Fairphone 4 review

Greater than 80% of the world’s inhabitants owns a smartphone. Sadly, most of these smartphones are manufactured by way of unethical and unsustainable means.

Be that how metals are mined, or staff paid, the telephone in your pocket is the results of a course of that’s typically to the detriment of the planet and the individuals on it. That’s, until the telephone in your pocket is made by Fairphone – so the corporate claims.

The Fairphone 4 is the fifth telephone from the Amsterdam-based firm (there was a Fairphone 3+). It’s a mid-range system with a barely increased worth than you may anticipate, however that extra cash goes in direction of supporting the start-up and serving to it guarantee its provide chain is ethically sound.

The good information is the Fairphone 4 can be a reasonably good telephone, not one thing we may

Design and construct

• Modular
• Repairable
• 5 12 months guarantee

Fairphone says the telephone is comprised of supplies from “sustainable and fairer sources”, utilizing recycled plastics, and Fairtrade licensed suppliers.

It’s a comparatively giant and chunky system at 10.5mm thick – for comparability, the iPhone 13 is 7.7mm thick. It’s a big telephone too because of its large bezels and sizable display screen.

This additional heft is all the way down to the modularity of the Fairphone 4. You may take the again cowl off and take out the battery, identical to you possibly can on telephones ten or extra years in the past.

There are additionally screws within the attractively and accessibly offered innards which you can unscrew to methodically take the telephone aside little by little. That is so you’ll be able to exchange components because the telephone ages and issues break – a brand new battery, digital camera, earpiece, loudspeaker, USB-C port, even show – all these half and extra are in the stores from Fairphone ought to they put on out, encouraging you to maintain the telephone longer and repair it your self.  

Henry Burrell / Foundry

I took the telephone fully aside and put it again collectively once more. It’s simple to do, although you’ll want to purchase a PH00 normal screwdriver (you may get one on Amazon for lower than $5/£5/€5).

I reviewed the gray mannequin, however you’ll be able to select a inexperienced, or speckled inexperienced model (the latter appears one of the best). There are two cameras on the again in a refined engaging triangular formation with a time-of-flight depth sensor the third circle within the module.

On the correct edge is the facility button that doubles as a dependable fingerprint sensor, with two quantity buttons above it. Aside from that, there’s a USB-C port and speaker on the underside.

Regardless of its modularity and fixability the Fairphone 4 seems like tank, with rubberised case and plastic sides by some means combining to really feel fairly rugged. It’s not essentially the most premium feeling system, nevertheless it’s one of the best made Fairphone up to now. That modularity does imply it’s not absolutely waterproof although, with an IP54 ranking for mud and water resistance.

Show and audio

• Common display screen
• Slight ghosting
• Poor audio system

The Fairphone 4’s 6.3in LCD show is completely respectable however one in every of its weaker factors in order for you one of the best display screen potential at this worth. However it additionally appears barely redundant to check the telephone to different telephones within the mid-range as a result of it’s constructed upon a very totally different enterprise mannequin and set of rules.

Sure, you’ll find a telephone with a greater 120Hz OLED show reasonably than the Fairphone’s barely boring 60Hz LCD. However the former system gained’t have been ethically sourced from provider all the way in which to you, which is unquestionably why you have an interest in shopping for from Fairphone within the first place.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

It’s not one of the best panel on the market however it’s completely fantastic for each regular smartphone factor – movies additionally look crisp because of the strong 2340 x 1080 decision, and it will get lots shiny. However it does oversaturate colors, and different 60Hz telephones cope higher than this one with ghosting (the looks of blur when scrolling by means of textual content).

There are fairly thick bezels on the prime and backside of the display screen, together with a teardrop selfie digital camera within the centre on the prime. Above that’s the earpiece, which together with the underside firing speaker can produce enough audio for video calls or watching YouTube, however they don’t seem to be the highest quality and more often than not you’ll wish to attain for some Bluetooth headphones.

Specs and efficiency

• Strong efficiency
• As much as 8GB RAM
• As much as 256GB storage

The telephone runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 750G 5G chipset, which might be my predominant fear. For a tool that asks you to maintain it for so long as potential, the chip is one part you gained’t be capable of exchange or improve. It additionally permits for 5G by way of a bodily or eSIM, or one in every of every concurrently.

In 2021 on the telephones launch and now in 2022, it’s a fantastic mid-range chip that performs properly. Excessive-end video games drop body charges in some locations however largely I had no difficulty utilizing the Fairphone 4 as my predominant telephone on the each day.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

However in 4 or 5 years, the 750G can be exhibiting its age, and won’t carry out in addition to right this moment’s high-end chips will in that point. When you don’t tax your telephone a lot it gained’t matter, nevertheless it’s value taking into account when you care about efficiency as a lot as sustainability and the ethics of the place your tech comes from.

I examined a unit with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, however you can too get an 8GB/256GB mannequin. I’d plump for the latter as the additional RAM will maintain the system performant for longer and also you’re much less prone to fill the telephone’s reminiscence over a number of years.

In benchmarks, it carried out at an identical stage to the OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite and Samsung Galaxy A53.

Battery and charging

The Fairphone 4 can cost at 30W speeds with a wired USB-C charger, nevertheless it doesn’t include a charger brick or cable within the field, according to its eco-friendly picture. It sells these equipment for £31.95 and £21.95 respectively within the UK, although that first worth is extremely costly for a USB-C cable, even whether it is designed to final as this one is.

30W shouldn’t be as quick as many different Android telephones can cost, nevertheless it’s sooner than most Samsung smartphones that prime out at 25W. When you’ve got a USB-C charger already, it’ll cost the Fairphone 4 simply fantastic. I examined it with a number of sluggish and quick chargers, and it labored as anticipated, charging as much as 41% in half-hour with a 30W quick charger. There’s no wi-fi charging right here.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Battery life was strong in my on a regular basis use, lasting to the top of every day and often into mid-morning of the following. That was with the heavier utilization for a overview of numerous display screen time and photograph taking, video calls, and gaming, so I’d anticipate little battery nervousness for the Fairphone 4 in common use.

The three,905mAh cell shouldn’t be the biggest, however you’ll be able to in fact purchase one other for £25.95 from Fairphone and carry it as a spare for that lengthy weekend away from a plug socket.

Digicam and video

• First rate twin 48Mp lenses
• Nice selfie digital camera
• 4K at 30fps

The Fairphone 4 packs in two similar 48Mp digital camera sensors for its predominant and ultrawide lenses. This implies color between the 2 is pretty constant however the sensors themselves aren’t one of the best, and the pictures from each lenses is pretty center of the highway.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

They have a tendency to oversaturate colors when at their finest in shiny daylight, they usually wrestle in low gentle to seize element. However they’re a world higher than cameras on earlier Fairphones, and the 25Mp entrance going through digital camera is surprisingly nice and may report in 1080p at 30fps.

The primary rear digital camera can report in 4K at 30fps, making the Fairphone 4 a greater than enough photograph and video machine for the worth – it’s simply nothing particular within the superior world of smartphone digital camera tech.

Software program and updates

• Android 11
• 5 years of safety patches
• Might get Android 15

If Fairphone can ship on its software program help promise, then it’s nearly as good a cause to purchase the Fairphone 4 as its eco-minded crednetials. Launched in September 2021, Fairphone says it’s going to help the system with software program and safety updates for 5 years till 2026.

It says this may embrace platform updates to Android 12 and Android 13, and probably 14 or 15. That is greater than is obtainable by a lot bigger corporations like OnePlus and Honor and is a feather in Fairphone’s cap.

I’d hope it may well no less than present 5 years of safety updates to maintain the telephone protected in opposition to the newest threats, however the plan does spotlight that when you purchase the Fairphone 4 it’s two Android generations behind – caught on Android 11 when Google is on Android 13. It’s typically troublesome for smaller companies to help gadgets for so long as Fairphone is promising right here, and we’ll solely discover out over time if it may well keep on with it.

The looks of the Android software program on the telephone may be very primary, and as near ‘inventory’ Android as you may get. When you don’t care concerning the newest Android options like theming and fancy graphical prospers, then you definitely gained’t be lacking out.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Worth and availability

The Fairphone 4 is in the stores from £499/€579 within the UK and Europe for the bottom 6GB RAM and 128GB storage mannequin or £569/€649 for the 8GB/256GB model, each direct from Fairphone.

It is a, you guessed it, truthful worth in my view for the worth each supply – each within the product’s moral credentials and the Fairphone’s software program help promise.

Ought to the corporate be capable of maintain all of the Fairphone 4’s spare components in inventory, you possibly can realistically be utilizing this telephone till the tail finish of the last decade when you take care of it. That’s not one thing you’ll be able to say about many smartphones in 2022.

You’ll simply must be joyful to lose high-end tech specs within the title of ethics and sustainability. That is what you’re paying for, and there’s little level in evaluating the Fairphone 4 to, say, the cheaper Google Pixel 6a, as a result of their costs are fairly totally different for a lot of extra causes than a spec sheet can inform.

The telephone was initially launched in September 2021 with an unprecedented 5 12 months guarantee. The corporate instructed me that is nonetheless the case when you purchase a brand new Fairphone 4 on or earlier than 31 December 2022. After that, the guarantee can be 4 years, after which three years for any telephone purchased in 2024. After this, a two 12 months guarantee will apply.

Because of this, I like to recommend solely shopping for direct from Fairphone versus a reseller.

Henry Burrell / Foundry

Verdict

The Fairphone 4 is one of the best Fairphone but by miles and a really strong smartphone usually. If the corporate can maintain spare components in inventory and stays true to its 5 12 months software program promise, it is going to be arms down essentially the most moral and sustainable telephone you should purchase now and for the following few years.

It’s one of the simplest ways to personal a good new smartphone whereas supporting an moral provide chain, although you possibly can additionally promote sustainable smartphone use by shopping for a second hand system from one other producer.

But when Fairphone’s mission appeals to you, and also you don’t thoughts utilizing a telephone with mid-range specs and {hardware} for the following few years, I don’t hesitate in recommending it.

Specs

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G chipset
• 6.3in 60Hz LCD show
• 6/8GB RAM
• 128/256GB storage
• 48Mp predominant digital camera sensor
• 48Mp ultra-wide digital camera sensor
• TOF depth sensor
• 25Mp entrance going through digital camera
• USB-C
• GPS
• NFC
• WiFi 6
• Bluetooth 5.2
• 3,905mAh detachable battery
• 30W wired charging
• Modular repairable components