fuctions, together with calling, messaging and internet shopping.
Our largest criticisms of the Fairphone 5 had been the poor battery life and digital camera efficiency. In keeping with Fairphone, its new machine packs a much bigger battery that may final 53 hours, together with an AI-enhanced 50-megapixel digital camera. We’re hoping that these stay as much as their promise, which shall be essential to really future proof this cellphone as the remainder of the trade sticks to its annual improve cycle.
The chip inside is the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 from Qualcomm, which additionally gives the chips for the entire finest Android telephones available on the market. The efficiency of this chip may even assist decide the longevity of the cellphone.
The Fairphone 6 shall be obtainable for £499 ($680) from YourCoop and AO within the UK and shall be obtainable by means of Murena within the US.
