FairPhone 6 released!

[CuriousBread]

https://shop.fairphone.com/the-fairphone-gen-6

 

Previously LTT reviewed the FairPhone 5, it according to the review wasn't great. However it seems like FairPhone has upped the performance this time around and it even has a user replacable battery! 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

[Hideki Ryuga]

They even have a model that comes with /e/os

 

This is cool I wanted one but was waiting for an upgrade to the fairphone 5. I ultimately ended up getting an iPhone though.

[whispous]

2 hours ago, CuriousBread said:

and it even has a user replacable battery!

?

 

The battery was user replacable on the last one too

[jaslion]

Now bring back the headphone jack and ill believe your fair to the people fair to the earth mission

[Guest]

New video just dropped about the Fairphone Gen 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LpNZmQ_E54

And here we go again with another unfair review. Linus is still missing the entire point of what Fairphone is trying to do. I concede, he does mentions the ethical gold sourcing this time and talks about mercury poisoning in Amazon rivers, but then immediately goes back to comparing it against budget phones that cost a third of the price. how is that even remotely fair?

The thing that really gets me is this double standard that's everywhere in tech reviews. Fairphone gets slammed for having a mid-range processor or slightly thicker design, but when has any reviewer ever criticized a Samsung or Apple phone for using conflict minerals or exploiting workers? Never. They just ignore all that stuff and focus purely on specs and performance. If reviewers actually held mainstream manufacturers accountable for their "massive failures in sustainability, ethics, and repairability" like they do with Fairphone, maybe wed see some real change in the industry. But instead they pretend those issues dont exist and then act shocked when a company that actually tries to do things ethically costs more money.

Look, I get that the Fairphone isn't perfect and has some bugs and performance issues. But at least acknowledge what youre paying for here - ethically sourced materials, fair wages for workers, 8 years of software support, and actual repairability where you can fix stuff yourself instead of being forced to buy a new phone every 2 years. The fact that Linus can pop out a USB-C port in seconds should be headline news, not just a footnote. When your regular phone breaks, good luck finding parts or doing repairs without a heat gun and risking your warranty. But somehow thats never mentioned as a negative in other reviews.

I am willing to pay the cost of  less performance for an ethical device, and my view, that is also the view of many other consumers, even if we are a minority, is never acknowledged by LTT.

And , please, some respect, get rid of the fly before recording!

Edited August 3, 2025 by rhermans

[lvlght]

7 minutes ago, rhermans said:

New video just dropped about the Fairphone Gen 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LpNZmQ_E54

And here we go again with another unfair review. Linus is still missing the entire point of what Fairphone is trying to do. I concede, he does mentions the ethical gold sourcing this time and talks about mercury poisoning in Amazon rivers, but then immediately goes back to comparing it against budget phones that cost a third of the price. how is that even remotely fair?

The thing that really gets me is this double standard that's everywhere in tech reviews. Fairphone gets slammed for having a mid-range processor or slightly thicker design, but when has any reviewer ever criticized a Samsung or Apple phone for using conflict minerals or exploiting workers? Never. They just ignore all that stuff and focus purely on specs and performance. If reviewers actually held mainstream manufacturers accountable for their "massive failures in sustainability, ethics, and repairability" like they do with Fairphone, maybe wed see some real change in the industry. But instead they pretend those issues dont exist and then act shocked when a company that actually tries to do things ethically costs more money.

Look, I get that the Fairphone isn't perfect and has some bugs and performance issues. But at least acknowledge what youre paying for here - ethically sourced materials, fair wages for workers, 8 years of software support, and actual repairability where you can fix stuff yourself instead of being forced to buy a new phone every 2 years. The fact that Linus can pop out a USB-C port in seconds should be headline news, not just a footnote. When your regular phone breaks, good luck finding parts or doing repairs without a heat gun and risking your warranty. But somehow thats never mentioned as a negative in other reviews.

I am willing to pay the cost of  less performance for an ethical device, and my view, that is also the view of many other consumers, even if we are a minority, is never acknowledged by LTT.

I hear you but I would claim it’s “fair” by comparing it to devices that people have grown accustomed to. 
 

Loosely related in my eyes would be the Snowden revelations pertaining to smartphones doubling as spy instruments. Why is it related? Because no one seemed to care…..

 

in the same breath, why would people care about the slave labor and unethical processes pertaining to the creation of their beloved technological goods? 
 

just sayin’. I remember a buzz after those apple employees suicided themselves prompting our humanitarian friends over at apple installing a net to catch them as opposed to improving conditions….

 

 

[Guest]

Also never mentions the active second hand and refurbished marked on reparable phones. You don't like how expensive it is? Buy it second hand! 

23 minutes ago, lvlght said:

I hear you but I would claim it’s “fair” by comparing it to devices that people have grown accustomed to. 

Sure, consumers have an  apathy towards ethical issues, they also have towards doing their homework deciding what to buy. That's why reviewers play a valuable role. But if a reviewers chooses to ignore the core aspect of a product, in this case ethics, because they are being as lazy as the consumer, then what's the point?

Modularity,  reparability, ethically sourced are technological innovations. LTT is choosing not to give weight those innovations when it comes to reviewing iPhone, Samsung, Fariphone, etc. But is does choose to care when it comes to Framework...

Edited August 3, 2025 by rhermans

[Commodus]

On 8/3/2025 at 4:54 AM, lvlght said:

just sayin’. I remember a buzz after those apple employees suicided themselves prompting our humanitarian friends over at apple installing a net to catch them as opposed to improving conditions….

I know it's a tangent, but it's important to set the record straight here: those were Foxconn employees making products for a variety of clients, and Apple was not behind the decision to install nets (which was not Foxconn's sole solution, just a short-term one). I won't say Apple has always made the right decisions, but it has generally pushed for better working conditions at its partners. The company publishes an annual report if you're interested.

 

I care about how my devices are made, but I also know that few companies are deliberately exploiting workers and that factory conditions circa 2025 aren't the same as they were in 2011.  And Fairphone's emphasis these days is more on ecological impact than labor ethics, especially when its its phones are also made in China by a contractor (Hi-P's plant in Suzhou, to be exact). That doesn't mean Fairphone is being shady — just that it's not building phones in a posh factory where everyone is well-paid and works exactly 40 hours a week.

[Guest]

Ok, very interesting point. Plenty to say if you care to dig into it. Which LTT doesn't, because it's all performance and thickness, and no labour conditions, materials, repairability, and ethics.

[Commodus]

5 hours ago, rhermans said:

Ok, very interesting point. Plenty to say if you care to dig into it. Which LTT doesn't, because it's all performance and thickness, and no labour conditions, materials, repairability, and ethics.

I'd like to see more time devoted to the mission behind Fairphone's hardware, but there is a point in that the best intentions don't mean much if people don't want to buy the product. A cynical take, maybe, but true.

 

Sidenote: I still find it wild how people have blasted Apple for wrongs (real and imagined) only to run into Samsung's arms. I'm not that set against the company, but if there was any major non-Chinese phone brand to prompt ethical objections, it's Samsung.

[rikitikitavi]

On 8/6/2025 at 7:53 AM, Commodus said:

I'd like to see more time devoted to the mission behind Fairphone's hardware, but there is a point in that the best intentions don't mean much if people don't want to buy the product. A cynical take, maybe, but true.

Does someone who buys such devices also pays premium for every other product in their lives to sustain fair wages/conditions/environment and etc?!

 

I can imagine such people exists... but somehow, Fairphone sounds more like another gimmick for the sake of sales. Just another new device in the world of consumerism.

 

If I would pitch a "better" idea, I would go for recycled/second hand phones that are +/- out of date, common/popular models that will be more sustainable candidates for updated parts that most probably can be standardized - for examble a logic board w/  hardware to support latest Android/other OS, sized slightly different for different models. I can see such kits (not necessarily phones) be sold, and any local cellphone repair store would be able to swap MOBO and batteries for customers, or create their own inventory of "renewed" phones.

... I should pitch it to Shark Tank! lol

[Commodus]

10 hours ago, rikitikitavi said:

Does someone who buys such devices also pays premium for every other product in their lives to sustain fair wages/conditions/environment and etc?!

 

I can imagine such people exists... but somehow, Fairphone sounds more like another gimmick for the sake of sales. Just another new device in world of consumerism.

 

If I would pitch a "better" idea, I would go for recycled/second hand phones that are +/- out of date, common/popular models that will be more sustainable candidates for updated parts that most probably can be standardized - for examble a logic board w/  hardware to support latest Android/other OS, sized slightly different for different models. I can see such kits (not necessarily phones) be sold, and any local cellphone repair store would be able to swap MOBO and batteries for customers, or create their own inventory of "renewed" phones.

... I should pitch it to Shark Tank! lol

That's the other thing. You're buying brand new hardware, so you're still adding some e-waste even if you keep it as long as possible and recycle as much as you can. And I suspect only a fraction of Fairphone's customer base is that diligent across other aspects of their lives, although I would cut them some slack as it can be difficult or impractical to be a perfect ethical citizen. Just ask any parent how long they stuck to cloth diapers before rushing to get a box of Huggies.

[Guest]

22 hours ago, Commodus said:

That's the other thing. You're buying brand new hardware, so you're still adding some e-waste even if you keep it as long as possible and recycle as much as you can. And I suspect only a fraction of Fairphone's customer base is that diligent across other aspects of their lives, although I would cut them some slack as it can be difficult or impractical to be a perfect ethical citizen. Just ask any parent how long they stuck to cloth diapers before rushing to get a box of Huggies.

I can only speak for myself, but my intuition is that's unlikely I'm too different from other people. 

 

I change screens myself,  I bought my Fairphone second hand. Whenever possible I install alternative firmwares that allow me to extend the life of my hardware, like routers, phones. Overall, I buy less hardware by keeping mine alive for longer.

 

Also, other ethical issues, I don't make purchases from Amazon, Tesla or Dyson.

 

And sure, iPhone is not the only baddie here, but it's one of the big ones. Abd as any other giant, whatever they do, they shake everybody, willingly or not.

[Commodus]

7 hours ago, rhermans said:

I can only speak for myself, but my intuition is that's unlikely I'm too different from other people. 

 

I change screens myself,  I bought my Fairphone second hand. Whenever possible I install alternative firmwares that allow me to extend the life of my hardware, like routers, phones. Overall, I buy less hardware by keeping mine alive for longer.

 

Also, other ethical issues, I don't make purchases from Amazon, Tesla or Dyson.

 

And sure, iPhone is not the only baddie here, but it's one of the big ones. Abd as any other giant, whatever they do, they shake everybody, willingly or not.

Mind you, there are some factors that work in Apple's favor. It has long-term OS support, sustained high performance, and strong resale values, so there's an incentive to pass your device to someone else instead of ditching it. And there's a strong recycling infrastructure that recovers many of the resources... provided you take your phone to Apple, of course.

 

That doesn't mean Fairphone is without its advantages, particularly if you're able to repair it yourself and install unofficial firmware. But for most people, those who can't realistically fix their phones, it might not hold that much of an advantage.