Fairphone 5 in for review

15 September 2023
A smartphone nod to simpler times.

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  • FreedomIsVirtue
  • nUJ
  • 09 Dec 2023

Digdigfig, 17 Sep 2023Idk man...maybe it's the software's fault, but I&... moreYou are forgetting the Elephant in the room. All manufacturers updated this devices to slow them down and android is a very heavy unfriendly to hardware OS, put them tigether and you get slow. They for sure did not update them devices to make them perform better. Hardware all together really did not change that much when one takes a look at what is really going on behind the "curtain". Software is the problem that is not addressed, but EU starts to take on that too, and i'm glad about it because it is time to do something about it.
Never wander why a 10 years old PC runs windows 11 without any problems (well if you know the install hack) and all of that with not even a flagship CPU, more like an entry level one... how come a 3 years old smartphone "can't" run newer version of android? Stop believing b.s. Symbian had way more features and had real multitasking and could still run with very small amount of hardware like 256mb ram, and 600mhz 1 core cpu, it is all about optimisation. Before 2013 there was all about features and design and quality. After the chinese entered the market, and because they have none of the above, everything became cores, cores, and cores, and cores and cores again, ah and RAM and camera megapixel count (no matter how shitty the camera is, it has the pixel count) and so on. Nobody understands the why and why it is actually not needed because well, more raw power means "better". While it is the software that is a bloatware and the bottleneck of the hardware, but one that can be fixed, if google and apple are forced to do it.
A great example of this would be android 12, all the devices that came with android 12 run way better and more stable on android 13. Mak8ng me thing that google finaly started to think "sustainable" so that their own devices get sold.
So yeah, Fairphone can make this phone run smoth for a decade now without to much performance loss if they want to, it is all about investing time and money in doing it, and we talk of lot of money.

    looking forward to this review.

      Honestly da best eco friendly phone on the market.
      Shame is that is not available in all 206 countries in world.

        Wereweeb, 16 Sep 2023Incredibly thoughtless comment. A midrange desktop from 10 ... moreIdk man...maybe it's the software's fault, but I've tried older devices (samsung s4, iphone 6s, sony whatever tf it was called back when they had garbage naming) and they all felt INCREDIBLY slow. Despite the fact that they had flagship processors for their time (idk if that's true for the sony), they felt slower than a phone with a snapdragon 730. I expect phones with midrange chips to be even worse after that many years...

          Anonymous, 17 Sep 2023As long as it is not filled with bloat like what Samsung di... moreSure, but if you are the kind of person to tinker with your phone and remove useless apps and make other improvements, why buy this phone? Surely there are other devices with better hardware, cheaper, more popular that are easier to work with no?

            st0rmtr00per, 17 Sep 2023The chip is made for many different devices that get much l... moreIt's the raw power that will keep the it from feeling like a chore when you open apps years down the line...if you only use it for basic apps like messaging and a youtube video every now and then, then yes, you won't need a flagship chip. But anything more than that and the difference between an old midrange chip and an old flagship chip will become very apparent. Not to mention camera quality, internet speed, bluetooth connection, storage speed etc

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • vaS
              • 17 Sep 2023

              Wereweeb, 16 Sep 2023Incredibly thoughtless comment. A midrange desktop from 10 ... moreAs much as I hate this company, as long as they do not have bloat like ONEui by default and give an option for those who want to remove GMS (shocking, I know), this phone will be fine.

              Americans have twisted the world into thinking that anything older than two years is a trash. Thanks to their scammy telco business model.

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • vaS
                • 17 Sep 2023

                Digdigfig, 16 Sep 2023Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ y... moreAs long as it is not filled with bloat like what Samsung did to their old phones. Have you seen how fast their old Android 5 phones become when resource heavy stuff like GMS and Touchwiz (OneUI's ancestor)? Too slow for Android 6 but was blazing fast with Android 11? Imagine if that had official support instead of just nerds who tinker with it during their free time.
                Maybe even the broken stuff will be fixed... but of course that ain't gonna earn them money lol.

                  Digdigfig, 16 Sep 2023Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ y... moreThe chip is made for many different devices that get much longer support than chips made for phones. It’s used in devices like IoT, machines used in catering, rugged phones etc. The chips is designed for long lasting. Your comment doesn’t make sense, it’s not only the raw power that is needed for long durability and long lasting life span.

                    Good to see a Fairphone getting a review treatment, the phone deserves attention for being the only kind of it’s kin 👍🏻

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                      • Carol
                      • nUJ
                      • 17 Sep 2023

                      Digdigfig, 16 Sep 2023Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ y... moreActually, it is a great idea,less overheating, better battery life, still smooth to work with. If qualcome would be forced to update their drivers for more then 5 years, a 5 year support would have been standard by now, of course, with other forced implementations,like force companies to stop making ewaste and to actually do phones with sustainability in mind...

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • PZa
                        • 17 Sep 2023

                        Wereweeb, 16 Sep 2023Incredibly thoughtless comment. A midrange desktop from 10 ... moreno, just no. The smartphone soc is improving way faster then the pc soc as Intel stayed on 14nm for FREAKING YEARS, so computer SOC have little increase in cpu horsepower, while smartphone soc improve every day. Just try using some redmi note 5 in 2023 with a android 13 custom rom and that's how a 2023 midranger will perform in 2028.

                        My Huawei Y9 is a good example too-- the kirin 710f, a midranger in 2018/19 (equivalent to sd660 but with weaker gpu) is easily overwhelmed and turned into a lagging he11 by light scrolling of Facebook just after 4 years of usage.

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                          • Wereweeb
                          • P66
                          • 16 Sep 2023

                          Digdigfig, 16 Sep 2023Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ y... moreIncredibly thoughtless comment. A midrange desktop from 10 years ago (Intel Sandy Bridge) is still perfectly usable for basic office work, i.e. what it was designed to do. This phone's SoC has a CPU with 4xCortex-A78@6nm, it's equivalent to an older flagship. There's no way Android will ever get so heavy that this processor starts feeling slow.

                          Flagship processors are a waste of money if you don't play games on your phone, or don't use your phone as a desktop. That's the two things modern flagship processors are designed to do. The Fairphone clearly isn't a gaming phone nor is it a pocket workstation. It's just a phone. The SoC they chose was an excellent pick for a modern phone.

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                            • TDK
                            • MYU
                            • 16 Sep 2023

                            Digdigfig, 16 Sep 2023Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ y... moreI agree with your professional opinion

                              Making a phone that's supposed to be usable after 5+ years and using a MIDRANGE chip is such a dumb idea imo...app and even os requirements will increase over time

                                Anonymous, 15 Sep 2023Bad colours Excess of contrast. Excess of sharpening. ... moreI want you to take a camera from 2001 and actually compare it to one we have nowadays...if you still consider the old ones to be better you have no idea what photography is

                                  404, 16 Sep 2023What different league? You said an AVERAGE phone, that why ... moreAverage on RELEASE. The iphone 6s was a flagship, not midrange like this phone

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 0BG
                                    • 16 Sep 2023

                                    DVSeal, 16 Sep 2023The point of this phone is to show how much an A34 should c... moreWait, what? This thing costs much more than A34. And you can't speak of ethics if there is no 3.5mm jack. So since it's just another greed-oriented product, of course i'd chose the A34 over it if i had to. But because ot the missing 3.5mm jack, i won't buy any of them.

                                      • 404
                                      • txE
                                      • 16 Sep 2023

                                      Androuser, 16 Sep 2023Iphone is in different league when it comes to long run. So... moreWhat different league? You said an AVERAGE phone, that why I said iPhone 6s.

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                                        • Anonymous
                                        • MFr
                                        • 16 Sep 2023

                                        404, 16 Sep 2023> Who wants to pay a fortune for an AVERAGE phone and to... moreThe iphone 6s had a flagship chip at the time. Take any midrange chip that is 8 years old. The experience with it is horrible

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