Fairphone is launching its latest repairable phone in the US too | TechCrunch
Fairphone, the Dutch company known for its sustainable and repair-friendly phones, on Tuesday said its latest smartphone, Fairphone (Gen 6+), is now available in the U.S., starting at $649.
The company previously had a partnership with French open source operating system maker e/OS to sell a “de-Googled” version of its previous smartphones in the States, but this is the first time people in the U.S. can buy the company’s phones directly without any modifications. The company said the Fairphone 6+ will support T-Mobile and AT&T at launch.
The Fairphone 6+ is strictly a midrange Android offering, but given the increasing prices of consumer gadgets amid the ongoing component shortages, a repairable device that can be made to last for years may prove a good proposition.
“We’re delivering a device built from the ground up to be opened, repaired, and kept alive for many years,” Fairphone CEO Raymond van Eck said.
The Fairphone 6+ runs on Qualcomm’s midrange Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor and has 12GB of RAM. The phone has a 4,415 maAh battery with support for 30 W fast-charging. It features a 6.31 LTPO OLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
As for photography, the phone’s main camera has a 50-megapixel Sony sensor with an f/1.88 aperture, and the secondary camera has a 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. The selfie camera on the front is a 32-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.
Personally, I would have preferred a telephoto camera instead of an ultrawide for a two-camera setup. On paper, these cameras look like they would be good enough to take photos in the daylight, but in low light, expect the performance to dwindle.
The Fairphone’s 12 replaceable parts are the main selling points, however. These include important components like the battery, cameras, USB-C port, and the display, which can be swapped out using a single screwdriver. The company offers five years of warranty and software support until 2033.
Fairphone claims it also focuses on keeping its manufacturing process sustainable. The company said it was able to reduce the carbon footprint to 30 kg of CO2e for each Fairphone 6+ it manufactured.
The Fairphone 6+ is available in Forest Green, Horizon Black, and Cobalt Blue. The company is also selling accessories like a finger loop, lanyard, and card holder, which users can install by removing the back cover.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.
You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.
Scale faster. Grow your portfolio. Gain practical expertise. No matter your goal, Disrupt can empower you.
Save up to $300 today!