←back to thread

Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable

(www.androidcentral.com)
401 points Bluestein | 1 comments | 23 Jun 25 15:29 UTC | HN request time: 0.34s | source
Show context
strangecasts ◴[23 Jun 25 16:20 UTC] No.44357341[source]▶
Was lucky enough to get my Fairphone 4 on sale, but I'd happily pay full price now - even though the Fairphones are pricey for the specs, unless you absolutely need 24 cores etc. I'd say they are worth it, knowing the company is at least trying to improve the parts supply chain, and knowing you stand a chance of fixing the devices yourself (luckily I've only had to replace the USB-C port, which was trivial)

About the only thing I'd ding Fairphone on is not communicating earlier that they were having trouble getting Android 14 out to the FP4s, but the security patches have been consistent.

(Okay I'm also dinging them on getting rid of the headphone jack, yes I know it's a lost cause... )

replies(8): >>44357460 #>>44357530 #>>44357755 #>>44357765 #>>44361120 #>>44361376 #>>44363162 #>>44366676 #
bombela ◴[23 Jun 25 17:03 UTC] No.44357765[source]▶
The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend.

Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption.

Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned obsolescence. And this is legal.

replies(12): >>44357796 #>>44357829 #>>44361101 #>>44361568 #>>44361763 #>>44362176 #>>44362295 #>>44362728 #>>44364277 #>>44364511 #>>44366017 #>>44370556 #
1. WhyNotHugo ◴[24 Jun 25 10:05 UTC] No.44364511[source]▶
> Wired headphones still have better sound quality.

High-grade studio quality wired headphones have better quality than wireless ones. But anywhere lower than the highest tiers, they're both in the same ballpark.

For the devices used by 999‰ of the people, the difference is unnoticeable.

> Don't break with software update.

Why would headphones break when you upgrade your phone? It sounds to me like your phone broke. And an audio jack can also stop working with a botched software update.

I've been using cellular phones since 2004. I've never used a headphone jack. Most people haven't either. Sure, some people would use it, and some people would use a DisplayPort connector if present (I would), but it's hard to justify putting one in every single phone when an adapter is so cheap.

Shipping a 3.5mm audio jack on every single phone in the world is more wasteful than just manufacturing an adapter for people who actually need it.