The Fairphone 5, announced Wednesday, August 30, by the eponymous Dutch brand, will be marketed on September 15. Repairability, performance, screen… according to our tests, this new mobile improves in every way the formula of the Fairphone 4, its 2021 predecessor. euros. A high-end price contrasting with the technical sheet of this new Fairphone, closer to the characteristics of a smartphone at 400 or 500 euros.
Could this extra cost constitute an investment? According to the brand, its new product would have a longer life expectancy than an ordinary smartphone. This durability would make it possible to postpone the purchase of the next phone and, in passing, to reduce its carbon footprint. To give substance to this assertion, Fairphone promises eight years of security software updates, compared to four on average for a mid-range Android mobile, and six at Apple. Above all, it offers a commercial guarantee of five years, where its competitors are satisfied with two.
It must be said that with its thick aluminum shell, the Fairphone is particularly well protected from shocks. In addition, its internal design greatly simplifies repairs. You can change most essential components in minutes: just remove small screws and unclip a tiny connector. Delicate to put back in place with the Fairphone 4, those of the new model fall more naturally under the fingers.
These repairs are accessible to most users, which contrasts sharply with the renovation of an ordinary smartphone, reserved for meticulous and determined DIY enthusiasts. The battery of the Fairphone 5, in particular, is particularly easy to change: the most clumsy will manage it in a minute. This is good news, because it is the component that often needs to be replaced after a few years, when the autonomy of the mobile is too degraded.
On the Fairphone site, a battery costs 40 euros, a speaker 25 euros and a replacement OLED screen 100 euros, which is far from excessive. Especially since home repair saves the cost of labor.
However, will these parts still be available in five, eight or ten years? The example of old models is not entirely reassuring: four years after its release, in 2019, the constituent elements of the Fairphone 3 are still available, unlike many other mobiles of this age; but certain parts of the Fairphone 2 began to be missing four years after its marketing, in 2015. The brand is not making a formal commitment for the Fairphone 5 but assures Le Monde that it has learned a lot from its previous products and hopes to be able to provide this time its constituent parts for eight years. While emphasizing, however, that the storage of parts remains a delicate exercise.
It is also not certain, in six to eight years, that the processor of the new Fairphone will remain sufficiently strong to run the mobile menus smoothly, while the applications will have become more demanding. This new smartphone indeed embeds a mid-range processor, only a third faster than that of the Fairphone 4, according to our tests. After a few years, it is therefore possible that the Fairphone 5 will become less lively and that very demanding users will find this annoying.
The other weakness of the Fairphone 5 is its non-waterproof design. It is designed to withstand a few drops of rain, but it must be kept away from bathtubs, as immersion would have a good chance of sending it to waste.
In addition to the efforts made in terms of sustainability, Fairphone claims to have significantly increased the share of recycled materials in its new mobile. Two new metals are emerging: indium and aluminum. The latter, responsible for a significant part of the carbon footprint of the mobile, comes from 93% recycling.
The share of materials from fair trade is also increasing, according to Fairphone, so that in total, 70% of materials are the result of fair trade sources or recycling. In addition, Fairphone has extended its bonuses to factory workers from several vendors, in addition to those who assemble its mobiles.
As admirable as Fairphone’s eco-responsible efforts are, its mobile has to be compelling if it’s going to find a taker. What is it worth compared to mid-range smartphones, sold around 450 euros – those whose technical sheet is close?
We first see that this is the first Fairphone to have an OLED screen, the guarantee of deeper blacks. It was about time: many 200 euro mobiles are now equipped with it. Rather bright, this screen displays balanced colors. We regret, however, that its black margins are so thick. This decreases the space available for texts, which are slightly less readable than on the screen of competitors.
The Fairphone 5 photos are good. Their quality is close to the images of an iPhone 12, a high-end model released in 2020. Compared to the Fairphone 4, its night photos improve a lot, but its ultra-wide-angle sensor rather regresses: it produces blurry images in places . This sensor, which produces “wider” images, however, is not the most widely used.
When you pick up the Fairphone 5, you’re bothered by the thick shell that surrounds its screen: it’s still a little more difficult to handle with one hand than an average mobile phone by today’s standards. The Fairphone 4, a millimeter thicker, was even thicker. The slight thinning of the Fairphone 5 is enough to give it a more versatile look, undoubtedly making it the first mobile from the brand to be able to blend discreetly into the landscape.
With a quarter more durable battery, the autonomy of the new Fairphone is finally really good: difficult to bring it to its knees in one day. Overall, compared to the best mid-range mobiles, it appears a little behind, but not really left behind, showing itself to be almost as efficient and pleasant on a daily basis. Many will be satisfied with this: you don’t buy a Fairphone for its pure performance.
The Fairphone 5 is the first mobile in its line without major flaws. Its performance is close to that of a good mid-range Android smartphone. Its price is significantly higher, it’s true, but we have a good chance of keeping it for a few more years, which should compensate.
We remain admirers of the work of the Dutch brand, which has designed a smartphone like no other, surprisingly easy to disassemble, made of a large amount of recycled or fair trade materials. The Fairphone 5 is a shrewd choice for those who value ecological responsibility and dispassionately watch the race for technological advancement. In the future, we would like the brand to tackle other electronic devices with a significantly larger carbon footprint than smartphones, such as televisions or desktop PCs.
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