Our thinking

The Goods: Future friendly phones

8 September, 2023

Don’t you hate it when your phone starts to act up (usually at the same time that the latest model is released)? Or when you drop your phone and have to decide whether to pay a premium to get it fixed or to buy a new one? Dutch startup Fairphone aims to solve such issues and revolutionise the phone industry with its latest modular phone, the Fairphone 5, a model designed to last. 

The Fairphone 5 is Fairphone’s latest modular phone and is set to ship from September 14th. What makes the Fairphone different from its competitors is its modularity. Should you damage your phone outside of the generous five-year warranty it comes with, all components are easily accessible and replaceable, by you, at home, without any expert knowledge, including but not limited to the battery, screen, and cameras. Fairphones are built to last and should they not, they are built to be repaired. And we can vouch for this – even the most technically illiterate of us has successfully replaced the microphone.  

Fairphone has also confirmed that it will offer software support until at least 2031, and hopes to extend that promise to 2033. The eight years of guaranteed support make the phone more accessible to families who may rely on hand-me-downs as children and teenagers can rest assured that although they may not have the latest phone spec-wise, they will have the latest software.  

70% of the 14 key materials used in each device are from either recycled or “fair-mined” sources. This is in line with the company’s aim to source both conflict-free and sustainable materials, attributes found rarely in the average smartphone. Find out more and purchase a phone here.

By Jeremiah Akpabio