Fairphone announces the €599 Fairphone 6, with a 6.31" 120Hz LTPO OLED display, a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, and enhanced modularity with 12 swappable parts
-
Compared to the Fairphone 5 it has some improvements but also a few downsides:
Pro:
- It's a bit smaller (~4mm) and lighter (~20g)
- Slightly better camera (future tests will tell how much better)
- 120 Hz display
- More RAM and storage (although I feel that the previous 6GB/128GB option was also sufficient for most users)
- WiFi 6E Tri-Band (however you will likely never need this speed)
- Bluetooth 5.4
- Slightly larger battery
Con:
- Backpanel now requires a screwdriver
- Display has less resolution/PPI
- Performance of processor will likely be nearly identical to predecessor (however it's more efficient and modern)
- Downgrade to USB 2
- 600€
My conclusion:
Overall the improvements are ok, however just releasing the Fairphone 5 with a newer SoC might have been the better/more cost effective choice.
Sacrificing display resolution for 120 Hz feels also quite wrong.
600€ is very pricy for a phone like this. Cutting some premium features away like the 120 Hz display or a bit of RAM and storage (that you can extend anyway with an SD card) might have saved enough to get the launch price down to somewhere near 500€ which would make it accessible for a wider audience.I also found out a few other things that have changed:
- They now use Torx T5 screws
- The backcover and battery are now fixed with these screws
- The battery uses a dedicated connector
- Parts of the backcover now require a pick
- SIM/SD now sit at the bottom in a dedicated slot and don't require the removal of the backcover.
- The volume buttons got replaced by the "moments" button and are now on the left
IMHO this is kind of a downgrade in repairability as you now need custom tools (not everyone has a T5 screwdriver at home).
Moving the volume buttons to the other side is also kind of weird and unexpected as most (non Apple) phones have them on the right... -
But they won’t sacrifice AxB customers to satisfy B customers.
That's the kicker. Adding a headphone jack doesn't mean they have to sacrifice something. They can just do it without having to remove/reduce anything. If adding a jack was really that difficult, something like what you can see in this video wouldn't be possible.
You have to preeeety gullible to believe their reasons for not adding it. The only reason was that they wanted to sell their bluetooth earbuds, that's it.
Phone thickness is far from the only consideration. But Ok, you are right. There was space on the iPhone 7. That was also the first water resistant phone. Does this guy phone's is still IP67 compliant after all the surgery he made. And that was in 2016, when IP67 headphone jacks didn't exist. Now the phone standard is IP68. There were no IP68 compliant headphone jacks until recently, I think the ASUS Zenfone 12 is the first one.
I think companies won't bring the headphone jack (a shame, really). But the writing is in the wall, it went away, and phones still sold like hotcakes. While those with headphone jacks aren't being bought anywhere near the same volume. So the signal is very clear, the effort to add a headphone jack — however little it may be — is not financially worth it. It is a feature that doesn't drive sales. Period.
-
USB 2? What a stupid choice that appears to be. Did they have any reasoning behind that?
Use for all your old usb 2 ables lol
-
I would never go with Samsung as a conscious choice for custom ROMs, mostly because all well-supported devices are pretty old, which means lower chance of getting something in a decent state for a reasonable price used, that wouldn't require immediately swapping the battery already. Not to mention the Knox eFuse which means losing functionality when flashing a custom ROM. I'd argue a used Pixel is a better option, the 7 Pro can be had for relatively little money and is still a good phone.
Yeah pixels are definitely the best but they're expensive and not as accessible globally.
-
Use for all your old usb 2 ables lol
Lol nooooo, I've been trying to get rid of all mine! Of course since I'm an IT guy that really just means they go to the box of bygone cabling standards, but still. I want them out of my active cable stash lol
-
You can use your dozen wired headphones you already have with a $10 usb-c -> 3.5mm adapter.
wrote last edited by [email protected]Tried that. Gets lost real fast. But thanks "freedom advocate".
-
First of all no, i dont want to carry a dongle as i may plug in multiple headsets.
Second of all, i want to charge my phone while listening to music, and i want even less to carry a doubling d'ongle
Third of all, i fail to see the "eco responsible" part of needing to buy more things than nécessary, then wearing down needlessly the usb-c over time.
So, with all due respect, piss off
PS : you're the same kind of person who said "don't want a phone without headphone jack? Only buy one that has one instead of complaining" when apple started the trend, and guess what mfers, i'm never stopping complaining
You’re going to plug in multiple headsets to your phone in regularly? You can’t just have a cheap dongle on those headsets’ cables?
Funny how almost everyone in here saying they need the 3.5mm jack also just happens to have a dozen pairs of headphones they use every day lol.
-
Tried that. Gets lost real fast. But thanks "freedom advocate".
Tried taking better care of your things? I’ve still got mine that came with my pixel 3 and my iPhone 11 Pro.
-
Problem is BT headphones last 2 years then they go in the garbage because the batteries are dead. How eco-friendly is that!?
My 7 years old bluetooth headphone would disagree.
It is. We had it on phones since before the original iPhone. No one wants to take that away.
And no one except a vocal minority want to keep it. There are a lot on data on that, and manufacturer make their decision on that data.
But lets ignore that, and let's take my viewpoint as a customer. I don't want a port I have no use for. I don't want a DAC I have no use for. I don't want the extra weight that comes with them.
My needs conflict with yours, so what's the only way to make both of us somewhat happy? That's by making the 3.5mm jack an addon, which is what any manufacturer that does not focus on music listening would do.
And no one except a vocal minority want to keep it. There are a lot on data on that,
I would love to see the data that says everyone wants wired devices only. I don't believe you.
don't want a port I have no use for.
Why would you even care!?
I don't want the extra weight that comes with them.
Buddy if you don't want extra weight you need to talk to these OEMs about making their phones out of giant slabs of glass. A 1g connector isn't going to make a difference. You're being completely ridiculous.My needs conflict with yours,
No they don't. They can meet both of our needs by including a jack. Simple as.
-
Tried taking better care of your things? I’ve still got mine that came with my pixel 3 and my iPhone 11 Pro.
Okay so now this is my fault. Do you know how many adapters I lost before I needed one?
-
My wired earbuds cost more than ten times that and will probably last me until I retire. The vast majority of those USB-c to 3.5mm adapters are cheap crap that have a worthless DAC and/or fall apart after a short time. I have purchased my wife three such adapters since she decided it was worth it to get a phone without a headphone jack and none of them have been good.
I ended up having to buy her a separate portable music player to use. So thanks for that Google, Apple, and the rest of the greedy shithead OEMs.
Which brand of adpater did you get? If you got a generic one then a bad DAC and durability aren't surprises.
-
And no one except a vocal minority want to keep it. There are a lot on data on that,
I would love to see the data that says everyone wants wired devices only. I don't believe you.
don't want a port I have no use for.
Why would you even care!?
I don't want the extra weight that comes with them.
Buddy if you don't want extra weight you need to talk to these OEMs about making their phones out of giant slabs of glass. A 1g connector isn't going to make a difference. You're being completely ridiculous.My needs conflict with yours,
No they don't. They can meet both of our needs by including a jack. Simple as.
wrote last edited by [email protected]I'm voluntarily exagerating my point here for irony sake.
My needs isn't more important than anyone else, but I wanted to point out the selfishness of the oposite point of view by making mine as selfish.
Those in favor of keeping a jack port voluntarily choose to ignore any alternative, while trying to force their need on other people.But it is true I do not want that port back. It is redundant, has no advantages over a dongle, and it inconveniences could easily be overcome by simply adding a second usb-c port. No need for internal DAC, you'd be able to do far more than you'll ever be able to do with a 3.5mm jack, and you'll be able to charge it while listening to your music with a wired headphone. All that with a smaller and more flexible port.
And it would take you 5min searching the web to get good review about usbc DAC with actually good sound, even better than any internal DAC.
But to save you a click, you have the Apple one, which has good review while being able to drive almost all headphones but the most energy intensive of them. It cost a whopping... $10.
As for the precise number, you can find them on market studies. Unfortunately they are quite pricy, and as I'm not in that field, I do not have access to them. But Fairphone does, and if they don't bother adding that port back, they are most probably basing their decision on them.
-
I'm voluntarily exagerating my point here for irony sake.
My needs isn't more important than anyone else, but I wanted to point out the selfishness of the oposite point of view by making mine as selfish.
Those in favor of keeping a jack port voluntarily choose to ignore any alternative, while trying to force their need on other people.But it is true I do not want that port back. It is redundant, has no advantages over a dongle, and it inconveniences could easily be overcome by simply adding a second usb-c port. No need for internal DAC, you'd be able to do far more than you'll ever be able to do with a 3.5mm jack, and you'll be able to charge it while listening to your music with a wired headphone. All that with a smaller and more flexible port.
And it would take you 5min searching the web to get good review about usbc DAC with actually good sound, even better than any internal DAC.
But to save you a click, you have the Apple one, which has good review while being able to drive almost all headphones but the most energy intensive of them. It cost a whopping... $10.
As for the precise number, you can find them on market studies. Unfortunately they are quite pricy, and as I'm not in that field, I do not have access to them. But Fairphone does, and if they don't bother adding that port back, they are most probably basing their decision on them.
wrote last edited by [email protected]My needs isn't more important than anyone else, but I wanted to point out the selfishness of the oposite point of view by making mine as selfish.
There's nothing selfish here. Keeping the jack benefits everyone except Apple and other BT headphone OEMs. It doesn't hurt anyone else.
has no advantages over a dongle
The advantage is that you don't need a dongle...
and it inconveniences easily be overcome by simply adding a second usb-c port
Still requires carrying a dongle or buying a pair of headphones that only works with phones and computers, and not the vast array of other devices that still use headphone jacks, new and old. So that solves absolutely nothing. As I said elsewhere, we've created a competing standard, for no reason.
you'd be able to do far more than you'll ever be able to do with a 3.5mm jack
What? Do you think we're suggesting removing the USB port? What are you talking about?
And it would take you 5min searching the web to get good review about usbc DAC with actually good sound, even better than any internal DAC.
I don't want to search the web. I don't want a DAC. I just want to plug in my headphones. This is absurd.
It cost a whopping... $10.
$10 to buy something that previously cost me $0. Only it's inevitably going to get lost so you'd better buy a half dozen of them and replace them every few years, so you're looking at dozens of $ per year for something that was previously completely unnecessary.
As for the precise number...I'm not in that field, I do not have access to them
Yeah, I didn't think so.
But Fairphone does
Where? If you know they have it, then you must have it as well?
and if they don't bother adding that port back, they are most probably basing their decision on them.
No, they're basing that decision on the same thing everyone else is: money. Greed. Much like Apple they also released their own bluetooth headphones at the same time as they removed their headphone jack. But I suppose that's just coincidence, right?
-
Well, technically no phones are made in the US. I think you're talking about selling phones there. Regardless, you might have poor short term memory because they only pulled out of the US phone market (which is pretty crappy) a little over a year ago I believe.
I can't help but detect some passive hostility in your response.
-
You’re going to plug in multiple headsets to your phone in regularly? You can’t just have a cheap dongle on those headsets’ cables?
Funny how almost everyone in here saying they need the 3.5mm jack also just happens to have a dozen pairs of headphones they use every day lol.
So much for eco responsibilty to buy dongles that could be avoided and wear usb-c.
-
My needs isn't more important than anyone else, but I wanted to point out the selfishness of the oposite point of view by making mine as selfish.
There's nothing selfish here. Keeping the jack benefits everyone except Apple and other BT headphone OEMs. It doesn't hurt anyone else.
has no advantages over a dongle
The advantage is that you don't need a dongle...
and it inconveniences easily be overcome by simply adding a second usb-c port
Still requires carrying a dongle or buying a pair of headphones that only works with phones and computers, and not the vast array of other devices that still use headphone jacks, new and old. So that solves absolutely nothing. As I said elsewhere, we've created a competing standard, for no reason.
you'd be able to do far more than you'll ever be able to do with a 3.5mm jack
What? Do you think we're suggesting removing the USB port? What are you talking about?
And it would take you 5min searching the web to get good review about usbc DAC with actually good sound, even better than any internal DAC.
I don't want to search the web. I don't want a DAC. I just want to plug in my headphones. This is absurd.
It cost a whopping... $10.
$10 to buy something that previously cost me $0. Only it's inevitably going to get lost so you'd better buy a half dozen of them and replace them every few years, so you're looking at dozens of $ per year for something that was previously completely unnecessary.
As for the precise number...I'm not in that field, I do not have access to them
Yeah, I didn't think so.
But Fairphone does
Where? If you know they have it, then you must have it as well?
and if they don't bother adding that port back, they are most probably basing their decision on them.
No, they're basing that decision on the same thing everyone else is: money. Greed. Much like Apple they also released their own bluetooth headphones at the same time as they removed their headphone jack. But I suppose that's just coincidence, right?
wrote last edited by [email protected]Could also have been the other way around.
Fairphone removes the headphone jack > realize they would need an alternative > realize most TW headphones are e-waste to be > make their own with
blackjack and hookersa removable battery, making it a solution to TW headphones with non-removable batteries.Don't call fool without any proof, or you'll have a very sad life supposing the worst from anyone you'll meet. Coincidence is no proof of causation.
-
Could also have been the other way around.
Fairphone removes the headphone jack > realize they would need an alternative > realize most TW headphones are e-waste to be > make their own with
blackjack and hookersa removable battery, making it a solution to TW headphones with non-removable batteries.Don't call fool without any proof, or you'll have a very sad life supposing the worst from anyone you'll meet. Coincidence is no proof of causation.
Don't call fool without any proof
Brother, you're the one making claims without any proof.
Coincidence is no proof of causation.
Oh so you're actually naive enough to believe this is coincidence? I was joking earlier but you really believe it LOL.
-
No, we aren't forgetting. Precisely because they are a corporation driven by profits like any other, they will do what sells units. It actually goes against the argument for headphone jacks. It is an admission that the people who vocally want phones with headphone jacks don't buy phones (even if they have headphone jacks) and are an statistically insignificant amount of people. My original point. You are vocal, but disingenuous (perhaps not on purpose).
Fairphone catered to the mass market with the Fairphone 4 (and removed the headphone jack) and broke their own sales records. Sorry, that's just the truth. What you want is against the grain of the rest of the market. Yes, even the market who want repairable modular phones.
Because when push comes to shove, you might want the headphone jack but it doesn't drive your purchase decision. And that's the important part. As an example, another person on this very thread asked what phone with a headphone jack is good, someone else gave a suggestion and immediately got the reply.
I considered that phone, but it didn't have an OLED screen, so I didn't buy it.
Admitting that — despite being very vocal about wanting the headphone jack — that feature is actually low in their own list of decision making priorities. At the very least it is below screen quality. Raising the question, where should a profit driven company choose to invest money in when presented with that customer?
In marketing, people are usually very vocal about things that actually don't influence their own purchase decisions. That's just a fact, people are very bad at knowing what they want. That's why you should always observe their behavior, not just ask their opinion. Because a lot of people express opinions they don't uphold with actions.
wrote last edited by [email protected]They lose no customers by including it. They lose some by omitting it.
So it boils down to being too expensive to include? Hardly!
You evaluate prior decisions with posterior data. But you fail to take into account the counterfactuals. How do you know how much the FP4 would have sold with a jack?
Claiming that an increase in sales validates the goodness of the decision is not causal.
It is the same logic that would tell you that playing russian roulette is worthwile in case you win and get some reward. That's backwards rationalization, fitting a narrative.
If market research universally showed that people don't care about a jack then why do some phones still have it? Are these manufacturers going against the grain? Surely they wouldn't leave money on the table if it worked like that.
The justification of "they do what sells units" is backwards. It would imply that no product would ever flop. But products regularly do. There is no telling in advance how it will perform, and saying otherwise is falling prey to the problem of induction, whether past observarions justify predictions.
The FP4 could have broke sales records for a multitude of reasons. How can you say which factor caused it when there is only one scenario that played out? We don't have alternative universes to compare, where they released one with a jack, or another with some other altered specs.
-
Which brand of adpater did you get? If you got a generic one then a bad DAC and durability aren't surprises.
I've used three: one was generic (it was at the time the only way to get one that could charge and have a headphone out in the same dongle), one was from Fiio (surprisingly bad sounding, maybe worse than the generic in some ways, but better build), and one was the official Google dongle (sounded clean, but was super weak. Couldn't power even my lightest headphones that weren't IEMs). The only one I still have is the Google dongle because the others broke, but I don't use it because it still kinda sucks. I ended up being forced to buy a phone without a headphone jack fairly recently because Google more or less killed my Pixel 4a and there were no replacement phones with headphones jacks that I could put GrapheneOS on. I ended up buying myself a portable music player to list to music on. My phone is now only for listening to music in the car and it sucks
-
I've used three: one was generic (it was at the time the only way to get one that could charge and have a headphone out in the same dongle), one was from Fiio (surprisingly bad sounding, maybe worse than the generic in some ways, but better build), and one was the official Google dongle (sounded clean, but was super weak. Couldn't power even my lightest headphones that weren't IEMs). The only one I still have is the Google dongle because the others broke, but I don't use it because it still kinda sucks. I ended up being forced to buy a phone without a headphone jack fairly recently because Google more or less killed my Pixel 4a and there were no replacement phones with headphones jacks that I could put GrapheneOS on. I ended up buying myself a portable music player to list to music on. My phone is now only for listening to music in the car and it sucks
Maybe try the Apple one when Android 16 comes out (in GrapheneOS form) which fixes the volume issues.
