Fairphone - Smartphone

Fairphone, based in Netherlands, brings something back to smartphones that most people don't even realise is missing. Their approach aims to promote user ownership of a device, and longevity.

While they may not necessarily be hitting their mark in terms of longevity just yet (the Fairphone 4 won't really have had a much longer lifespan than most other Android devices when it reaches the current proposed EOL), Fairphone are certainly achieving their goals with regard to user ownership. They issue instructions on how to unlock the bootloader on their phones, and they have made it incredibly easy to self repair with their modular design.

My biggest gripe about smartphones, is that it costs a fortune to fix if you break it. I don't like contracts, I try to steer clear of the subscription society that has become ubiquitous nowadays, so phone repair can get a little pricey. After breaking the screen on my Samsung a second time, I realised I was beginning to get close to the price for an entirely new handset if I took it in to get it fixed again. So I didn't. I got a Fairphone 4, which has a modular design, which means I could repair a screen at home for only £70.

Ifixit have given the Fairphone 4 a repairability score of 10/10. Fairphone are still selling replacement parts for the Fairphone 3 and even 2 in their parts store. Hopefully, with a little more experience they can get the shelf life of their handsets to where they want them to be.