The Fairphone 5 released, is the sleekest repairable phone yet
The Fairphone 5 released, is the sleekest repairable phone yet
Two years after the Fairphone 4 and following the release of some audio products like the Fairbuds XL, the Dutch company is back with a new repairable phone: the Fairphone 5. It looks and feels a lot like the Fairphone 4, but it adds choice upgrades across the board, making it the most modular and also most modern-looking repairable phone from the company yet.
The design is largely unchanged compared to the Fairphone 4, but the improvements that the company did make go a long way: The teardrop notch and the LCD screen is finally gone, with an ordinary punch-hole selfie and an OLED taking its place. Otherwise, you’re looking at an aluminum frame, a triangular camera array, and a removable back cover. Here, the company brought back its signature translucent back cover next to two black and blue variants. The dimensions and weight has been reduced ever-so-slightly compared to the predecessor.
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It really does surprise me how so many people (at least on Reddit and Lemmy) care so deeply about a headphone jack.
- No internal battery means it's not a product with a built-in obsolence period (which is fairly short, 3-5 years)
- Most of the better audio gear are all wired
- I mean, it's simple economics: Not paying for all the extra stuff to make it wireless means you get better value for audio quality
- Many people here are enthusiasts in tech and hardware, we likely have more than a few devices. Switching between devices with BT is a fucking PITA.
Speaking as an audiophile, you can buy a USB C dongle for like $10 that even has a good DAC. Only issue is if you're regularly charging and listening to wired buds simultaneously
Dongles are pointless e-waste. They constantly break, get lost, or are forgotten when you need them the most. They are not a solution.
You can easily leave them attached to your headphones 24/7, which helps avoid losing them
I've had headphone jacks on phones break and thats a lot harder and more expensive to fix than buying a tiny dongle (that creates negligible amounts of waste)
I'd argue they're actually a very good solution 🤷 (aside from arguably on iOS with their dumb proprietary port, but thats easily fixed with USB C)
Interesting, got any recommendations?
The Apple one sounds great tbh, altho I know Moondrop makes one that should have a lil more power and should be a bit more durable long-term (my apple ones have held up well so far tho)
Wired also doesn't drop out if there are too many people in an area. Like if you're listening to music whilst waiting for the train.
And they're cheaper, since you don't need batteries, radio, and audio processing hardware on top of that.
For point 4. Newer devices are very clever and will auto switch when music is playing and of course both devices are turned on.
Partially. My MacBook will steal the bluetooth connection no matter if something is playing or not. I have to disable bluetooth on the Mac to connect smartphone to my headphones.
Most of the issue stems from annoying dongles that wired headphone users typically don't want to carry.
The situation with fairphone is especially infuriating however, as omitting the headphone jack goes against the whole point of fairphone IMO.
Bluetooth headphones, as convenient as they are, have integrated lithium batteries, which are harmful for the environment. They also have a very short, finite lifespan. Despite these issues, fairphone removed the headphone jack on the fairphone 4 and 5, while simultaneously releasing true wireless Bluetooth earphones that are not repairable. Their whole brand is based on creating ethically sourced, repairable products, so offering an inherently unrepairable item for sale is rather disappointing. I am aware that they offer over ear headphones that are repairable, but I think they shouldn't sell true wireless earphones until they come up with a real repairable design.
In contrast, there are wired headphones from the mid 1980s that are still functional and still sound amazing, even if they aren't as convenient to use. There are also modern wired headphones and IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) that have removable, standardized cables. This is great since the cable is what breaks on wired headphones 99% of the time.
At least their Fairphone XLs are repairable.
There are also modern wired headphones and IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) that have removable, standardized cables. This is great since the cable is what breaks on wired headphones 99% of the time.
You can also replace the cable with different kinds of wireless adapters to make them either true wireless or (even better) semi wireless. I haven't done it myself, but it's pretty neat.
I feel the same way about the OLED screen.
The are too many static elements on a phone screen. Notification bar, keyboard, etc. I just expect burnin to be a huge problem within a couple years.
My impression is that burn-in isn't nearly as much of an issue on newer panels as it once was. At least, I've been using the same OLED phone for 4 years and have no sign of burn-in yet.
I've had a little noticeable burn-in on my 5 year old OLED phone, but you usually don't pick it up, unless you're looking closely, or have a video that highlights the relevant parts of the screen.
I've had the s20 ultra since launch and I have zero burn in. I also use this phone constantly. But I also have the screen timeout set to 30 seconds. And again I'm on it constantly.
I posted 2 months ago that I have no burn in. Well, I do have some from the top info bar - clock, battery level, notifications. Seems like I had never noticed?
My phone has an oled screen and is a little over 4 years old. I leave the display on for hours sometimes and have had no burn in problems so far.
While I do care about the headphone jack, I am mostly bitter about the manufacturers deciding for me that I don't need it. I'd heavily trade off 10% reduction in thickness for a user-replaceable battery and a headphone jack, but it was decided for me that a thinner phone is a big improvement.
Flip phones are making a comeback.
Maybe thicc phones will come back next?
Well, you can have a DIY version that feels like the real thing, but with more features. All you need is a fairly modern phone of your choice, a strong glue and a brick. You may want to paint it in beige just for the heck of it afterwards.
Please. Yes.
I am mostly bitter about the manufacturers deciding for me that I don't need it.
They haven't decided for you. You make the decision when you choose which phone to buy. There are phones with headphone jacks on the market. It's entirely your decision.
They did decide for me by the point that a once obvious feature to include in a phone is discarded in all but a very slight number of niche phones where I'd have to compromise on a bunch of other features in return for something that used to be almost mandatory feature at once point.
all but a very slight number of niche phones
I'm pretty sure there are a very large number of phone models on the market with headphone sockets.
I'd have to compromise on a bunch of other features
Right. That's the choice. As with everything one buys. And which nobody has taken away.
Requiring a headphone jack in 2023 rules out most "flagship" phones. If you're looking for a mid-range then your odds are better. But if you want a phone with better camera array, then you're leaving mid-range territory and chances are that you'd have to compromise on either the headphone jack or your camera quality. That's about what I meant by "compromise" - the requirement for a headphone jack significantly limits your choices.
I don't want to buy more shit I got to remember to charge when I already have a few nice 3.5mm headsets. I know its going to be dead every time I want to use it. I got to pair it every time I switch devices. It works on everything that has the right hole even if its older than your parents.
Its just extra work unless its your daily driver.
I use a headphone jack daily, it is a must for me. Not going to do a stupid Bluetooth adapter or dongle cable that can get lost or damaged
For the record, you know you don't have to take the USB-C adapter off the headphones if you exclusively use it for that device, right? It's not as much of a hassle as people believe it is, they just haven't used one yet.
I use my headphones on my computer and phone which requires the removal of the dongle. It's not a hassle to you, but it can be a hassle to others.
Same here, but I bought a decent usb dac and I'm now just using the front type c on my pc as well.
I'm fine with bluetooth, but I think a problem for usb-c is that it comes out the bottom of the phone, so awkward to use the phone with headphones. Also, can't charge and listen.
Samsung even has some stupid specifications for which adapters are "supported". Its pretty hard to say its not just a money grab to keep Bluetooth on all the time
Still the best way to transmit sound even quality-wise, except if you want surround, 2 channel won't suffice here
Not being able to listen to wired audio while charging is a dealbreaker. And not needing a dongle is convenient.
it's useful. I use it.
I can't charge and use iem together
You know that combo adapter exist?
Like this one from JSAUX: https://a.co/d/iuZvmO6
Sure, at least in my case the whole point is to use a high end iem for sound quality. If I want convenience there's a decent pair of Sony xm4 I carry around for calls and noise cancelling.
The adapters will simply affect my signal quality and add more wires.
In my experience these are not good products that have a huge (15-30sec) delay for the phone to detect the headphones and they seem to suck battery when in use also
Even when I had a headphone jack, I hated it. That wire tangled up everywhere.
Bluetooth came out, and that was that. Never went back to wired.
I used to break all my 3.1 earbuds but usbc doesn't seem to break no matter what I do to them. But I do listen to most of my music and videos with Bluetooth. I haven't missed the headphones jack even though I totally thought I would.
Wireless headphones have been my biggest tech revolution since the smartphone.
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