Submission + - Ethical smartphone Fairphone 4 announced (theverge.com)
thegreatnick writes: First time reader — long time caller:
The next generation of Fairphone — an attempt to make an ethical smart phone — has been announced with the Fairphone 4
The base specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage (upgradeable to 8GB and 256GB). On the front, you'll get a 6.3-inch, 2340×1080 LCD with slimmer bezels (compared to the Fairphone 3 design) and a teardrop notch for the 25 MP front camera. The 3905 mAh battery is Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.1 compatible, so if you have a compatible USB-C charger (not included in the box to reduce waste), you can take the battery from 0-50% in 30 minutes. The phone ships with Android 11 and has a side fingerprint reader in the power button, a MicroSD slot, and the option for dual SIM usage via the one physical nanoSIM and an eSIM.
Continuing Fairphone's progress in making a “fair” supply chain — both ethically-clean raw materials and paying workers a fair wage, it also describes the 4 as “e-waste neutral.” This is a neat way of summing up the idea that the company will recycle one device for every Fairphone 4 it sells. In addition, Fairphone can boast that it now uses 70% “fair” material inside the handset, including FairTrade Gold and Silver, aluminium from ASI-certified vendors and a backplate made from 100% post-consumer recycled polycarbonate
In an upgrade to previous models, the Fairphone 4 has dual cameras, though loses the headphone jack. The company says this was to achieve an IP 54 waterproof rating (light splashes) — a first for the Fairphone brand. It's also been announced that it will come with an industry leading 5 year warranty and aims to get 6 years of software updates for the phone.
The next generation of Fairphone — an attempt to make an ethical smart phone — has been announced with the Fairphone 4
The base specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage (upgradeable to 8GB and 256GB). On the front, you'll get a 6.3-inch, 2340×1080 LCD with slimmer bezels (compared to the Fairphone 3 design) and a teardrop notch for the 25 MP front camera. The 3905 mAh battery is Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.1 compatible, so if you have a compatible USB-C charger (not included in the box to reduce waste), you can take the battery from 0-50% in 30 minutes. The phone ships with Android 11 and has a side fingerprint reader in the power button, a MicroSD slot, and the option for dual SIM usage via the one physical nanoSIM and an eSIM.
Continuing Fairphone's progress in making a “fair” supply chain — both ethically-clean raw materials and paying workers a fair wage, it also describes the 4 as “e-waste neutral.” This is a neat way of summing up the idea that the company will recycle one device for every Fairphone 4 it sells. In addition, Fairphone can boast that it now uses 70% “fair” material inside the handset, including FairTrade Gold and Silver, aluminium from ASI-certified vendors and a backplate made from 100% post-consumer recycled polycarbonate
In an upgrade to previous models, the Fairphone 4 has dual cameras, though loses the headphone jack. The company says this was to achieve an IP 54 waterproof rating (light splashes) — a first for the Fairphone brand. It's also been announced that it will come with an industry leading 5 year warranty and aims to get 6 years of software updates for the phone.
