Fairphone 6 no longer feel like a compromise (except US)

The Fairphone arrives almost two years after the 6 5, which is a pledge to the company’s upgrade cycle. If anything, I suspect that if the Fair Phone 5 owners are already considering a new model, the company will be disappointed – these are the phone to keep the phone, repair and maintain a bitter end.

The latest fairphone is continuing the company’s commitment to consumer correction, long -term consumer support, and moral production. This means a compromise for users: you will find more powerful phones that will have more capable camera for pretier display and low money. But this year they are smaller and easier than ever, while the phone is much better for the planet – you can’t say much better.

Fairphone 6 is now available in the UK and Europe. The Fair Phone Customs Customs Android Software This costs it cost 9 599 / £ 499, which is very close to the stock experience, or is made by € 50 / £ 50 More Running / E / OS, a Privacy, Google Free version of Android of Morina. If you are in the US, that’s it Only The model is available, and you will have to buy it directly from Morina in ME 899, the price of the price that Morina’s founder and CEO Gail Dowell has told me reflects the revenue on US imports. This is a significant difference, which, by competing with madgers like Pixel 9A in Europe, takes Fairphone 6 to the Flames like Pixel 10 or iPhone 16 in the United States, which is significantly difficult to justify.

I am checking the phone’s privacy /E /OS version. This stock may not be seen a million miles away from Android, but the Out of the Box experience is quite different. It has immediate access to the options for preventing tracking cookies, making your geographical information, or hiding your IP address, as well as how to track your activity as well as track your activity. Morina describes it as “de Google”, which means that it is built on the Android Open Source Project, but its use does not require Google Google account, it does not include Google apps as default, and you should not share any data with Google.

If you are ready to commit Google Free Life, there is a row of relatively simple easy stock software, such as calendars and map apps that look like they were lifted a decade ago. An App Store is default in open source options, and each app with a privacy score with details of trackers that it uses and allowed.

The App Store lets you install about any Android app – even Google – but only if you want. This is a microg, which is an open source alternative to Google Play Services. The only warning is that Google Purse will not work for NFC payments, and that some apps are a little… Janki. Most work seems to be working, but my fitness pal will not run, and some others are hesitant and crash.

On the hardware side, the Fair phone is smaller and light from 6, with a bright and smooth 6.31 inch 120Hz display. Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 S. General 3 chip set is not a flagship hardware, but it is quite smooth, and with 8GB of Ram, it is powerful quite powerful of anything other than serious gaming. 4,415mAh battery lasts more than a day, and 30W wired charging speed is Okay But non -impressive, without any wireless option.

Cameras have become a huge decline than the competition. The 50-megapixel central lens and 13 megapixel ultra-wide are fine for the basics-and all the time exceeded my expectations and they struggle with articles in the dark, in complex light, or fast moving articles. If you just need your phone camera Is good enough Then they are definitely, but you can get the same amount (or less) somewhere else.

The second major increase in Fairphone 6 is a range of semi -modular accessories, as nothing is presented with KCMF Phone 2 Pro. Here is a linard, a card holder, and a loop grip, but the smart thing is that the three become an essential part of the hardware on the back of the phone. I hope more options are coming.

The phone’s ability to live for years is more important. Whether you buy from a fair phone or Morina, you will receive a five -year extension warranty. The Fairphone also commits the update of eight years of software updates and seven Android versions, though Morina promises five years of software support for its version – which is worse than the choice of Apple, Google and Samsung.

The phone is made of strong plastics, with the corning gorilla glass 7I in the display, and feels hard. A huge stability is a negative aspect, though: it only has an IP55 rating for dust and water protection – good, but not very good – which is a repaired design error that changes glue for low water patch. So while the Fairphone 6 is more repaired than other alternatives, it is slightly higher risk of repairing, at least when it comes to sand and water.

Talking about this: You only need a Torks T5 screwdriver to snatch the phone to the parts, which clicking on the spot, connecting and disconnecting with a simple push. You can convert battery, display, rear core, each individual camera lens, speaker, airpace, USB-C port, and SIM tray (doubles as microSD slot for expanding storage). Spare parts are sold by fair phones and icons, promising to store them for years. In the US, Morina Should Stock them, but at the time of writing, the parts are not yet on its site.

I wanted to confirm if Anyone The fool could pull a repair, so I separated every phone and I put it back together, which took a little time in an hour and on the other hand left me with a perfectly active phone. Fairphone has any well -known YouTube videos that run in any kind of repair phase. There are, and it may not be easier, as long as you focus on removing everything in the right order (Ahmed, no mistake I have ever made…).

The name “fair” also applies to a slight production. Fairphone claims that most recycled materials use as much as possible, and work with mines, recycles, component factories, and assembly lines, from residential wages to representation, from residential wages. There is no moral consumption under capitalism, but the fair phone claims that the closer the way it can be.

I’ve been cautious in recommending the previous Fair Phone. The elevator pitch is very good, but paying the premium for the hardware under power is still a tough sale. But pure force is not a difference that was once a time, so even if Fairphone 6 Is Less powerful than its counterparts, it is still powerful for most of us. Nevertheless, the improvement of software support and stability by other manufacturers has made the Fair Phone offer less unique – though no one offers such repair.

Against Midrej alternatives, as it costs in Europe, the fair phone is in its own grip. There are small compromises, but this is a suitable choice for anyone. In the United States, where it costs more than some flagship and it comes with de Google /E /OS, whether you like it or not, it’s just for people who are really committed to this purpose.

Photography of Dominic Preston / The Verge