Why not? If the phone is physically still functional, and receives software updates, why does it matter if its 7 years old?
To each their own. There’s more to a phone than just if it’s physically working and supported with updates. I definitely wouldn’t be using an S7 Edge today because phones these days have better cameras, larger displays, better battery life, etc.
I need good pictures for my job. I have an s22 because the wide angle camera is incredibly useful, and I need a stylus from time to time (also for my job).
However, barring a huge leap in wide angle camera, a sharp drop in performance/battery life, I’ll run my s22 for as long as it lasts.
If a fairphone with the functionality I need becomes available (in Canada) sometime between now and when I need a new device, I’ll switch in a heartbeat.
Oh it’s absolutely understandable why a good camera (and subsequently a good screen to view pictures on) would matter to some.
It just doesn’t to me, at all, and so it’s not even the first thing that comes to mind when I think about a phone. I don’t like tablet-sized phones because I don’t use it all that much and when I do, there’s no added benefit of a larger screen over a middle-sized screen (or some higher-resolution display). I don’t use the camera at all, and so its quality doesn’t matter to me. I don’t use a stylus because I’d rather use a pen and notepad.
I’m not criticizing someone wanting those features, I just sometimes need to be told what features are important to other people.
I’m currently using a Oneplus 5T. Released in 2017. Slapped LineageOS on it, and that bad boy is still my daily driver and one of my most prized possessions. I dread the day when it will break, but it’s not yet showing any signs of weakness
I’m also using a OnePlus 5T (with LineageOS from day 1), and plan to replace it with a Fairphone should it die and there’s a good model available with US bands. I’m fine with importing the newest Fairphone should it release by that time, but the Fairphone 4 is also available directly in the US as well.
I think what’s impressive here is the first party, OEM support for feature updates on Android lasting as long as it has for this phone. That’s really not something you tend to see even on Google’s flagships (though security updates are still regular and better than what the Fairphone sees officially).
IMO, smartphones have basically plateaued in the past at least five years - a flagship model from 2015 should be sufficient for basic usage today, assuming the battery and modem hardware was somehow kept up to date and software updates were provided as well, and flagship models from like 2018 onwards were a better deal than today’s flagships, providing comparable real-world functionality at a lower price even if the spec sheet pales by comparison. I don’t think most other OEMs have the incentives to provide that kind of long-term support on older but still usable hardware, but Fairphone absolutely is.
with LineageOS from day 1
Same here! I had been living with degoogled ROMs since 2013-ish and I bought the OP5T with the specific intention of using Lineage from day 1.
Nowadays I struggle to find a potential successor: I need a headphone jack (so no Fairphone, unfortunately) and that makes it waaay more difficult. Sony Xperias are probably my best shot
I said more features. Such as removable battery, headphone jack, ir blaster, fm radio, SD card slot, notification led etc.
I hope they bring the Fairphone 5 to the US in a reasonable amount of time, because the 4 is just too old for the price being charged.
The Fairphone 4 costs 649 here in Sweden so it doesn’t seem that different to me. Plus if it too gets 7 years of updates, that doesn’t seem like a bad price to me.
The main reason I moved to iOS over Android is because I hate changing phones every year, not even Google supports their phones as long as Apple does.
This is a good move by Fairphone. Hope they succeed.
I used my OnePlus One (2014) until 2020. Ultimately what made me move away from it was that software support wasn’t there anymore, and having to manually find images, and flash them myself was just too much hassle. I just want something that works.
Here in Sweden, having a phone is almost a necessity. Lots of daily-life infrastructure goes through it. We have a service called BankID which is essentially a digital identification method (where your bank steps in and strengthens your identity) allowing you to do various things on the web.
- Medical services
- Making appointments
- Viewing journals
- Renewing prescriptions
- Transferring money
- Purchasing items
- Managing my account
- at my ISP
- Electricity provider
- Landlord
- Paying bills
- Managing my insurances
Everything here uses bank ID. Up until recently if I wanted to pick up a parcel at the nearby post office, I’d give the clerk a code, and show them my ID. That changed so I can verify my ID using BankID in the app, and they can scan a QR code. Now I just show the QR code to a machine and a robot fetches my parcel for me.
A while ago I called my ISP to cancel a service, and I had to validate my ID using bank ID.
And that’s just one of the online services. My municipal public transport doesn’t let you pay for tickets on the buses anymore. It started with them removing cash (to prevent robberies) to them now just not letting you pay at all. You either buy a card at a store (which you can then add money to either online, using bank ID, or at a store) and pay with that, or you use their app to buy a ticket.
Because of the safety requirements for BankID to work, if your OS drops out of support, and the phone manufacturer doesn’t update it, you’ll need to get a new phone. I work as a software developer and do not want to screw around with tech stuff in my free time, so going with an iPhone was really the way to go for me. It “just works” and Apple provides updates basically forever. The iPhone 6S (2015) received its last major OS update recently, and will likely continue to receive security updates for a while yet. I’ll be surprised if any Android OEM has provided a 12.0 update to any of their phones from 2015.
I never did, but keeping my OnePlus One functional for six years took a lot of manual maintenance which I hated. Particularly the last two years.
My iPhone is super hands-off. I input my pin, click “install update” and put it on the charger for ten minutes or so, it does the rest.
No need to figure out which gapps to get, no need to find a good ROM, no BS with console applications, no hooking it up to the computer, no workarounds with Magisk to restore functionality lost with the flash, etc.
You should’t change your phone every year. Just but phone with LineageOS support. And reflash it. 3+ years of additional support are yours.
Oh I don’t. Had my OnePlus One for six, and my current iPhone XS is 3. I just don’t like the hassle of flashing ROMs and enabling BS with Magisk and what not. I just want it to work.
Instead of all that, with my iPhone I input my pin, click “install update” and put my phone on the stand for ten minutes. It’s very hands-off.
I also only paid $500 for it so it’s been a value for the money.
My 2016 Xiaomi Mi 4S has received Android 13 update via LineageOS.
PixelExperience 13 is still being released for Redmi 4X, which is a 2016 phone as well
7 years of updates sounds good, but it could also mean anything. They can update localisation files for 5 years
The company actually skipped Android 12 to deliver Android 13 due to all that “build the BSP yourself” work. Monthly security updates probably don’t arrive all that regularly either.
This might be a dealbreaker for many people.
My last android phone was the Xiaomi Mi A1, supposed to 3 years support under Android One. The updates were delayed and it was a very bad experience overall, imo.
This is what made me leave android for iOS, just tired of having to change phones every 1-2 years and having several issues like the above.
wen fairphone 5?
I got few years left on my current devices but ready for the switch
This is the way! Hope competition does its thing and others will follow. Today’s phones have great hardware. If apps and android releases in the future won’t require much more power for no reason, I can see sticking to phones for that long.
