I guess there would be big compromises like battery size as modular desing tends to take more space as you have to wrap components in plastic for example fairphone 3 is 1cm thick due to modular parts being thicker.
Arenât those basically e-waste as fairphone 3 already has large screen and those devices would be in less use. You could buy second hand tablet and use it to watch youtube and such. As i have understood Fairphone wants you to consume less and create less e-waste.
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Iâve seen some pretty cool ideas here. Some main drawbacks for buying a FP for me, are that it is not waterproof, low display quality, and the camera. If it was somehow possible to make a waterproof model I would be sold. I like adventuring and live in a rainy area, water damage is the main phone killer around here. Iâd like it to last.
A higher-end display would also get me far since I like to edit pictures on my phone. Lastly, a good camera is important to me not only to compete with the less ethical brands but also because I want to be able to make good quality pictures when Iâm out without my camera. Full-sized cameras are heavy and bulky, and a real pain when traveling.
Anyone got the same wishes?
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I am sure, that you are not alone with that wishlist.
Though that really points toward a high-end phone, which - in my very own opinion - can be done by Fairphone only once they have achieved enough market share, to be able to offer at least 2 or 3 models.
And - the way I see it - being waterproof and modular at the same time is - at least - a real challenge.
I really would love a rugged device like the cat-phones myself (the IR-camera would be a treat as well). In the meantime, I make do with a waterproofed pouch. I got the one from waka-waka (just some advertisement for them again 
)
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You are not alone. I believe that these matters could be solved by updating the software for example adding possibility to use srgb toggle found in the developer settings. They could get average values from 100 displays and give us more color accurate profile. Software could also fix the poor camera performance on both fp3 and fp3+ .
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Personally splashproof is enough for me as I would not trust the sealing anyways. Atleast after I have opened it. I also wish they would have used glue in the fp 3 backcover letters that would last water splashes.
Edit: forgot to mention fp 3 backcover letters in the last sentence
After using the FP3 for a while, I have to say that these drawbacks are a little bit overemphasized by reviewers on some website.
The camera, for example. With tweaks in google photos, the pictures look very good for social media and screen use. Iâm an amateur photographer with a bunch of expensive photo gear and I find the results satisfactory. Iâve used or tried out some recent flagship phones and frequently was annoyed at the cameras. There is a general trend towards oversaturated, oversharpened fake-HDR looking pictures, I guess thatâs what the average consumer wants these days.
Screen? The display on the FP3 is quite good. I really donât see a need to upgrade. Sometimes we get obsessed with specs like resolution, refresh rate etc. But honestly there isnât that much difference for most users.
Waterproofing, well Iâd like that, but as others mentioned it would be difficult to execute.
Making the phone small would be very difficult as well with the modular design.
I think they have a very good platform with the current Fairphone 3 and they should strive to keep it alive for some time. And after a few years if it really gets too slow, offer an upgraded model with a similar specs.
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It seems to me that the size of the phone is primarily dictated by the size of the screen, and (I may be wrong) that the screen is the main power-drain. So reducing the size of the screen and therefore reducing the size of the battery to fit in the smaller enclosure should not reduce the time between charges.
Beyond that, what other trade-offs are there to make, other than the possible extra space taken up by connectors between modules, and the cost of higher-spec components?
In the end, though, I will not be buying an FP4 unless I can get my FP3+ working properly. If Fairphone is not capable of consistently making its fourth model reliable, what likelihood is there that the fifth model will be any better?
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To my eye fairphone 3 has slight blue tint. I dont see need for over 60hz screens or some crazy 4k display. Just pointed out it would be nice to adjust the device to my preferences, on my previous devices (which were also pretty close to aosp) I took that as a normal. Display does not go dark enough and It is either because software or hardware doesnât support it. Those are indeed small and not too big things but these things add up. Even though fp marketing team tried to paint rosy picture of dark scene performance. I canât personally recommend Fairphone for those who need âperfect pictures out of the boxâ. For the FP 3 successor I hope that thereâs more software developers.
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Well theres still that you canât shrink some components like soc and components like speaker, camera and such that are easier to make good as standard sized, screen module couldnât be as thick as it is. It would be more vunerable with out the plastic layer behind the actual screen. Non-standard sized components would also cost more. You could also lose space for headphone jack and nfc coil as those are expendable
I think outside the pictures are pretty âperfect out of the boxâ. Only under specific circumstances does the camera disappoint.
Have you tried taking picture outside so that sky wouldnât be overlit and faces would be visible. And thereâs that the autofocus doesnât work wery well. Hdr mode has those awful ghosts in the photos if theres anything that moves. Gcam port just works so much better even though itâs not even optimised for the spesific device. Also it annoyes me that I canât disable tap the screen to focus and take a picture to just focus.
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Flashing /e/ os fixed this issue but when brightness is set to minimum it flickers. So could be that panel control circuitry doesnât support it and that could even harm the display module.
I would really wish for a really small form fp4. Like iphone 5/SE size, you could have that in front pocket of jeans and skate at the same time not noticing it ( or breaking it ). Now when i put my phone in the pocket im afraid to walk, let alone do something else.
Hello everyone,
on a new phone i would like things like Wifi6, 5G and esim support to have a really future proof phone.
Then processor should be good and at least 128 Gb of (expandable) internal storage.
Idk if modular screen with different relosolution is feasible but that would be awesome.
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Whereas a fancier phone would be fun, I would like to see the FP3+ have less problems. There are a lot of unhappy people paying twice the price of an equivalent phone so I hope Fairphone see this as more of an issueâŚ
From my perspective the cost isnât the issue, the specs are on the edge, but reliability and support is appalling and I wouldnât recommend Fairphone to anyone.
Iâve only had the phone a couple of months as my daughter was considering buying, and she has just done so a couple of weeks ago.
It has been and continues to be an embarrassing and upsetting experience, though having paid ÂŁ450 I will stick it out and hope the experience improves.
I hope the Fairphone designers see that whereas it may not be so difficult to roll out a new phone and turn the spotlight to that, clearly the designers havenât got to grips with reliability after 3 major excursions.
And if any new phone works without all the issues I see on this forum it will be fantastic and I hope not just a fantasy
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Iâd rather have one good camera, with OIS if possible, then multiple. Also, something not a lot of phones do at the moment, but adding faster connectivity (USB3 - 4 instead of 2) through the USB-C port so the phone could be docked.
Iâve seen enough OLED screens get burn in that Iâm actually quite hesitant to buy any device that has it. They look really nice, but I need my displays to last me a long time (one of the reasons I got an LCD 4K TV, as I want it to last me at least a decade if possible).
Publishing kernel sources ASAP and working with projects like PostmarketOS would also be benificial.
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The burn in effect also can take place on LCD screens.
The contrast, brightness range, color and blacklevel of a OLED screen is predominant, so it is a logical choice for the next gen phone in my view.
Another benefit is the thickness, as the LCD needs backlight, it is thicker than an OLED display.
Beside that the energy consumption is lower, what gives more battery time and the opportunity to use only parts of the screen, i. e. just to show a message or the clock, gives many potentials to save even more energy.
In case of watching movies the switching time of the pixels are a much faster than LCDs what results in better movie quality. I experienced that on my Galaxy S5e Tablet and itâs awesome. (Btw. the tablet is more than two years old and no burn in is recognizable.)
Long story short: In total the usage of an OLED for a smartphone display is by far the better choice.
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One good thing with a FP: you can easily change just the screen if needed.
(Although I fully agree itâs better if you can keep the original one as long as possible, for environment as well as for the price it can cost to change the display)
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Would love to see a smaller form FP4 ( not exactly as small as a palmphone ) but something you wont notice in your front jeans pocket 