The brand new Fairphone 6 is smaller and extra modular than older fashions within the collection, nevertheless it’s simply as repairable. The telephone picked up an ideal rating in iFixit’s teardown check, regardless of not providing tool-free battery replacements.
It helps that the one software you do want — all through the telephone — is a T5 Torx screwdriver, and solely seven screws sit between you and a battery swap. Fairphone itself has proven you will get from shutdown to reboot with a brand new cell in simply two minutes, so it’s nonetheless a easy swap. The corporate says that the screws are required for the slimmer soft-pouch battery.
The one glue all through is discovered on the telephone’s mainboard, which is nearly the one restore Fairphone doesn’t suggest you make your self: nearly all the pieces else, from the USB-C port to the person digital camera sensors, may be changed with minimal effort. Substitute components will likely be obtainable from Fairphone and iFixit, and the telephone’s replaceable backplate additionally allows a line of swappable equipment just like these discovered on the CMF Cellphone Professional 2.
iFixit additionally rated the telephone extremely for its IP55 ranking — not the most effective round, however spectacular for a telephone sealed with screws moderately than glue — and for the corporate’s longterm assist. Fairphone is guaranteeing seven years of Android OS updates and eight years of safety patches, with a five-year guarantee and a loyalty program that rewards you for hanging onto your telephone and repairing it.
Regardless of the excessive rating, iFixit acknowledges that you just do compromise on specs by choosing the Fairphone 6. Its twin rear digital camera is pretty primary, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7S Gen 3 chipset isn’t any powerhouse. Even the USB port is restricted to sluggish USB 2.0, although the 6.3-inch 10-120Hz LTPO OLED show is extra spectacular.
This isn’t the primary Fairphone to fare so nicely. Each mannequin for the reason that Fairphone 2 has obtained a ten/10 in iFixit’s teardown checks, a rating that no different telephone has ever managed. The Fairphone 6 is offered now in Europe for €599 (round $705), from Fairphone and different retailers. It prices significantly extra within the US, at $899, the place it’s solely obtainable from Murena and ships working /e/OS, Murena’s privacy-focused and de-Googled tackle Android. It’s obtainable to preorder now, and ships in August.
