The new Fairphone 3+: improvements in detail
Photo: Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGELAlmost exactly a year ago I described the then new Fairphone 3 as a "No Thrills" smartphone: technically everything is only mid-range, but particularly easy to repair by the owner himself and therefore sustainable. Now the small company from the Netherlands presented the new Fairphone 3+ on Thursday. I was able to test it for a week and found that there is not much new about this phone. But that is exactly what the inventor wanted.
Because sustainability is the one point where Fairphone's smartphones do better than any other smartphone on the market. From the start, the company didn't try to put in the best camera or largest battery. Instead, the company advocates better working conditions in the mines, for example, where precious metals and rare earths are extracted, which are indispensable for the electronics of smartphones.
The Fair Cobalt Alliance has only just been founded, says Monique Lempers, who is responsible for "Impact Innovation" at Fairphone, in an interview with SPIEGEL. The alliance includes companies such as Signify, manufacturer of the Phillips Hue lamps. Among other things, the association wants to improve working conditions and the safety of workers, especially in the Republic of Congo. Around 60 percent of the cobalt mined worldwide comes from there. And of this, in turn, 20 percent are mined in small and very small mines, which are often only deep tunnels into the rock, without ventilation or safety measures.
More recycled plastic
The Fairphone 3+ is largely made of recycled plastic
Photo: Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGELOf course, you don't see all of this on the Fairphone 3+, it looks like a normal smartphone, even if it's not a particularly chic one. Instead of glass or metal, as is common in high-end models, its housing is made of plastic. Not only is it easier to work with, it needs less energy and fewer raw materials than an aluminum housing, for example, but the Fairphone 3+ is also half made of recycled plastic. In the previous model, this percentage was significantly lower, says manager Lemper.
The plastic also has the advantage that you can easily remove the back cover. This shows the modular structure of the Fairphone 3+. However, only the battery can be removed without tools. It has to be, because you can only get to the SIM and memory card slots by removing the battery.
Lots of little screws
To get to the innards, 13 screws must be loosened. They are all fiddly small, but have a uniform size and, thanks to the cross-slot format, can be removed without special tools. Fairphone includes a small screwdriver, but for convenience I preferred to use my own.
If you have then detached the screen from the rest of the housing, the modules are finely sorted in front of you. All are labeled with names such as "Speaker Module". It's easy to find your way around. Nice: The modules are fastened with the same screws as you can find them on the housing.
You can't get lost: all modules are clearly marked
Photo: Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGELA look inside also shows the only technical innovations of the Plus model compared to the Fairphone 3:
On the one hand, the new "Top Module" contains a new 16-megapixel camera for selfies,
on the other hand, the camera module is now equipped with a 48-megapixel camera.
Two modules are new
However, both modules can also be purchased individually. So if you already have a Fairphone 3, you can upgrade it to the technical standard of the Fairphone 3+ by buying the new camera module for 60 euros and the new top module for 35 euros and replacing the old modules.
However, the new cameras are not a revelation. With the Fairphone 3 I noticed that the camera software often compresses details to death. This is no longer the case with the new model and you can take really good snapshots with it. On the one hand, however, I noticed a tendency towards bluish shots; on the other hand, the camera sometimes found it difficult to focus on the subject that I selected on the display.
Incidentally, nothing has changed in terms of the hardware, the battery life is still "OK", the performance in the lower mid-range. But you can read all of that in my review from last year.
Conclusion
Per
Easily repairable
Sustainably produced
Contra
Mediocre performance
Mediocre screen
Mediocre camera
The Fairphone 3+ is just as good as its predecessor and above all for your conscience. This applies on the one hand to the raw materials that come from conflict-free, fair trade, and on the other hand to the repairability: If the display breaks, you buy a new one for 90 euros and install it yourself. Of course, you pay more for this than for more modern and better equipped phones such as the Google Pixel 4a or the OnePlus Nord, namely 469 euros.
The surcharge ultimately supports Fairphone's efforts to make the extraction of raw materials safer and fairer. In the smartphone industry, only Apple is similarly active in this area - but much more expensive.
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