Fairphone 5 review

Competition

To some extent, comparing the Fairphone 5 to the other smartphones priced around the €700 mark would be unfair, mainly because the Fairphone 5 is aimed at a completely different audience. Users who put easy repairability, battery access, sustainability and long software support on top of their priority list will surely go for the Fairphone 5 instead of any other alternative on the market.

Still, it would also be unfair to pretend that there are no other options in the same price category. The OnePlus 11, Samsung Galaxy S23, Nothing Phone (2), and Motorola Edge 40 Pro are all viable flagship options. Even the much-cheaper Google Pixel 7 or the similarly priced Pixel 7 Pro are options worth considering if you are looking for that vanilla Android experience.

OnePlus 11 • Samsung Galaxy S23 • Motorola Edge 40 Pro

Nothing Phone (2) • Google Pixel 7 • Google Pixel 7 Pro

And unfortunately, the Fairphone 5 is no match for this contingent in pretty much any aspect. Other handsets in the same class offer superior performance, longer battery life, nicer displays, faster charging and far superior camera performance. After all, those are a smartphone's key selling points, and the Fairphone 5 seems to miss them all.

Verdict

The Fairphone 5 doesn't surprise or stand out with anything except its sustainable and easy-to-repair design. The 5-year support for major Android versions and 8-year security support are also nice bonuses, especially for enterprise purposes. Moreover, since it's easy to repair, ownership costs go down rapidly for a small business or a big company that needs to maintain tens or hundreds of office smartphones.

But for anyone in the market for a new smartphone in the given price range, the Fairphone 5 may not be the best choice. It's cool to have a removable back cover and swap out your battery on the fly, yet having a nice set of cameras, bright and HDR-compliant display, long battery life and fast charging is cooler.

Pros

• Solid build and comfortable design.
• Extremely easy to repair, battery is user-replaceable, sustainable materials used.
• Long software support.
• Nice selfies.
• 5 years of warranty coverage.

Cons

• Display could be better.
• Performance is lackluster.
• Battery life could be better; slow to charge.
• Loudspeakers are pretty quiet.
• Side-mounted fingerprint reader is less versatile.