Fairphone 4 Gets Faster Processor, Larger Screen and 5G, Loses 3.5 mm Jack

If you’ve been looking for a smartphone with a long term software update guarantee from the manufacturer, then the Fairphone 4 might be what you’ve been waiting for, as outside of being user upgradable in many ways, the company promises Android updates until at least 2025, but possibly as far as to 2027. This is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition and although the Fairphone 4 isn’t what you’d call a cutting edge phone, it does have some unique competitive advantages.

Fairphone is a company that started out with a vision of delivering not only user repairable and upgradeable phones, to reduce electronics waste, but also to use more sustainable and more fairly sourced materials. In addition to this, the company claims to pay its factory workers better and to improve their working conditions.

But back to its latest device, the Fairphone 4, which is quite the upgrade over it’s previous devices, as it now features an aluminium body, instead of a plastic one and that’s just for starters. The core of the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC, which is still used in several current phones from Samsung and Motorola to mention some competing solutions. The processor is paired with either 6 or 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of storage, with a microSD card slot allowing for storage expansion.

The LCD screen measures 6.3-inches and features a 1080×2340 resolution with a 410 ppi pixel density. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla glass 5. Camera wise the Fairphone 4 sports a pair of 48MP cameras, where the regular camera features a wide angle lens, OIS and phase detection auto focus, while the other has a 120 degree ultra-wide lens, as well as a macro mode. The front-facing “water drop” notch camera has a 25MP sensor, which is something the general phone industry seems to have moved away from already.

The Snapdragon 750G supports 5G connectivity, although the Fairphone 4 doesn’t come with mmWave support, which isn’t entirely unexpected. Most standard 4G bands are supported, as is VoLTE and VoWiFi, but support depends on your network provider. 802.11ac Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth 5.1 is also part of the package.

Rather surprisingly, especially considering the price point of the Fairphone 4, the USB-C port supports USB 3.0 speeds, something many higher-end phones don’t even have. Fairphone has also added support for DP-Alt mode, which again is something that is lacking on many devices at this price point. Audio is via a pair of built-in speakers, or via the USB-C port, since unlike on its previous phones, Fairphone decided to drop the 3.5 mm jack this time around, which is a shame.

A 3,905 mAh battery rounds off the package and Fairphone claims that a 50 percent charge takes about 30 minutes using a 20 W charger. It should also be mentioned that the Fairphone 4 is IPX54 certified, so although you shouldn’t go dunking it in water, it can handle getting damp, despite the fact that it’s user serviceable.

The 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage SKUl will set you back €579 or about US$670 and it comes in grey. The 8 GB/256 GB SKU is priced at €649 or about US$750 and will be available in grey, green and speckled green and both SKU’s come with a five year warranty if ordered before the end of 2022. Note that you don’t get a charger or USB-C cable with the phone, although Fairphone does offer a range of accessories for additional cost. Just to point out what you can expect to shell out on parts for the Fairphone 4, a battery for example is listed at €29.95, whereas a USB-C replacement connector costs €14.95. Things like the display and rear cover are currently not priced up. The Fairphone 4 can be pre-ordered from today, with shipments starting on the 25th of October.