Two years after the Fairphone 4 and following the release of some audio products like the Fairbuds XL, the Dutch company is back with a new repairable phone: the Fairphone 5. It looks and feels a lot like the Fairphone 4, but it adds choice upgrades across the board, making it the most modular and also most modern-looking repairable phone from the company yet.

The design is largely unchanged compared to the Fairphone 4, but the improvements that the company did make go a long way: The teardrop notch and the LCD screen is finally gone, with an ordinary punch-hole selfie and an OLED taking its place. Otherwise, you’re looking at an aluminum frame, a triangular camera array, and a removable back cover. Here, the company brought back its signature translucent back cover next to two black and blue variants. The dimensions and weight has been reduced ever-so-slightly compared to the predecessor.

  • Genericusername@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    While I do care about the headphone jack, I am mostly bitter about the manufacturers deciding for me that I don’t need it. I’d heavily trade off 10% reduction in thickness for a user-replaceable battery and a headphone jack, but it was decided for me that a thinner phone is a big improvement.

      • Genericusername@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Well, you can have a DIY version that feels like the real thing, but with more features. All you need is a fairly modern phone of your choice, a strong glue and a brick. You may want to paint it in beige just for the heck of it afterwards.

    • rah@feddit.uk
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      1 year ago

      I am mostly bitter about the manufacturers deciding for me that I don’t need it.

      They haven’t decided for you. You make the decision when you choose which phone to buy. It’s entirely your decision.

      • Genericusername@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They did decide for me by the point that a once obvious feature to include in a phone is discarded in all but a very slight number of niche phones where I’d have to compromise on a bunch of other features in return for something that used to be almost mandatory feature at once point.

        • rah@feddit.uk
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          1 year ago

          all but a very slight number of niche phones

          I’m pretty sure there are a very large number of phone models on the market with headphone sockets.

          I’d have to compromise on a bunch of other features

          Right. That’s the choice. As with everything one buys. And which nobody has taken away.

          • Genericusername@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Requiring a headphone jack in 2023 rules out most “flagship” phones. If you’re looking for a mid-range then your odds are better. But if you want a phone with better camera array, then you’re leaving mid-range territory and chances are that you’d have to compromise on either the headphone jack or your camera quality. That’s about what I meant by “compromise” - the requirement for a headphone jack significantly limits your choices.