Netherlands-based phone maker Fairphone has unveiled the Fairphone 5, almost two years after its predecessor, with the promise of an eco-friendly build, more user-replaceable parts, and long-term software support that put its biggest competitors to shame.
Fairphone has established itself in the mobile market as a brand when it comes to the production and sale of ethical and environmentally friendly smartphones. It offers longevity, extended software support and a high degree of user repairability, plus component-level hardware upgrades so you don’t have to replace the entire device to get a nicer display or a better camera.
Fairphone 5 embodies all these qualities, but raises the bar both in terms of hardware and software, and also challenges the broader mobile industry; it sets an example in areas such as sustainability and fair compensation to employees throughout the phone supply chain.
What are the Fairphone 5 specifications?
At the hardware level, the Fairphone 5 is the first in the series to switch display technology from LCD to OLED. The 6.46-inch 90Hz Full HD+ panel marks a significant upgrade in the Fairphone viewing experience. There is also a triple high-resolution 50MP camera along with the Sony IMX800 sensor, ultra-wide and punch-hole selfie camera, powered by OIS (optical image stabilization). Fairphone says it’s working hard to optimize the camera experience on the Fairphone 5 for better performance, especially in low light.
The modular nature of the phone’s components means you can swap out the camera and even the USB-C port as needed, but that also includes the battery. In fact, Fairphone promises a total of 11 components that users can replace when they need to be replaced or are underperforming.
As for durability, the Fairphone 5 is not only MIL-810H rated for shocks and drops, it’s also IP55 certified, meaning it’s slightly more water resistant than its predecessor. Fairphone revealed at launch that some components actually have higher ingress protection, but as a whole package, the phone is rated up to IP55.
Software support that puts competitors to shame
Perhaps the biggest gain for the end user is the promise of software. We commended Samsung for outperforming Google in the Android camp by offering four years of OS updates and five years of security updates on most of its phones; Apple’s iPhones, on the other hand, received six operating system updates during their lifetime in the past. Fairphone now raises the bar by promising five years of OS updates and eight to ten years of total software support; which means the company won’t technically launch the Fairphone 5 until 2033.
At launch, administrators also mentioned that updates will be timely, meaning users can expect OS updates sooner than in previous years.
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