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de-Googled Fairphone 4 coming to US is rare good tech news for the privacy conscious.

Sustainable Fairphone 4 set to arrive to the US, starting at $630

https://www.techspot.com/news/99299-murena-brings-degoogled-sustainable-fairphone-4-us-starting.html

The Fairphone 4 has made its debut in the US, with prices starting at $630. The smartphone retains the exceptional repairability and sustainability as its European counterpart,...

Sustainable Fairphone 4 set to arrive to the US, starting at $630

Nice to see a mainstream option de-Googled in the US.

48 comments

rockSlayer

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For those considering getting this phone for sustainability reasons, just a reminder that the most sustainable option is to keep the phone you have until there's something actually wrong with it

jzefbeio54

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Thx you !

And this apply to everything you want to replace for sustainability reason.

The most sustainable stuff, is the stuff you don't buy :)

a8s7

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I mean, as long as I chose to return/donate/hand-down/upcycle my current phone (whatever prevents it from going to a landfill) shouldnt it be fine?

rockSlayer

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If you have a plan for your current phone, then yea it's not much different. I think you're touching on the larger point at hand, because individuals have a miniscule fraction of a percent when it comes to things like e-waste. The overproduction of electronics is a much larger portion of e-waste

JustEnoughDucks

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Sustainable

No headphone jack

They actually seem like quality phones when my girlfriend's friend got one, but seriously? No headphone Jack and force you to use wireless buds that will have to be thrown away when the tiny battery degrades?

amprebel

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USB-c to headphone jack converters are an option. Not ideal because you can't use it and charge the phone simultaneously, but certainly better than those wireless buds.

a8s7

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They make usb c headphones and (as much as I also hate adapter hell) usbc to 3.5 adapters. Although, the lack of wireless charging means you'd be choosing between charging and listening.

copygirl

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Also see their official response on the audio jack removal.

TL;DR:

Modularity and its influence on the phone’s size and weight
Market and legislative trends (headphone jack is getting less popular)
Longevity (less ports = less vulnerable to dust, water and general wear?)

CrypticCoffee

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Headphone jack getting less popular? I'm pretty sure companies don't want to include it so removed it from the models and the consumers had to buy that. Consumers aren't choosing not to have them, they're choosing phones that don't have them because Apple and other big companies aren't giving them a choice.

copygirl

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If you go by what the loudest ones are saying about the headphone jack removal, then yes, it does give the appearance that it's a very unpopular change. However if you were to just ask random people on the street if they use(d) their headphone jack and what they think of this change, you'll probably find there's not a lot of vocal people out there that would not buy a phone just because it was missing it. That's why Fairphone did their market research, right? Of course it's still up for debate whether that was the right choice. And personally I would also prefer if the headphone jack was still default on phones.

CrypticCoffee

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I try to avoid everything with an extra battery on environmental grounds. Wires for headphone, keyboard and mouse.

I absolutely don't care what the everyday jack says. Most have been conditioned by their brands. Apple customers will not just accept their decisions, but passionately advocate for them. Samsung will copy Apple and their users will justify it based on that.

This transition was supply led, not demand led.

puppy

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"This transition was supply led, not demand led."

This is the most truthful statement in this entire thread.

onlooker

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I have an FP3 and I facepalmed real hard when I saw the announcement. That last reason, vulnerability to dust and protection from water, I find especially dumb. If that's their reasoning, they might as well remove the USB-C port, too. Fuck it, just make it a featureless plastic brick.

lemann

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Fellow FP3 user, cannot see myself getting a new phone at all in the near future. When this eventually falls out of support I'll probably go all-in on a custom rom, instead of just rooting.

The FP3 was the closest thing to my previous S5 too, and even then I was giving up some creature comforts like the IR, waterproofing and OLED screen. That thing was ahead of it's time by a long shot IMO

XTornado

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might as well remove the USB-C port

Well don't say it too loud, if there is any big improvements on "wireless" charging... I could see the mainline of phones doing it...

exu

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And it would be sold as "less cable waste" while the lower efficiency of wireless charging more than makes up that "cable waste" in environmental impact.

puppy

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I think the real reason is that they buy off-the-shelf parts and don't have money to design and manufacture a custom motherboard. And off-the-shelf parts more often than not, tend to follow market trends.

babeuh

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Sadly it's old (2021) and underpowered. That's not a huge deal breaker because it has pros like being repairable and pretty private. The real problem is that they are regularly late on os and security updates (multiple weeks to months). For example they only officially added support for Android 12 this February and there is still no official support for Android 13.

Unless you specifically want the repairability a Pixel with GrapheneOS is simply much more secure and private.

Cinnamon3431

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for me it's an ethical thing aswell. I bought a Pixel and am currently using GrapheneOS, but had I known about Fairphones earlier I would probably have gotten the FP4 back then. Sure they might not be as powerful as other phones, but if we don't support them while they're small, they will never get there at all. I gladly take the performance cut (to a certain extend), if that means buying an ethically (fair) sourced phone and supporting them becomming better in the future. I know this is not the case for everyone.

babeuh

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You're right but I personally can't overlook the security problems, that's the main reason why I bought a PIxel and not one of their phones. If they at least pushed security updates on time I might have bought it. Ignoring the security flaws (and apparently the camera?) if you want a repairable and ethical phone it's a great choice the best I believe, until they release a newer model).

ytvwld

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You can put Calyx on the FP4 (which is what I did).

anamethatisnt

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As I liked the "fair" part of Fairphone I gave them a shot and bought the FP4. I cannot recommend them.

The camera app sucks, but by grabbing a GCAM APK from xda-developers and using that instead you can get acceptable photo quality.

Since Android 12 FP4 has a screen brightness bug that makes the phone rather unusable outside on a sunny day. This is the deal breaker as the problem hasn't been solved yet.
https://forum.fairphone.com/t/random-screen-dimming-while-brightness-slider-stays-at-100-after-a12-update/93195

lemann

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The camera app sucks, but by grabbing a GCAM APK from xda-developers and using that instead you can get acceptable photo quality

I don't think any FP user uses the stock camera app 😅 personally I use both Opencamera and Nikita Gcam. Gcam's night vision is crazy!

Cinnamon3431

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you underestimate normies sticking to defaults

GlitzyArmrest

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I don't think a normie is buying this phone

bionicjoey

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Personally I'm not a big picture-taker, so it doesnt bother me one bit. For me though the main draw of the FP was the repairability

lengsel

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Buy a Pixel phone and flash CalyxOS or GrapheneOS.

Cinnamon3431

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As a GrapheneOS user I approve this message. (altho I'd rather support Fairphones than Pixels, so I am happy we have them as an option :)

lengsel

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Until de-Googled phones are sold at local stores, I will only tell people to buy a Pixel and flash it for better hardware security and every kind of custom ROM runs on Pixel.

Snowcap7567

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CalyxOS is also available for the Fairphone and you don't have to give money to Google.

iturnedintoanewt

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Here's to hoping that GrapheneOS will expand their support to devices like the fairphone.

lengsel

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Only if the Fairphone hardware is built with hardware standards complience and no proprietary setup.

Zoidsberg

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Anything similar for Galaxy phones? I like the smaller size.

Clav64

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I made an error taking on a Samsung galaxy, expecting it to be "well supported in the mod community". It was the S10 (Exynos edition).

Turned out, in 2020, it was not well supported. And I moved to an even less supported Sony. Then I got a pixel, and now getting a custom ROM for a device released weeks ago is possible.

lengsel

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For flashing Galaxy you have to check each individual ROM if it supports Samsung. The security ones do not.

ShotLine

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Thank God, finally! Currently on a pixel 5a with /e/OS and I love it, but theyre not very repairable. Ill run with it as long as possible but this, or the FP5 if mine lasts forever, will be my next buy

xubu

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replaced Google's Network Time Protocol servers with NTP Pool Project

In the the context of degoogling and privacy, NTP would seem way down on the list of concerns.

What's the importance of calling out NTP? Is it just to emphasize the point?

nandos

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I took a look at GrapheneOS when I purchased my current phone. Loved it for what it offered but the lack of Android Auto & tap-pay support ultimately turned me away - they're both not supported for good reason but I use them almost daily.

Does anyone know what the situation is with this product? I assume it also won't support Android auto for the same reasons

CrypticCoffee

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Just because you use it daily, does it really mean it's critical? A bank card can just as easily be tapped, and it's so more satisfying knowing your private data isn't leaking as much.

I used to use Reddit daily ;).

nandos

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Definitely not critical, as I said I'm aware they're unsupported for good reason. However, both features are a luxury I've become accustomed to. I upgraded my car's sound system with android auto in mind, and I haven't carried a wallet on me for a few years now.

Aside from that, I'm all for seeing any de-googled tech grow in future

bionicjoey

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Are you asking about Android auto support on the FP with the first party OS image? Mine came with Android Auto installed

nandos

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yes that's what I was wondering, thank you

001100010010

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I want to get one but unfortunately due to the nature of the phone, there is no resistance to water submersion which is a dealbreaker for me. I want my phones to be at least IP67 which I don't think is possible while also being repairable.

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