I agree for the ethical “low tech” aspect, however wouldn’t a higher-end processor, RAM and other specs make the Fairphone last longer, future-proof, thus being a more sustainable option?
I have had three different core modules (because of different issues covered by the guarantee) since I first got my FP2 in January 2016, and it still gets slower and slower with time (despite hard resets)… Would it be because of software updates? Anyway, remember Snapdragon 801 and 2 GB of RAM were already slightly outdated, not to mention Android 5, when it was finally released in December 2015…
A few examples of the consequences on my FP2:
- My pictures sometimes take up to 10 seconds to be taken (yes, ten seconds, and without the retarding option)…
- Sometimes simple HD videos recording make my phone to crash, ruining the recording…
- Updating apps through WiFi make the phone get veeeery slow…
- Some apps like the simple Ecosia browser too often either freeze or crash, make it suddenly reboot or get really slow as well…
- It’s frequently impossible for me to simply answer a phone call because the screen can’t even display the answering options (or freeze or stays black)…
- Same for turning the screen on or off, I often have to wait for several seconds…
- It seems I don’t receive some of the SMS people send me…
And I haven’t even mentioned the other modules’ issues which will probably be solved with FP3:
- way too small battery capacity,
- average cameras despite the upgrade (I hope for good ones from the start with FP3, not having to buy upgrades to have decent ones but instead much higher-end cameras would be appreciable),
- too slow charging (fast charging and USB-C will probably be implemented on FP3),
- malfunctioning/fragile modules (I hope they’ll have been more tested before release, in order not to have for example a dying-microphone-like issue)…
… etc, etc… If this was not Fairphone, I would call it planned obsolescence!
That’s why I really hope for a very good processor, RAM and graphic capabilities for FP3, as well as pure Android interface to have the updates ASAP. And even though I hesitate for social and ecological reasons (as Fairphone, despite being probably the best in this industry, is far from being 100% Fair and sadly cannot really be Green), after almost 4 years of hustle and stress with my never-really-fully-working-FP2, I think I might upgrade for FP3 because I definitely can’t wait for FP4 with my FP2 in good conditions of use… Let’s hope FP3 will be more stable and trustworthy…