For me, the main thing I would like to see is a telephoto lens intead of the time of flight sensor (also arcore support so the camera could measure distance)
As an extra (I know fairphone will never make this) it would be great if the image if the telephoto lens could be used even with normal pictures to add more detail to the center of the image like on a Google pixel 10(+)
Explained in thiss video what i mean by mixing the two camera lens image
then what do you have to say about this article:
Well, that is a bummer, and I did not know that. But from my point of view this is more a we don’t want as a we can’t do.
I won’t go into the length of why I think this is all useless tech, but explain one little bit: Getting graphical Linux software to run on Android should only be a matter of compilation and middleware. If Android would not be as overcomplicated and locked as it is, it would be possible since 5+ years. In the end the foundation of Android is Linux and the hardware of our phones is very much like a RaspberryPI.
Speaking of RasPi… and I hope it’s not too off-topic: here is a (German) article from 2020 that explains why a smartphone ROM can’t just be installed on any hardware in contrast to a Desktop Linux that basically runs on every PC. They use a RasPi for their examples.
The article is behind a paywall. The link above is valid for 7 days max or until it has been clicked “too often” (they don’t give an exact number).
Actual support would be nice.
FP5/6 could support 5G-SA, but fairphone chose to not work on it it anymore.
You could break the article down to:
ARM-SoCs differ so much, not only from company, to company, but even from product to product, that there is almost no compatibility left.
The gazillions of drivers are hardly maintainable, or not even available as Open Source.
Those who could maintain the software do not want to pay it.
The complete ecosystem is broken from a consuments point of view.
I doubt that most smartphone users would pay for continued maintenance after they got their phone for the first time. If you add the required money to the initial price, you might be out of customers because the high price scares people away.
Fortunately, my FP4 still works perfectly well, because I’d be in trouble today if I had to choose a new Fairphone.
The FP6 is a stunning smartphone and superbly balanced in all its hardware components, but for my needs, it has a major limitation: the screen is too narrow, which ultimately matters for the size of the interfaces and the keyboard.
The screen is only 6.56cm wide compared to 6.71cm on the FP4 and 6.77cm on the FP5. We now use smartphones for everything, and the display size greatly impacts the user experience. In my opinion, you should slightly sacrifice the ergonomics of the smartphone in favor of screen width, not going below the 6.71cm width of the FP4, but rather moving closer to the 6.77cm of the FP5.
This is just my opinion, and I hope it’s taken into consideration for the next smartphone.
This is the point of FSF’s Libre Phone project; reverse engineering the binary blobs for at least one phone to make it so that we can run an entirely free (as in freedom) custom ROM on that phone without any need for proprietary binary blobs from the SoC manufacturer
I vote for the complete opposite.
Go back to 3.5-4.5” screens and bring proper one hand usability back.
By the way. Using the phone for everything is such a bad idea, I am so overwhelmed by reasons, I don’t know where to start.
I like the idea, but what starts with OS, ends with apps that do not work without Google.
Using the phone for everything was a generalization to indicate that it’s used more for other things than making calls.
Using the phone with one hand these days is utopian. In 2012, I left Apple phones precisely for this reason – they were fixated on the phone being used with one hand, to the detriment of interface size and what you can see on the screen. Within a few years, they had to backtrack and completely reverse course.
For example, even writing a simple message is faster and with fewer errors when written with two hands on a large keyboard compared to writing it with one hand on a small keyboard.
Graphne OS, LineageOS, and similar projects are excellent Android ROMs. I wish Fairphone would place more emphasis on supporting them(Ofical OEM parnt wold be amzing LOS or GOS versions wold be banger). The early days of OnePlus showed how much the enthusiast market was overlooked, evoking a sense of nostalgia for OEM-backed custom ROMs. I’d love to see a Fairphone that matches modern specifications and performance, especially with full TEE support.Even a basic model offering it as optinal mainboard upgrade(—without depending on proprietary in full Qualcomm platform security processor—would be a step forward. An open TEE that AOSP can interface with directly, without shims, would set a new standard: budget yet secure, backed by hardware like a Buget Pixel a series but Sustaible.
A market analysis for a premium Fairphone could be the next logical step. It might feature a refined design, additional cameras, and improved build quality. Such a model could serve as an open canvas for ideas, helping Fairphone stand out as both fair and elegant. This could result from evaluating community sentiment and strengthening Fairphone’s reputation as a trusted brand for more than just sustainable phones.
It would be a chance to create a true flagship from the ground up—based on user wishes rather than corporate trends. Features like LiDAR could be added with purpose, while reversing some of the questionable feature removals that mainstream OEMs made out of misplaced obsession. It’s time to send a clear signal that users are not wallets to be emptied. And wold proved chnace for DeGoogled Rom Home on stylish device. even at upcharge For SoC and Flagship Haptics. Litle Famwork moduling plus scrwedring for certain Features why not cold be funn back mini display want pro camera leica provided why not chnce to Patchwrok your dream
people are already criticising the pricing of the current Fairphone models, because for the same price you could get a device with much more capable hardware. a fairly produced, repairable phone is already a very niche product, and I don’t see many people willing to spend even more on a more expensive version.
I do not want anything that is called trusted or secure and using some further hardware.
Intel and AMD have with great success shown that those systems are a security nightmare, which may lead to malware infections within the ‘secure’ environment, that are undetectable by the main OS.
Would it not be possible to use a cable in the usb port? I am still using my FP3. I know the chip in it supports FM radio and am a little surprised, no one has posted a way to enable it.
What I would like the most is parts compatibility with FP6.
A USB port is a USB port. A battery is a battery. A screen is a screen. Have them be either the same or compatible.
Break backwards compatibility only when there is a strong, compelling reason for doing so - e.g. if new cameras suddenly all get thermal imaging and it needs an extra pin to transmit the extra colour make FP6 camera still fit the FP7 phone, with understanding that there will be no thermal data. Conversely make FP7 battery work in FP6, so I will not need to get a new phone simply because batteries have gone out of production due to the model being old.
Well, to a point. More specifically, the USB port on the FP6 is USB 2.0, so I’m sure no one would mind a compatibility-breaking upgrade in that department. To bring up another example, SHIFT does have a universal battery for their most recent models, including the SHIFTphone 8.1, but since it’s been around for a while and isn’t necessarily as optimized for any specific device’s form factor as it could be, it has a relatively modest capacity of 3820 mAh, compared to the FP6’s 4415 mAh.
It’s all about trade-offs, and not committing to standard parts does afford you more flexibility when designing your next product. On the other hand, I do fundamentally agree with the gist of what you said. Smartphones as a product category are incredibly mature by now, if not to say stale, and I would love it if Fairphone made at least a few components compatible across generations.
Harsh? To elderly people perhaps. But your logic is fallacious. Your anecdotal evidence that you use to overgeneralize saying it denies my anecdotal evidence isn’t relevant. You have only described both existing, not “proven to be more correct” like “sorry” seems to imply.
Relay why what bout the non apple fanboy apple users the relucant samsung users and so on many acept comprose but lisenig and making the dream platofrm for many wold work Cuszom roms like you may not be able to use you fully many users hat the Curent OEM space so be bold think diret be close to the Customer and power users Grab Pixel users who arebt google fanboys i have Once Cause GOS but if FP 7 met it spects and trust id buy sialdy not gonna go androd on Custom rom cause the space is said and im dispated in the mon existed drive and boldness of giving back the oneplus spirt but trusabe even form boot with opentitan technolgy