Fairphone 5
Sustainable phone-maker Fairphone wants its new Fairphone 5 to save the planet. From its recycled materials, fair-trade components, easy repairability and epic security support, Fairphone has worked hard to minimize the environmental impact of its newest socially conscious phone. It’s a noble cause and while I enthusiastically applaud the work that Fairphone has done here, as a phone, the Fairphone 5 itself is a bit of a letdown.
08:20 Fairphone aims to do things differently. It works with organizations that ensure that materials used in production are fair-trade, and Fairphone works with the factories that produce the products to ensure workers are properly treated and paid a fair living wage. And while companies including Apple, Samsung and Google use a limited amount of recycled parts in their products, Fairphone uses recycled materials throughout every component possible, including recycled tin and steel in the battery. The phone itself is easily repairable by you (I took mine apart to test this) with 10 different components, including all the cameras, the display and the battery, available to buy directly from Fairphone so you can fix your phone at home and keep it going for longer. Because the best way to minimize the environmental impact of your phone is to keep using it for as long as possible before swapping it out for an entirely new device.
It runs Android 13 now, but the Fairphone 5 will receive numerous version updates in its lifetime.
Physically the Fairphone 5 is not exactly the most beautiful thing around. Sure, it’s slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, but it’s still chunky and quite plain looking. The back is plastic, which does feel cheap, but it’s removable, giving access to the battery, SIM slots and other components should you need to do any repairs. Sure, it could have a luxurious glass back, but then you wouldn’t be able to open it up as easily.
Under that plastic back cover is a hidden gem though — a microSD card slot that lets you expand the 256GB of internal storage with cards up to 2TB in size. Again, this will help the phone remain useful for longer as you should never run out of storage space. Despite the removable back, the Fairphone 5 is still IP55-rated for water resistance. It likely won’t survive a dunk in the pool, but it provides peace of mind if you spill beer on it or need to take a phone call in the rain.
The processor isn’t particularly powerful, but it handled light gaming well enough.
On benchmark tests, this processor doesn’t particularly impress, but in general use it has enough power to handle any of your essential web browsing, Instagramming and video streaming, and it copes well enough with games like Alto’s Odyssey and Asphalt 9. It handled the more demanding Genshin Impact too, but when I turned the quality settings up I did notice a drop in performance.
Fairphone 5 performance comparison
The Pixel 7A (right) offers much better performance at a much lower price.
The Fairphone 5 holds its charge quite well in standby though, so if you tend to casually glance at your phone throughout the work day to check notifications, you should still have juice left in the evening. I suspect that the unusual processor choice is at least partly to blame here — with the QCM 6490 not being built with mobile devices in mind, it’s unlikely to be optimized for power efficiency during demanding tasks like video streaming and gaming in the way that Snapdragon chips are. But that’s just my theory.
On the back is a dual camera setup comprising of a 50-megapixel camera and a 50-megapixel ultrawide. I’m not impressed by either camera, with disappointing results from both lenses, including drab colors and a noticeable shift in color tone between the standard and ultrawide lenses.
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Fairphone 5, main camera.
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Fairphone 5, main camera.
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Fairphone 5, main camera.
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Fairphone 5, ultrawide camera.
The ultrawide lens also delivered extremely mushy details, particularly toward the edges of the frame. This wide shot of the Leith shore looks fine in full screen, but zooming in to the edge, it’s clear to see the total lack of detail here. Compare that to the Pixel 7A and the difference is immense.
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Pixel 7A, ultrawide camera.
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Fairphone 5, ultrawide camera, 70% crop.
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Pixel 7A, ultrawide camera, 70% crop.
In fact, the Pixel 7A’s dual rear camera consistently delivered better shots, which is especially disappointing given the significantly lower price of the Pixel.
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Fairphone 5, main camera.
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Pixel 7A, main camera.
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Fairphone 5, main camera.
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Fairphone’s mission is admirable. Sadly, this phone isn’t.
But if you don’t care about photography and you’re not a power mobile gamer then you should still consider the Fairphone 5. Its long software support and easy repairability means this phone will still be useful years from now, so it may actually work out being extremely good value over time. And you can pat yourself on the back for making a more socially conscious decision.
How we test phones
Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team is actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like Geekbench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.
All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode, and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using the phone daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.
We take into account additional features that can be useful, like support for 5G; satellite connectivity; fingerprint and face sensors; stylus support; fast charging speeds; and foldable displays, among others. And we balance all this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.
Article source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/fairphone-5-review-the-phone-that-wants-to-save-the-world/#ftag=CADe34d7bf