submitted 11 months ago by fluorine@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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There’s been a lot of buzz here about the Fairphone here lately, especially with it coming to the US.

On paper, it seems rather nice. Ethically sourced, privacy friendly stock ROM.

But the skeptic in me does say, “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.”

What are the drawbacks of Fairphone that seem to be shunned away, or less discussed both by the company and community at large? Why shouldn’t I just buy a Pixel 7a and put GrapheneOS on it instead?

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[-] frogman@beehaw.org 14 points 11 months ago

to answer your other questions, i do have a used pixel with grapheneOS now. much better phone, much better experience and much better piece of mind. i use a good all-covering case so nobody asks what phone i use, because i'd hate to be a billboard for google.

the biggest selling point of the fairphone for me was its' unique form factor. i was asked what phone i had A LOT. when i took the back off, people's mind broke. this created a segway for me to talk about right-to-repair with people who otherwise would have never cared. it's a great tool to open discussion into ethical hardware and software. i miss having those conversations as regularly as i was.

[-] TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub 3 points 11 months ago

That would be a downside for me. I hate talking to strangers.

[-] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 3 points 11 months ago

@frogman Would the new fairphone 5 maybe fix some of your cons with Fairphone?

[-] frogman@beehaw.org 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

there's no news on the specifics of the device just yet, just a couple of sneak peaks. so it's hard to say if it will be returning the headphone jack, ~~bringing back expandable storage,~~ or using newer models of SoC that aren't immediately out of OEM update support. if these problems can be addressed, then the hardware of the phone will be fair game in my books.

however, the misleading marketing and the shameful software support are likely to unchange. the software support is a massive gaping hole that i feel like isn't being discussed enough. taking 6 years to provide 3-4 years of software support shouldn't be touted as excellence.

EDIT: i was wrong about the expandable storage, there was some more discussion on this thread.