Climate

Longevity-loving Fairphone 5 unwrapped, with pledge of 8+ years software support

Comment

two Fairphone 5 smartphones held side by side
Image Credits: Fairphone

Ethical electronics startup, Fairphone, has taken the recycled wrapping off a new flagship smartphone, the Fairphone 5, which will start shipping to buyers in Europe next month.

The Android 13-powered handset comes with a five year warranty and the promise of software support that it says will last until at least 2028 — and even as long as 2031 or 2033 — which suggests a buyer could, potentially, still be using the handset a decade later. (Or, well, assuming phones are still a thing by then and we’re not all plugged face-first into the metaverse.)

It’s the sequel to 2021’s Fairphone 4 — which was its first 5G device — so the Dutch social enterprise is keeping to a roughly two year release cycle for its smartphone line.

The sustainability-focused business defends releasing new hardware this often by saying electronics component manufacturing cycles essentially force it to keep refreshing its mobile hardware as the parts would simply not be available to sell the same device for five years. It also points out it continues to support most of its earlier handsets to promote device longevity. Producing new handsets is also about having an attractive enough proposition to acquire new Fairphone users by convincing consumers of rival smartphones to switch, it adds.

With the Fairphone 5, the B-Corp certified social enterprise is committing itself to 8 years of software support and 5 OS upgrades. But its goal is to be able to go further (to 2033) — although it says this will depend on factors like how many devices are still in use by then. So the firm promise is eight years support.

As with earlier Fairphones, buyers are also free to install an alternative OS — such as Murena’s deGoogled fork of Android, e/OS — so they don’t have to be locked into Google’s default mobile ecosystem.

Fairphone is anticipating being able to spin out software support for longer than it has before as a result of switching to a Qualcomm IoT chipset for this handset — which it notes has been designed for industrial grade hardware or devices with a longer lifetime. (The prior flagship ran with a more typical mid-range mobile choice of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset.)

Commenting in a statement, Miquel Ballester, design lead at Fairphone, said: “With Fairphone 5, we are continuing to push the boundaries we pushed in the previous generations of Fairphones, showing the electronics industry what is possible. This time, we worked with Qualcomm Technologies to take the next step in our commitment to longevity by adopting an industrial grade chipset for the consumer market. We’re excited to be working with them to provide longer software support. This, as well as our unique five year warranty, will mean our users can be secure in the fact that we will keep their device going for as long as possible.”

Fairphone 5 modular view
Image Credits: Fairphone

As with Fairphone’s predecessor devices, the new flagship is modular — a design choice that intends to promote repairability to boost sustainability by empowering consumers to keep using the hardware for longer. Users can deconstruct the device and home, using a tiny screwdriver to switch out modules for repair or upgrade. Replacement parts are sold via Fairphone’s e-shop.

Fairphone also continues to incorporate recycled and fair mined materials into the construction of its devices. More than 70% of the materials fall into that category with the new flagship, per Fairphone — which it says is a significant jump on what it was able to offer for its prior flagship (just 30% at launch). It says it has been able to make particular strides in fair sourcing of cobalt, gold and silver for this device.

Another core focus for the social enterprise is working with suppliers to ensure workers involved in the manufacturing process of the device get a living wage. It suggests tens of thousands of workers involved in making its devices are also now being exposed to better working conditions as a result of agreements reached with suppliers, including the expansion of a living wage bonus which it was already providing via its direct supplier to three sub suppliers.

On the environmental side, it touts having convinced its assembly manufacturer to move to renewable energy to produce the Fairphone 5 through renewable energy credits as another big step forward — also with a commitment to move towards renewable energy production for the factory over the longer term.

It also continues to operate an e-waste reduction pledge whereby it commits to take back a phone for every one sold (or equivalent weight of e-waste). Add to that, it now also says it’s taking responsibility for the full CO2 footprint associated with its devices — firstly by avoiding emissions (through longevity and sustainability measures) but also by tackling any remaining emissions attached to the production and use of the device by investing in “gold standard CO2 reduction projects”.

Key device specs for the Fairphone 5 include a 6.46in OLED display (the first on a Fairphone), a Qualcomm Octa Core chipset, 256GB ROM and 8GB RAM, plus triple 50MP cameras with larger image sensors and improved tuning vs the Fairphone 4 (including for low light conditions). There’s also a slight boost to the IP rating for water and dust resistance.

The handset is available to pre-order from today, via Fairphone’s website and carrier partners, in a number of European markets including in the U.K., France, Germany and as an international/generic edition — with a release date of September 14 for most markets (devices sold in the Nordics will ship a few weeks later). RRP is €699.

While the Fairphone 4 is available in the U.S. via Murena, a Fairphone OS partner, the Dutch firm is still not committing to expanding its own sales operations into the U.S. — saying it plans to remain focused on Western Europe for now as it still sees plenty of scope for growth and brand development.

Fairphone gets its audio groove on with repairable over-ear BT headphones

Fairphone adds a 5G smartphone, touting software support until at least 2025

More TechCrunch

To give AI-focused women academics and others their well-deserved — and overdue — time in the spotlight, TechCrunch has been publishing a series of interviews focused on remarkable women who’ve contributed to…

Women in AI: Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick wants to pass more AI legislation

We took the pulse of emerging fund managers about what it’s been like for them during these post-ZERP, venture-capital-winter years.

A reckoning is coming for emerging venture funds, and that, VCs say, is a good thing

It’s been a busy weekend for union organizing efforts at U.S. Apple stores, with the union at one store voting to authorize a strike, while workers at another store voted…

Workers at a Maryland Apple store authorize strike

Alora Baby is not just aiming to manufacture baby cribs in an environmentally friendly way but is attempting to overhaul the whole lifecycle of a product

Alora Baby aims to push baby gear away from the ‘landfill economy’

Bumble founder and executive chair Whitney Wolfe Herd raised eyebrows this week with her comments about how AI might change the dating experience. During an onstage interview, Bloomberg’s Emily Chang…

Go on, let bots date other bots

Welcome to Week in Review: TechCrunch’s newsletter recapping the week’s biggest news. This week Apple unveiled new iPad models at its Let Loose event, including a new 13-inch display for…

Why Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad is so misguided

The U.K. Safety Institute, the U.K.’s recently established AI safety body, has released a toolset designed to “strengthen AI safety” by making it easier for industry, research organizations and academia…

U.K. agency releases tools to test AI model safety

AI startup Runway’s second annual AI Film Festival showcased movies that incorporated AI tech in some fashion, from backgrounds to animations.

At the AI Film Festival, humanity triumphed over tech

Rachel Coldicutt is the founder of Careful Industries, which researches the social impact technology has on society.

Women in AI: Rachel Coldicutt researches how technology impacts society

SAP Chief Sustainability Officer Sophia Mendelsohn wants to incentivize companies to be green because it’s profitable, not just because it’s right.

SAP’s chief sustainability officer isn’t interested in getting your company to do the right thing

Here’s what one insider said happened in the days leading up to the layoffs.

Tesla’s profitable Supercharger network is in limbo after Musk axed the entire team

StrictlyVC events deliver exclusive insider content from the Silicon Valley & Global VC scene while creating meaningful connections over cocktails and canapés with leading investors, entrepreneurs and executives. And TechCrunch…

Meesho, a leading e-commerce startup in India, has secured $275 million in a new funding round.

Meesho, an Indian social commerce platform with 150M transacting users, raises $275M

Some Indian government websites have allowed scammers to plant advertisements capable of redirecting visitors to online betting platforms. TechCrunch discovered around four dozen “gov.in” website links associated with Indian states,…

Scammers found planting online betting ads on Indian government websites

Around 550 employees across autonomous vehicle company Motional have been laid off, according to information taken from WARN notice filings and sources at the company.  Earlier this week, TechCrunch reported…

Motional cut about 550 employees, around 40%, in recent restructuring, sources say

The company is describing the event as “a chance to demo some ChatGPT and GPT-4 updates.”

OpenAI’s ChatGPT announcement: What we know so far

The deck included some redacted numbers, but there was still enough data to get a good picture.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Cloudsmith’s $15M Series A deck

Unlike ChatGPT, Claude did not become a new App Store hit.

Anthropic’s Claude sees tepid reception on iOS compared with ChatGPT’s debut

Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje‘s weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Look,…

Startups Weekly: Trouble in EV land and Peloton is circling the drain

Scarcely five months after its founding, hard tech startup Layup Parts has landed a $9 million round of financing led by Founders Fund to transform composites manufacturing. Lux Capital and Haystack…

Founders Fund leads financing of composites startup Layup Parts

AI startup Anthropic is changing its policies to allow minors to use its generative AI systems — in certain circumstances, at least.  Announced in a post on the company’s official…

Anthropic now lets kids use its AI tech — within limits

Zeekr’s market hype is noteworthy and may indicate that investors see value in the high-quality, low-price offerings of Chinese automakers.

The buzziest EV IPO of the year is a Chinese automaker

Venture capital has been hit hard by souring macroeconomic conditions over the past few years and it’s not yet clear how the market downturn affected VC fund performance. But recent…

VC fund performance is down sharply — but it may have already hit its lowest point

The person who claims to have 49 million Dell customer records told TechCrunch that he brute-forced an online company portal and scraped customer data, including physical addresses, directly from Dell’s…

Threat actor says he scraped 49M Dell customer addresses before the company found out

The social network has announced an updated version of its app that lets you offer feedback about its algorithmic feed so you can better customize it.

Bluesky now lets you personalize main Discover feed using new controls

Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday. Xbox president Sarah Bond shared that the company plans to…

Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July

Smart ring maker Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday. The first claims to help users get an idea of their cardiovascular…

Oura launches two new heart health features

Keeping up with an industry as fast-moving as AI is a tall order. So until an AI can do it for you, here’s a handy roundup of recent stories in the world…

This Week in AI: OpenAI considers allowing AI porn

Garena is quietly developing new India-themed games even though Free Fire, its biggest title, has still not made a comeback to the country.

Garena is quietly making India-themed games even as Free Fire’s relaunch remains doubtful

The U.S.’ NHTSA has opened a fourth investigation into the Fisker Ocean SUV, spurred by multiple claims of “inadvertent Automatic Emergency Braking.”

Fisker Ocean faces fourth federal safety probe