Fairphone 3 prioritizes eco-friendly materials and repairability above all else

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,256   +192
Staff member
Why it matters: The Fairphone 3 isn’t going to set any specs charts on fire and its design is more or less run of the mill but if you’re the type that really cares about the materials that go into the products you buy and consume, it’s certainly worth a look. In its third iteration, the Fairphone is a respectable device that should get the job done for the average mobile user without breaking the bank.

Fairphone, the Dutch social enterprise developing smartphones that minimize environmental impact, has announced its third generation handset.

The aptly-named Fairphone 3 features a 5.65-inch Full HD+ display driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of onboard storage that’s expandable via microSD card slot. Around back, you’ll find a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture and up front, you get an 8-megapixel shooter with f/2.0 aperture.

The “ethical” smartphone also packs stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C connectivity, a fingerprint scanner, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5 + LE, NFC and support for dual nano SIMs. The 3,000mAh battery is removable, offering 20 hours of call time and 300 hours of standby.

It ships running Android 9 Pie, comes backed by a two-year warranty and includes a bumper case in the box. You even get a mini screwdriver to aid in taking the phone apart to replace parts as they give out down the road.

As The Verge highlights, Fairphone built its latest handset using materials that are as ethical as possible. The gold used in the phone is Fairtrade certified, the copper and plastic are recycled and the tungsten and tin are conflict free. The company is also working to improve sourcing of the cobalt in the lithium-ion batteries.

Fairphone 3 ships in late September priced at €450.00 including VAT. Interested parties can pre-order the handset over on Fairphone’s website.

Permalink to story.

 
Pretty impressive and the price .... hmmmm, not going to break the bank but seems a bit high, but then again, I'm cheap!
 
Out of business, soon! Kinder? I would love to see the face of the person saying that.
 
Interesting. @FairPhone: Bring on the slide-away qwerty KB and 15:9 aspect ratio screen and you've got yourself a deal...
 
MicroSD slot, 3.5mm earphone jack, and it's fully repairable; that has to be worth a few dollars when you're doing price comparisons.
 
Expandable storage, 3.5mm jack, removable battery, physical buttons, no-frills screen with bezels. Seems to be exactly what I and quite a few others were asking for, in that other Techspot thread about phone upgrades.

However, the price really is a bucket of cold water - I'm willing to pay a small premium for these features, but not a huge premium - and it is a huge premium, considering the specs. I'm also concerned on the fact that "eco-friendly" materials and manufacturing methods never do any good for reliability and durability.
 
Having just visited the website, it became clear that FairPhone is all talk. If they were truly concerned with the focus of their claimed goals, they would be willing to ship world-wide not just to the greater EU area. Bad show FairPhone, very bad show indeed.
 
I got a beautiful renewed s8 plus for just 330. Come one guys, come on!
s8 plus is art and this... Yea eco...friendly....replaceable...
They are mad, aint nobody will spill 450 for that.
 
I got a beautiful renewed s8 plus for just 330. Come one guys, come on!
s8 plus is art and this... Yea eco...friendly....replaceable...
They are mad, aint nobody will spill 450 for that.
Those are vapid complaints.
 
Back