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The Fairphone 5 is less about what comes in the box and more about what you get over the years (www.theverge.com)

submitted 9 months ago by TheLugal to c/technology

161 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Fairphone’s latest repairable device is for people who hate saying goodbye to an old smartphone more than they like buying a new one.

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[–] Mannimarco 33 points 9 months ago (3 children)

It makes no sense to me, their whole deal is sustainability, by removing the headphone jack it forces me to buy Bluetooth headphones that all have batteries in them and are presumably not up to Fairphone standards of sustainability.

And saying we're just following market trends sounds like a shitty explanation to me. I have the 3, I'll use it for as long as it works but after that no Fairphone for me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Even after switching to a wireless headset (because the previous ones all broke at the wire), I would rather not use a device with no headphone jack. My headset has a very long battery life and can apparently have its battery changed fairly easily (big enough to be held together by screws). But neither of this can be said about earbuds, so my earbuds are staying wired.

[–] sudneo 2 points 9 months ago

Our starting point for design is longevity, which means making our devices more repairable, a very different approach to the electronics industry standard. To support maximum longevity and because of the IP rating, Fairphone 4 does not feature a headphone jack. In the end, it comes down to how we make a product that lasts for at least five years. We needed to eliminate as many vulnerabilities as possible, and the headphone jack is subject to dust and water ingress over time.

Again, you might disagree, you might know better, I don't know. But this is their motivation when it comes to longevity and hence sustainability. To me, it seems a reasonable idea: if the jack helps reducing the consumption of batteries in headphones but decreases the lifespan of the phones, it seems a bad tradeoff.

[+] [email protected] -8 points 9 months ago (4 children)

USB-C earbuds exist. No one is "forcing" you to do anything.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 9 months ago

Which is still having to buy a second set of earbuds/headphones when there's no need for it. Or buy a separate dongle (a major pain in the ass over time).

This is not "sustainability" friendly design.

[–] Mannimarco 20 points 9 months ago

Headphone jacks also exist, so I won't be buying this phone.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Having tried to use USB-C earbuds... the experience is lacking. Once they are plugged in there is a 2-5s lag for when the headphones start working. 30% of the time they don't work, having to unplug and plug them in to try again. Some apps won't use them at all if the headphones are not plugged in before you start a call (google voice).

Even if you got them working, they stick out of the bottom of the phone, so propping up the phone on a desk for a video call is now super awkward.

It's a poor echo of the experience of physically wired RTTP headphones.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Never had those problems. Worked for me better than the AUX port actually, since no metal spring got damaged over time like in most of my previous phones.

The dongle works just like AUX earphones worked

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

can't charge the phone when the USB port is in use
can't use the aux input of any external devices
can't use the headphones with anything else
shitty experience as someone else here mentioned
...

I like my Pixel 7 Pro but its also my first phone without a headphone jack and I hate it. Bluetooth is such a shitty standard and the USB dongles suck ass too. Why the fuck did they have to get rid of something so simple and practical...