FP6 vs FP5, thoughts?

Discuss The Products
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Regarding clip-on back vs using screws: I prefer a clip-on back, but using screws is still acceptable to me. I really just don’t want it glued shut. And as long as it still has a MicroSD card reader and sim tray accessible, that’s fine.

Regarding the use of USB 2.0 rather than USB 3.x: I disagree with this design decision, but I also can live with USB 2.0. I would mainly just use it to copy files, and this just means that doing so will be slower.

Regarding the absence of desktop mode: This is not a feature I use, so it doesn’t really change anything for me, as long as Android Auto can still work via Bluetooth.

Better CPU, better screen, those are standard upgrades whenever a new phone is released, and to be expected. I think the CPUs generally are fast enough.

Camera: I don’t really pay much attention to smartphone cameras. If I want a high quality picture, I take out my Canon R5. If I just need to record some information, I might use my smartphone to take a picture of it.

No headphone jack: This is my biggest gripe and the reason why I won’t buy one.

Mind you, if I was considering buying one, and I was one of those people who for some weird reason didn’t care about the headphone jack, it would be competing with the FP5 for my money. And the FP5 does have some advantages over the FP6.

42

“I was one of those people who for some weird reason didn’t care about the headphone jack”

because USB-C to jack exist :sweat_smile:

43

We shouldn’t need to explain all of the reasons why it’s better to just have one inside the phone.

Just remember the next time you complain about enshittification that you enabled it.

44

It may be because I’m quality oriented but I’ve never seen a smartphone with a proper dac for the jack out and they in general struggled to drive any proper headset :sweat_smile:
That’s why I like usb-c to jack with a fosi for example. Even if a jack out was present I wouldn’t use it.

Why did you buy a FP4 ? there’s no jack too

45

LG and Sony have made plenty of phones with a good DAC

And it still pisses me off that it doesn’t have one. But I also really want something that’s easy to repair, which also has reasonably good specs. The FP3 had a pretty weak CPU with only small cores (A53 I think).

I’ve tried putting up with dongles. Even some high end ones. It just creates another failure point. And it also means I can’t charge it and use headphones at the same time.

I was mostly happy with the LG G4. It had a MicroSD card reader, headphone jack, 1440p screen, it was actually reasonably easy to disassemble too.
The main thing wrong with it was the CPU was the first 64 bit Qualcomm CPU, which had A57 cores - it wasn’t very efficient and it overheated, which also caused some of them to crack the solder balls and die.

Then I moved to an Xperia XZ Premium, which had a 4K screen and a much better CPU, it also had a headphone jack. But it glued on the back, and the internals were more fragile. The connector for the USB-C port on the motherboard started to fail.

After using the LG G4, which was easy to disassemble and then the Xperia XZ premium, which went in the direction of making repairs difficult, I decided I wanted something repairable. And the only other options were the FP3 which was a downgrade in specs, and the shiftphone 6 which was only pre-orderable in specific countries and therefore unobtainable.

I was never happy about it not having a headphone jack.

I would have thought there would be more options by now though. But it always seems like phone manufacturers are absolutely determined to make phones that are missing at least one of the things I’m looking for.

I just want a phone that:

  • Has a headphone jack
  • Has a MicroSD reader
  • Is easy to disassemble, especially to replace the screen or battery.
  • Has a reasonably good CPU. It does not have to be flagship. It just needs to have at least a couple of ‘big’ cores made in the past few years
  • Has at least a 1080p resolution. I would prefer 4K though.
  • Supports the 4G and 5G bands used in Australia. It doesn’t need to have the fastest modem, I just care about coverage and network compatibility.
  • Has an unlockable bootloader
  • I would prefer it to have at least Wifi 6, but I would give this up if it had everything else

I have not seen one single solitary phone that has all of that. And I do not think these are unreasonable requirements.

Some of the closest phones are the Xperia 1 line, but they’re very expensive and not made with repairability in mind.
LG doesn’t make phones any more, and every single HMD phone is missing at least one thing.

46

Please dont turn this into another headphone jack discussion, so stop this off topic discussion.

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Hi guys, please help. I’m trying to consider buying a new phone to replace my FP2 and I’m very lost by considering the offer of the FP5 vs FP6. :man_shrugging: Looking at the shop pages for the FP5 and FP6 I can see several places where the FP6 is an apparent downgrade:

  • Slightly lower resolution screen (although both are already absurdly high detail)
  • Lower resolution cameras (or is this just a case of pixel binning not described as such?)
  • A Torx screwdriver is now needed to open the case and replace the battery (debateable longevity vs plastic snap-clips)
  • USB 2.0 connection!!!
  • Slightly lower clock speed chip (does it produce greater FLOPS? If so, say so!)
  • Better energy rating, yet the slightly higher capacity battery won’t last as long based on the specs…??? The only direct point of comparison given is web browsing, where FP5 lasts about 50% longer.

Most other things I see are practically identical or tiny upgrades, or options (8GB RAM vs 6) becoming standard.

I’ve seen the issues with FP6 not having video over USB:

(although this feature I didn’t know I wanted sounds nice for giving a presentation, I doubt that I’d actually use it)

and a more severe issue of /e/OS not currently supporting charge limiting:

What exactly does FP6 do substantially better than FP5 to justify its existence?
Are its strengths just badly described in comparison?
Having someone save me time on installing /e/ seems to be the only selling point so far, and it’s a bewilderingly expensive one.

I just want a long-lasting and secure phone that I can repair, use F-Droid apps on, and actually make/take calls on a 4G connection. I don’t think that’s too much to ask of FP. What is going to be the best option for me?
So far it sounds like FP5 + LineageOS, but then I’m reading that you can’t install that without leaving the bootloader unlocked:

What does OEM or FP-installed /e/ do differently that keeps it any more secure than user-installed LineageOS, and costs £50 more to do than them installing FP-flavour Android?
Or do they also leave the bootloader unlocked when installing /e/?

Why is the FP5 with /e/ not offered outside the EEA, while the FP6 apparently is?? :exploding_head:

48

the FP4 was as well available in US through Murena only, for reasons you would have to ask Fairphone directly.

Btw moved your post here, some thoughts above

49

Thank you, searching for fp5 fp6 comparison gave me no forum results. I think this thread may need more tags.

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while I knew it exist I found it be searching for “FP5 FP6” so sometimes less might be even more, dont know…

51

Rather ask Murena.
Fairphone didn’t and don’t do US. It’s Murena’s initiative to offer Fairphones in the US, and they handle support there themselves.

52

For your usecase both Phones are fine and the FP4 would also do.
The differences in hardware are not great, we have reached a plateau regarding processor speeds.
For smartphone cameras it is also quite the same, the differences come with software.
I am unsure what you want in terms of security. All Androids are secure today, insecure tomorrow..

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Quite true that with processors and cameras. The pixel density is beyond anything I need or want, given the limits of human sight, but the way software is now using that excess info to improve low-light pictures is a tangible improvement. Of course, trying to sell the FP6 on the capabilities of such software doesn’t seem like a very good strategy to me.
For security I guess I just don’t want someone with brief physical access to be able to tamper with my system files to install a keylogger/equivalent (I think Elk answered me in another thread that this is indeed protected under file-based encryption by having a locked bootloader), and I don’t want any reliance on g services.
Even g play work-arounds don’t interest me. After using F-Droid software for years I’m very happy with the likes of OsmAnd being vastly superior to g maps in what I can do with it for example, and OpenCamera is great too.
It seems like the lads above possibly mistook me for a yank somehow.

I guess I just don’t understand FP’s design decisions with the FP6 and will probably try to put /e/ on an FP5 myself then.
The store should really provide more clarity on the battery life benchmarks and processor efficiency, otherwise the better energy rating is nonsensical when the FP6 is given as having quantitatively worse battery life on more capacity.

54

I’ve got both. FP5 feels more premium, is bigger but feels slower. FP6 has a cheaper feel, but I am fed up with glass and metal curved edges anyway, easier to drop. I also wanted a smaller phone. Battery life, no noticeable difference than the FP5 and better than a Pixel phone (FP uses less powerful processors, so use less power). FP6 still has some bugs, so the FP5 is more mature.

55

That’s correct for LineageOS, but some others alternative OSes based on Lineage allow you to relock the bootloader, it it’s something you’re looking for :slight_smile:

(If I remember well, /e/ and Calyx and Iodé can be relocked, while Iodé and Lineage no. But please do your own search before attempting it :sweat_smile: )

56

Iode can be relocked as well as far as I know its just LOS not supporting it

57

I am in the exact same situation (fp3 died, now looking for a new phone), i too am cursed by mobilt bank-id. What did you wind up getting?