I have pre orderd a Shiftphone 6mq and due to repeated delay and now the release of fp3+ i’m kind of reconsidering my choice…
As you can see the specs of the 6mq are (still) tempting:
SHIFT6mq
6 inch Smartphone - regular price 844€
pre-order for 799 €
New modular design
6 inch FullHD+ AMOLED Display | 18:9 | Gorilla Glas 5
Dual rear camera (16 MP / 24 MP ), Video 4K
13 MP front camera,
SHIFT-OS (Android™ 10) | Custom-ROM-Support
Qualcomm® snapdragon 845
8 GB LPDDR4X RAM
128 GB int. storage, ext. up to 512 GB
4G LTE | Dual SIM: 2x nano, parallely usable
Battery 3850 mAh (removable)
76,4 mm x 159,8 mm
USB 3.0 Typ C, headphone jack
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC, Fingerprint sensor
Incl. 22 EUR device deposit
pre-order now! Delivery expected end of Q1 2020 *
Thing is: it rather looks now like Q4 2020, while the previous delivery was estimated for Q4 2019… (and several dates before. some people are waiting for 4 years now…)
That wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t going along with a rather “developable” communication…
Anyway, i didn’t chose a fp3 in the first place, because i’ve read so many rather bad reviews about its camera. Now with the new camera modules…
As always, it’s not just about specs, it’s also about your personal usage patterns – power user (planning to use the device for processor-demanding gaming, lots of 3-D/augmented reality stuff etc.) or average/light user? In other words, what do you primarily need and use a smartphone for?
I can’t be insulted, you can throw anything at me, but you will get flagged, because you can’t criticise in here, thin skins and mob mentality.
When it comes to price spec the less is better because I don’t have to work overtime and Saturdays, I can just spend that time looking at clouds, trees, birds.
@dalas.revo I think @existentionaut was just pointing out that the price made a big difference. If you have to choose between both, price can be an important factor for many of us. Please don’t disregard this. I myself can’t afford a 800€ or even 500€ phone for the moment. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about sustainability and about the manufacturers being fairly paid.
I don’t disregard this. Neither can I afford one of the amounts at the moment (thanks, corona ), but nevertheless the point about fairer electronics is that people in the supply chain can afford a living and that must be started at “our” end of the chain.
@dbx
As Urs said, it depends a lot on the use you want to do of your phone. For me,the question isn’t asked because Fairphone is ethic, and Shift, although it has better specs, is too expensive.
But this can be different for each one of us. I don’t know what exactly you are expecting, what you consider important. From what I know from Shift and Fairphone, they both chose a different approach to modularity, because I suppose this is what you are looking for. From what I can see, Shift only sell display and batteries, but is perhaps easier to open in details. Fairphone is more focused on repairability, being able to exchange modules.
I think you should a comparison. I did a quick one with key aspects for me:
Aspect
“Winner”
Repairability
Fairphone
Modularity
Tie
Display Size
Shift
Processor
Shift
RAM
Shift
Camera
Tie
Price
Fairphone
Ethics
Fairphone
Custom ROM support
Fairphone
Delivery Time
Fairphone
Community
Fairphone
Just do yours, you don’t have to follow mine (and I’m very Fairphone oriented, I’m not objective)
@Alex.A Maybe you could go into more detail of your “Specs” aspect, eg. RAM (Shift), processor [speed] (Shift), Display size (Shift).
Furthermore, is Camera really Tie? Shift 6mq has a 13MB front camera, Fairphone 3+ has 16 MB. For the back camera, Shift 6mq only says “dual”. Since the front camera is the same as Shift 6m, the back camera might also be the same, which is 21MP. If that is true, one more point for FP3+.
As a general statement, I would support what @urs_lesse wrote: Shift 6mq is for power users that need a lot of memory and speed, FP3 is for those that want a good camera, an open OS (FP Open, /e/ or whatever). Concerning responsibility, FP3+ might seem a lot better but Shift is not as transparent in this area and doesn’t use responsibility as a marketing and selling proposition. Shifts communication focus is rather on technics but then more forward looking (maybe then with delays and so), while FP only publishes something after it is done. On the other side FP is able to ignore some annoying software bugs for years
FP3+ doesn’t have a dual camera and this can make a big difference. Moreover, megapixels don’t do everything, there is the sensor size, the pixel size, the aperture, the specific things like PDAF, no shutter delay, etc, and I was too lazy to search for the exact stats of the Shift 6mq.
And there was the software as well. You would have to do a comparison with both phones to have a result and I have neither. That’s why I wrote tie. And I did mine, I am encouraging others to do their personal one with their own important aspects, do research, find information, etc
Well… Ok
FP was like this when it was smaller. Shift is still a smaller company than FP and that’s why they communicate this way, they may change over time. Of course, if this is a key aspect for you, take into account! Do your own table and share it!
After so many delays for whatever reason, I would personally go with the Fairphone. Please consider that most people who are happy with their phones, or whatever other product, don’t have the need to come to the forums to report that. But to be honest, I have the FP3 with /e/ installed and the camera quality is subpar. The new modules might fix this situation (it was one of the main complains about the FP3) so why not give it a try?
On the other hand, must you really go for the latest Shiftphone? I see from their site that the m6 is ready to go and the specs also look quite okay to me.
Since I use my FP3 as my daily driver ad I know Shiftphones a while - I might get an 6mq for beta testing - I leave my 2 cents here: The 6mq aims to be a fair highend phone, the FP3 is - in my view - more an good enough (meant in the best way possible) phone.
For my part I will be very happy, when 6mq finally comes to market and I can point to highend alternative for power user. Personally I made the switch from the note note 9 to my FP3 and changed my user profile completly and I am very happy about it.
But that doesn’t mean that I am not curious about the 6mq Choice is a good thing and different devices adress different needs. If that brings more people to fair phones I am all for it.
I’ll try to give some more input:
my current phone is a Samsung S4 active. It’s 7years old and still works, but the camera could be a bit better (especially in low light conditions), the performance could be snappier and above all i want to stop using android 5 with both eyes closed upon security. I know there’s one review about a working lineage rom, but i have kids and time is precious and frankly, i just want something new now.
My user profile:
making pictures and videos of my family and “special views” i find spontaneously.
browsing with way too many tabs…
routing and tracking bicycle tours with osmand+
outdoor usage
rather normal app usage
no gaming
What would be my perfect phone?
obviously produced fair in social and environmentally context
waterproof
durable / rugged
quite good camera also in low light and on moving objects
performant for “many” years
easy repairable if necessary
maybe modular for hardware upgrades
My thoughts about shift and fairphone:
They claim to be also fair, although not certified (afaik). They run there own manufactory in china, to control social standards and fair payment.
They produced several phones before, making me expect more lessons learned right now (compared to as is, not to fairphone!).
Fairphone is imho several steps ahead in the fair smartphone production business, making me tend to have more trust in them.
My thoughts about the devices:
It appears to me, fp3(+) is a bit more robust, due to the modules. (teardown of 6mq: https://youtu.be/Ugh5rea8JG0)
SoC, RAM and Storage of 6mq are of course tempting. For now, but also for future capability.
Dual camera seems to be better, but i’m not sure, regarding the fp3+.
That’s for now… have to do some laundry now…
Thanks again for your replies and all the best!
Daniel
The 6mq is the first phone Shift offers, that looks usable. The Mediatek SOCs of the earlier phones are a mess regarding software updates. Fairphone made the same experiences with this supplier and it leads to the unpopular support canceling FP needs to announce for the FP1, way too early.
The technical specs are way overrated in my view.
I use the FP3 a lot every day. Also for games. Of course there are faster phones available. There are also faster cars on the road. Who cares. As long as it does not lag in simple apps I am ok with an “good enough” phone.
When some people use a seven year old phone they will be overwelmed just with the FP3 camera and the newer Android, as there is much progress happened in the mean time. And there are upgrades available.
I think the Fairphone 3+ is perfectly suited to literally everything you listed as your requirements except for one point: It is not waterproof. You might want to get a waterproof (transparent) bag for your bike tours if you buy an FP3+ and a protective case for protection against drops (i.e. the phone falling, I don’t mean water drops here ).
15 years ago we had to have the state of the art VGA camera, I was an early adopter, I got my T610 in 2003. Nothing changed since then, we still need what we are told we need, “I want to be that happy smiling person on the billboard!!!”
If it helps: I made the switch to the FP3 from a Samsung S5. Although I am (and was at the time) well aware that the latest Samsung had better specs, to me the Fairphone was a huuuge step up. It feels a lot faster and the newer Android makes a huge difference. Everything worked better and faster than on my S5, the only disappointment was the camera, but not a disappointment in the true sense of the word as I had knowingly bought a phone with a lesser camera. I will probably get the new modules now to fix that.
What I’m trying to say is, if all you know is your S4, you’ll love the FP3(+) and it will feel just as great as getting the latest Samsung. Unless you first use the latest Samsung, than you might notice a difference (or not, since you don’t seem to use your phone that intensively).
I really agree on this part. What you have first will be what you will expect at least next. Something under would disappoint you. My FP2 was my first smartphone, and I had issues, bugs to solve, and it just seemed normal. For me, having bugs and issues, thinking about repairing and upgrading modules, being fair is the normality (well, discovered after it wasn’t, which for the part about issues is rather good, for the rest it’s a shame), it’s what I would expect from other phones I buy. I was under FPOOS (android 7.1) and it suited me just perfectly. Then I installed Lineage OS (android 10), and I just can’t come back to FPOOS. I would miss so many features.
Features are only useful or only feel necessary because you know about them. That’s why, seeing your needs, FP3+ will suit you perfectly (apart from the waterproof part as said by Urs).
I never used dual camera. So I was not able to discover the difference in quality, so I don’t need it. I actually tested it on someone else’s phone (Samsung), but I wasn’t able to say whether the better quality was due to better software or better hardware (probably both, but software plays a great role). I think FP3+ with new modules and upgraded software will take good enough photos.
), but nevertheless the point about fairer electronics is that people in the supply chain can afford a living and that must be started at “our” end of the chain.
Choice is a good thing and different devices adress different needs. If that brings more people to fair phones I am all for it.