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James Brind

Review of the Fairphone 4

This post is a rare bird—an honest review of a piece of consumer technology, written by a real person, freely available on the internet without adverts or affiliate links. I offer my experience purely because it might be useful to prospective buyers. I will admit to biases against Google and in favour of properly open-source software, but if you are considering buying a Fairphone, there is a good chance that you share these views.

Why choose a Fairphone?

One of the things that really soured me on Google and more mainstream Android devices was their limited period of operating system updates, the ensuing lack of access to apps from the Play Store, and no facility to install an alternative operating system. The lazy and often unnecessary dependence of apps on Google Play Services makes this situation worse. I had a cheap Lenovo tablet with hardware in fine condition, but it became harder to use after only a few years because of this policy. Thanks to the libre F-Droid repositories I was able to keep using it for several more years; otherwise, this perfectly working device would have become e-waste well before its time.

Most manufacturers provide no more than three years of software updates, and less on budget phones making them almost disposable. In contrast, Fairphone will maintain their software for five years, which in my opinion is a reasonable lifespan to expect for a complex and expensive piece of hardware. What’s more, if I drop it and break the screen, I can buy spare parts directly from Fairphone and fit them myself with only a screwdriver. This reduces the environmental impact of the phone, by allowing it to last as long as possible.

There are other aspects of the Fairphone which might be of interest. The phone is made of recycled materials where possible; the rare-earth metals are sustainably sourced. They pay their assembly line workers a ‘Living Wage Bonus’ but notably stop short of claiming a ‘Living Wage’.

For me, however, the main selling point was a long-lasting device not subject to planned obsolescence. A second key advantage was the good support for alternative operating systems. Because Fairphone are open and transparent about their hardware (even providing circuit diagrams), porting different operating systems is easier than other Android phones.

Hardware

I bought a Fairphone 4, 256GB storage UK version.

The hardware is well built and feels solid. If I am being picky, the back cover rattles very slightly if tapped in a specific corner, but this is a small price to pay for a removable battery and easy access for maintenance. For similar reasons, the phone is almost twice as thick as a Huawei I have available for comparison, but it is hardly bulky and easily fits in a pocket.

The camera is fine. The speaker is tinny at high volumes, but that is to be expected really. The screen is much brighter than previous phones I have had, and easy to read even in bright sunlight. The battery life of the phone seems pretty good. I don’t have to charge it every night; a quick plug in every couple of days is adequate.

I should emphasise that I am very satisfied with the design and build quality of the phone—it disproves the usual manufacturer’s argument that an unmaintainable glued-together construction is required to produce a compact and durable device.

Software

As soon as I verified the hardware was functional, I installed LineageOS. This is a lean version of Android with all the Google-only bits stripped out; most of the rest of the operating system is like any other Android phone. As I would like to avoid my every move being tracked for the purposes of targeted advertising, the lack of telemetry is important to me.

Flashing the OS onto the phone was straightforward, although I had to re-run a couple of commands as root. Anyone with basic Linux knowledge will be fine. The phone displays a “scary” warning on startup, that because the bootloader is unlocked your personal data could be exfiltrated. That seems rich coming from Google!

It is worth noting that many apps from the Google Play Store require Google Play Services which is not available for LineageOS. There is a fork that includes a reverse-engineered implementation of Google Play Services, but you must know this before flashing your phone.

I decided to go down the purist, no ersatz Play Services path. Using an app that requires Play Services is, in a way, abetting the Google machine. I use the following non-proprietary open-source apps, all available from F-Droid:

I already had the infrastructure for most of these to run on my desktop and laptop, so adding the phone was straightforward and everything is as seamless as I remember Google was (before I stopped using them).

One of the possible concerns with LineageOS is the lack of Google’s proprietary push notification service, another example of how non-free userland components act to lock down the Android ecosystem. Without push notifications, apps have to regularly poll for activity which is in theory less efficient for battery usage. Fortunately, even with email, file sync, and instant messaging all hitting the network regularly, I have not noticed a large impact on my battery life. Perhaps the lack of telemetry and tracking traffic compensates!

Although it does take a bit of work to get all the software set up, once you have your apps configured the phone is fast and responsive.

Conclusion

I have had my Fairphone 4 for over a month now and I am pleased with my purchase. It promises to be a very functional, long lasting and maintainable piece of kit. In combination with LineageOS, it is a good way to get the benefits of a smartphone without the privacy downsides. I have not identified any dealbreakers: I thoroughly recommend this phone.

Longevity being a key benefit of the phone, I will update this blog post in the event of hardware failures!

2023-04-30