Fairphone 5 review
The Fairphone 5 5G
Being a geek with a gadget problem I've been using handheld tech longer than the average user. My first handheld computer was an early 90's Psion Series 3, followed by a Compaq iPAQ, then my first real smartphone, an O2 XDA, then a succession of HTC, Lumia, and Apple iPhones. In 2020, having significantly changed my view of tech, consumption and its impact on the planet I decided I couldn't call myself an environmentalist and use something which couldn't be repaired or upgraded, which was itself driving a culture of consumption.
After researching more ethical tech I bought myself a Fairphone 3, which had an iFixit score of 10/10 and is made in a factory which paid the local living wage. Unfortunately the gap between the Fairphone user experience and that of contemporary iOS and Android phones was too big for me. I hit issues with basic functionality and reliability, and because I relied on my phone for work and home life the cost benefit didn't add up, so I sold it and compromised on buying a second-hand iPhone, still unhappy with the vendor lock-in and the waste.
In August 2023 the new Fairphone 5 5G was announced, a significant progression from the Fairphone 3, and two months later mine was delivered. This is my review of the Fairphone 5 after 16 months of use, multiple drops, three different flavours of Android and a lot of different apps as I gradually reduced my dependency on big tech.
I'm not going to go into hardware specifications and performance metrics because I don't care, its a phone, I need it to do stuff, so my review is based on 3 things; how it feels, how it looks, and how it works.
How it feels
I've always had smaller phones and have watched with dismay over the last 15 years as display sizes grew from 4" to 4.7" to 5.8", then 6.1" and beyond. I was used to the smaller screens of the iPhone 7, SE and 13 mini, so the jump from 5.4" of an iPhone 13 mini to the 6.5" of a Fairphone 5 was a big deal. I've always been able to use my phone one handed with zero effort, and it took a while to get used to the larger screen size. The benefit of the larger display went some way to compensate for the increased difficulty in using the phone one handed, but it took a while to adjust.
The fingerprint and power button on the right works great one or two handed. I use the phone in gesture navigation mode, and I have no issue switching between apps, accessing quick settings and the all apps menu. Using the front camera is fine, I use the volume buttons to shoot and it's easy to shoot selfies one handed. I'll sometimes use the phone for protracted periods (yes, doomscrolling) and I've very rarelly felt any discomfort.
The fingerprint scanner works great, I don't get any failed touches, though occaisionally it does prompt me to use the PIN for security reasons, and I'm never entirely sure why, but it doesn't happen enough to be an issue.
Score: 4/5
How it looks
I've used three different flavours of Android, first the generic stock Fairphone OS (which is the standard Google Android with the normal Google apps). I wasn't a fan of this, and as part of my effort to extract myself from big tech I tried eOS, but didn't like it, so after looking around for other privacy focused flavours of Android which are 'de-Googled' I tried CalyxOS, and I've stuck with it ever since. My phone just updated to Android 15 this morning, and one of the nice things was how most things stayed the same (I used to hate iOS updates which seemed to move things around for opaque reasons), with the settings app being the main difference, but it seems to be a genuine improvement rather than a change for changes sake.
Score: 5/5
How it works
This phone has been the most productive smartphone I've ever had.
This is key for me, this isn't a toy, it's a tool, it needs to work. I use my phone for a lot of things (a consequence of the convergence of technology). Communication, entertainment, productivity, life management, navigation, it needs to do it all. This is mostly down to the apps, and this is where I've been on a bit of journey, trying to find alternatives to the standard Google apps (and other big tech apps like Apple Music). In the end this is the combination I've settled on, and it's working great for me.
Other than WhatsApp the list of personal apps above is free of Google, Meta, Apple or Microsoft. I have to use Microsoft Outlook and Teams for work, which I can't change (unless I insist on being provided with a work phone, but I work for a non-profit and don't want to waste their money) and it doesn't impact my privacy.
This relatively short core list of apps (which is all on my single page home screen) covers 95% of my needs. I don't miss Apple Music, Podcasts, Maps, email or calendar, nor do I miss Google Maps, Youtube, or any of the other social media which used to consume so much of my life. For security, in addition to the privacy protections native to CalyxOS I also use NextDNS to block security threats, ads and trackers.
I've got some other apps I use to manage things in my life including Kia Connect (on cold mornings I can turn the climate control in the car on so the screen is clear when I get in), Klover Home (to warm the boat up when we're on our way home), Tapo (to control an in-boat camera) and RutOS (to manage our Teltonika TCR100 4G/Wifi router). For fun I've also got DJI Fly and Mimo to control my DJI Mini 2 drone and OSMO Mobile 3, Libro FM for audio books, Patreon for paid podcasts, PlantNet for identifying flora and the Geocaching app.
This phone has been the most productive smartphone I've ever had. It helps me remember what I'm supposed to be doing, gives me easy ad-free access to information on the internet, it provides me with entertainment in a way that supports artists (via TIDAL music's above average artist royalties and Patreon subscriptions), helps me get where I need to be (walking with Organic Maps and driving with Sygic) and it makes it easy to record ideas, writing and tasks (Obsidian). Most importantly, with no Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok or Youtube I'm not losing hours of my life to enshittified social networks run by techbro billionaires.
Score: 5/5
Conclusion
The Fairphone 5 might not be for everyone. It's not price competitive because you can get a better processor, better camera or larger screen for the same money buying a different brand. The point is, how long will that phone last? Will you be using it in 2031? If not, what did the next phone cost you, what's the cost of your phone per year? More importantly (to me, and a growing number of people) what did that phone cost the planet, how many people suffered to make it?
Personally I'm happy to put up with a little friction, with not having the latest shiniest tech, if it means my money is going towards paying fair wages to the people who built my phone, and I can repair if I damage it or it goes wrong.
