Fairphone, the company behind sustainable smartphones, has just unveiled the Fairphone 4, its attempt to bring sustainable smartphones to a more mainstream audience. The device is available in 128GB storage / 6GB RAM and 256GB storage / 8GB RAM configurations in continental Europe and the UK; on the continent, they’re priced at €579 and €649 and in the UK they’re priced at £499 and £569.
One of the issues some people have raised with the new phone is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack. The removal of this port on device has become increasingly common and now Fairphone has made the decision too. In order to avoid throwing out working earphones, customers can buy a separate USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack adapter to continue using their earphones.
Also sold separately are the USB-C to USB-C Cable 2.0 which includes a versatile USB-A adapter for charging, syncing and data transfers and a dual-port 30W charger with an EU connection. The company does not include a charger with the phone as it assumes you have one, this helps to cut down waste and costs for consumers.
The full specifications of the device are as follows:
| Operating system | Android 11 |
|---|---|
| Performance | Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G (SM7225) |
| Storage | 6GB/8GB RAM, 128GB/256GB internal storage |
| Battery | 3905 mAh removable Li-ion battery |
| Display | 6.3" Full HD+ |
| Cameras | Dual 48MP rear cameras, F1.6 and 2.2 25MP selfie camera, F/2.2 with HDR support |
| Wireless and location | Wi-Fi dual band (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5.1 + LE NFC for card payments and more |
| Network | Dual SIM, both 5G enabled |
| Connectors and sensors | USB Type-C, Fingerprint scanner |
| Media and audio | USB Type-C |
| Design | Unique modular design with IP54 |
| Sustainability | TCO Certified, 9.3 out of 10 repairability score (256GB variant) |
| Variants | 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage, Color: Grey 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, Color: Grey, Green, and Speckled Green |
The Fairphone 4 will begin shipping to customers on November 1st. You’ll receive a 5-year warranty for the device just in case anything goes wrong. Additionally, the French Repairability Index gave the device a rating of 9.3 out of 10 so if you’re handy with a screwdriver, you could attempt repairs yourself – the company has purposefully made this easy for you to do.