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Comment by amazingamazing

1 day ago

$650 for anyone who does not want to click. Hard sell compared to the iPhone 17e but more choice is good.

I would buy this phone in a second over a 17e. Replaceable parts? Expandable storage? Any companies that says they care about the environment and does not have these things are just liars.

  • Unfortunately, there were quite a lot early reports of users whose FP6 volume buttons broke or their logic boards during charging. Both are components that are not user-replaceable and it often takes Fairphone 4-6 weeks to repair them. Similarly, the head band on their FairBuds XL regularly break for a bunch of people (user replaceable, but you still have to go through their slow support if you do not want to pay for the replacement yourself).

    Fairphone (in contrast to Apple) are also known for introducing really bad bugs and then not fixing them for months. Like how the FP4 could only keep a single app in memory after they introduced a memory management bug or how currently a lot of FP6 users are affected by a bug where WiFi stops working (due to an IPv6-related bug) that has been reported in March.

    https://forum.fairphone.com/t/dns-over-tls-ipv6-issues-apps-...

    Then there are the really weird design decisions on the FP6. Like, they put the fingerprint scanner in the power button, which makes it nearly impossible to use it one-handed with your left hand if you actually want to unlock it or use fingerprint unlock in an application. And they put the power button on the exact opposite side of the volume down button, so you make a screenshot when you want to lock the phone half of the time.

    And then we haven't talked about the hardware. The speakers are pretty mediocre. The camera is only mid. The SoC even caused render slowdowns in 2026 in /e/OS, it's going to be wholly underpowered after 7 years (the new CPU in the plus is barely going to help, the 7s Gen 4 is the Gen 3 with slightly higher clocked cores).

    I had the Fairphone 6 and I am happy that I was able to get rid of it for still a fairly OK price (I got it because I like their mission).

    • > so you make a screenshot when you want to lock the phone half of the time

      I share that pain. I use a Fairphone 6 as my main phone, and my only real gripes with it are the extremely weak haptic engine and that power button placement.

    • > And they put the power button on the exact opposite side of the volume down button, so you make a screenshot when you want to lock the phone half of the time.

      To be fair, Apple has nearly the same design.

      > I got it because I like their mission

      Same here. This is why we need to be buying them now, while they are working out the bugs. Small sacrifice in my mind.

      6 replies →

  • I’d pay twice what they are asking for one with a reasonably sized screen.

    I’m holding on to my iphone mini, but apparently people buy the razr and just leave it closed 100% of the time.

    That’s $700, and not having the dumb hinge mechanism and internal facing display would be a selling point for many.

  • I mean replacing a battery is something you do, at most, once every 5-7 years. If removing the battery requires a heat gun then it's not the worst thing imo.

    • You can also carry one or two spare batteries with you and get from zero to 100% charge in a minute.