Customers, a species of camplainers?

Ask not of others but of yourself.

Develop intelligence rather than the environment, for happiness is dependent upon what the mind wants. So why want of others?

I don’t know what the others want. I know I want my headphone jack and I know Fairphone could have given it to me.

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Could only differs from should in the context you use it in ‘ability’ Clearly Fairphone were not thinking of you or me and were unable to encompass a jack in the FP4 for whatever reasons they probably still have.

I doubt the FP4.* or the FP5 will have one either. but it may be nice to ask them if the could leave a gap for one next time, OH and I want an FM radio etc. etc.

It’s Fairphone’s business and there’s no benefit in business to those who don’t partake.

I’m angry because I care about their business. I care about their business because I believe what they claim to stand for.

Well luckily I don’t believe in Fairphone so they can’t let me down. I don’t believe in religion, politics or money either but I recognise their existence and limitations.

I don’t “believe in Yoko and me, and that’s reality”.

Have more faith in yourself that you can get by not just without a headphone jack but without the headphones. Simples

2 cents incoming:

I think that broadly speaking, the anger directed at FP when they announce something new is a little more personal than most other consumer rage. We tend to tie our identities to some extent to the products we use, which is an unhealthy habit that only leads to heartbreak - but in the case of FP, it comes with a history of actually participating in this thing that started off as an experiment and has now become as serious a smartphone company as any. So I have a little more understanding for the anger people feel about FP than I would for similar anger found on, say, an Apple forum.

The people who bought an FP1 participated in an experiment that could easily have failed, as many thought it would. The people who bought the FP2 bought another experiment, a phone that requires little bits of paper, battery shims and, occasionally, mild torture to keep it going. The people who bought an FP3 bought a more stable and feature complete phone that was however still a lot chunkier than other smartphones, and even it still has its issues. Every time, we bought these phones with the understanding that we were participating in something that wasn’t yet profitable or perfect, but better than all the rest in certain important ways.

All of that to say that a lot of people here feel more like collaborators than customers, and not entirely without reason. That said, now that it seems FP have arrived at a smartphone that closely matches the average feature set and form factor of its contemporaries, whilst including fair materials and sustainable design features… we should be very happy about that, because that has always been FP’s charter. The FP4 is not for me, but I have high hopes it’ll be for everyone else.

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Aaahh… Folks, it is just that easy: If anyone is in favour of a smartphone featuring an audio jack, the FP4 might not be in favour of that person. There are pros and cons for and against the jack inside a phone, so I can understand both parties well.

Why not put a banner with this statement on the FP4 product website?

Attention: If you own any smartphone that still works perfectly or can still be repaired, please refrain from buying the new FP4 for the sake of the environment.

And a button below?

Got it!

But - well…

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You are missing a feature you would like, and you don’t want to use an adapter to still have the feature, and now you inflate this objectively relatively minor (subjectively for you very major) detail of built-in headphone jack or no built-in headphone jack way beyond any proportion to justify some feeling of betrayal of what Fairphone stands for.

Does the headphone jack not being built-in anymore take anything away from Fairphone

  • offering modularity?
  • treating workers more fairly?
  • sourcing materials more fairly?
  • increasing recycling efforts?

How does this compare to what Fairphone actually do to change how smartphones are made?
This doesn’t come across as mature in any way to me, to say it mildly.

You don’t like it. I understand that perfectly. Every smartphone I have/had features this jack and seemingly opposing to popular experience my wired headphones seem to last and last and last without any cables breaking, so I like to use them.

You don’t like to use an adapter either. I can understand that, too.
I have a different problem. I’m using magnetic adapters in the USB ports of my phones to make charging connections more convenient for me and less stressful for the port. That wouldn’t go well together with a headphone jack adapter mechanically.
Luckily I don’t have to consider buying the Fairphone 4 for the time being, because my daily driver Fairphone 3 works just fine, and my backup Fairphone 2 still works just fine. Else I would have some thinking to do.

But whatever, I wouldn’t start some kind of crusade how Fairphone somehow betray what they stand for in the light of how minor the technical detail I dislike is compared to what Fairphone really stand for.
Just don’t buy it if you can’t make buying it work for you somehow.

I feel like @ElKrasso and others here. I didn’t even read all posts in every Fairphone 4 topic, but how often I’m just (virtually) shaking my head in disbelief about what gets said and how with what I read so far is kind of surprising to me, at least here in this forum.
But well, I’ll just correct my expectations, in the end my expectations are a failure on my part.

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I’m 74 and can well understand younger people being upset, if @CapuaS is younger, given they are aware that phones used to have jack sockets for headphones, what an outrageous idea.

I see no crusade to pressure Fairphone or garner others to complain, did I miss the call to arms??

Yeap that’s about as close to maturity any of us can get and it can take a long time to get there.

:rainbow:

Poor @CapuaS having people complain about them being a complainer in the topic created to identify the new species ‘homo complanis’

I also was initially concerned when I read the headline “no headphone jack”, however on closer scrutiny I found that there are lots of USB-C to headphone adapters available (even from Fairphone), some of them even with a socket to connect the charger, so you can even use the headphone while charging (only limitation is that you cannot do data transfer via USB at the same time). I am using headphones with cables as well as earbuds with my 5-year old FP2, depending on situation. Yes, the FP2 has its quirks, but often there are workarounds, or they are minor and can be tolerated.

Kind regards,
OM

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According to other people here more knowledgeable on this subject than me FP4 has USB-PD. It can therefore likely use a charger together with a 3.5 mm socket at the same time.

Yes a lot of fiddling that a jack could have avoided.

Though I would prefer a jack, I don’t use headphone a lot so practically I can do with out, probably do without a USB port too and have wireless charging.

Maybe a couple of magnetic ports, totally sealed from moisture and negligibly susceptible to stress.

Hang what am I complaining about, Ah! the weather I don’t like that I have to take the phone out of my pocket to look at the screen, especially when it’s raining. I miss the built in chip that relays straight to my optic nerve.

Honestly Fairphone get with it, so disappointed.

Does the headphone jack not being built-in anymore take anything away from Fairphone
offering modularity?
treating workers more fairly?
sourcing materials more fairly?
increasing recycling efforts?

You do realize wireless earbuds have:

  1. Significantly shorter lifespans than wired headphones
  2. Contain a lot more materials that are hard to recycle (like batteries)
  3. Directly contradict modularity (there are modular wired earphones you can make wireless, but none exist the other way around as far as I know)
  4. Are very cheap products that are quite worker unfriendly to make (not everyone will be buying Fairphone’s model)

So yes: Promoting wireless earphones as THE listening experience on your phone contradictory to their values in more ways then one (next to the worse experience for people who have wired headphones). It is a stupid decision they should be ashamed of. I find it extremely disappointing so many people are blindly defending them. If you want them to keep straying, then by all means continue to be free PR for them, I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

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Whereas the points you make are interesting, the tone in your final paragraph is rather intolerant of others views and tends to be a little insulting.

But hey! this is a place to complain so what am I complaining about :slight_smile:

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I agree with you and the 4 points but not on the last paragraph.

This forum was much more friendly before even when people complained. I think I am getting old to say something like this :grin:

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Clearly not old enough; :rofl:
Age is supposed to be second youth :slight_smile:

they should be ashamed > Heard it all before :frowning:

The oh so knowledgable youth that think they know what people should and should not do.

OH! and age is a state of mind ???

  1. Yes, but if the batteries are replaceable…

  2. They allow an alternative via USB-C <-> 3.5 mm or even USB-C <-> USB-C (I bet the latter works on e.g. Sony WH1000XM4 cause I was able to get a Logitech dongle working as well).

  3. I actually got a gaming headset (Logitech) which can work wired and wireless. However, it requires a dongle, and that ain’t my cup of tea. Its also too bulky for on the go. Heck, its too bulky to have a baby with head on shoulder.

  4. Every time I need to walk in my house, I don’t have to care about any wire. Do you know how much more safe that is? Do you know I actually damaged the screen of my FP2 because of the bloody 3.5 mm wire in like the first few months? You can’t get stuck with your wire either, cause it ain’t there.

Let me give a counterpoint to your point. Smartphones. They have significantly shorter lifespan than PCs. They’re far less powerful, too. They contain Li-On bombs. Promoting smartphones are THE computer experience contradictory stupid decision ashamed its promoting terrorism yada yada.

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Really on the ball there

until your fell off :slight_smile:

Well, you’re right that my last paragraph was overbearing and beside the point.

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Still good to get it off your chest, the last thing anyone wants is a load of $#![ in their head. Maybe add a smiley face as well next time or better still

:rofl:

Just be up for the challenges :slight_smile:

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