5G may be in the next iteration FP4
Yes the speaker in awkwardly placed.
The screen ??? Either a bigger screen that will use more battery, or a smaller phone. However with the modular design it will be difficult to make the phone smaller, especially as people want even more modular, cpu, ram etc.
As for telling Fairphone, I doubt they would read this, I doubt anyone is going to pull together all the ideas and lobby them, and more importantly I am sure that the people designing the next phone have thought of all these ideas and more, they are not idiots
About the screen:
Other phones have a smaller border between screen and edge (so you have more screen on the same size of the phone).
I compared the Fairphone with my old Galaxy Note 8 and on my Note 8 I have 15% - 20% more screen (in the email app this are 4 emails in the mail list).
Agreed, but a larger case is need for being modular, still I wonder if it’s worth asking Fairphone what they have in store? Less bevel, larger battery ???
The FP3+ is already pretty good. But i would add to the FP4 a better back camera, USB 3 and a second camera (wide angle). With better camera i mean the possibility to make good fotos in difficult light conditions (cloudy, dusk, …).
I like the idea of 2 or 3 different FP4. I would take the better back camera and USB 3 to all models. I would offer a second camera (quality zoom or wide angle or none) as option before buying it. The difference between the 3 phones can be the dimension, processor, different screen, RAM, 5G, …
EDIT:
I would make the Mini screwdriver as option for free. Saves a little bit waste. Earphones can be selled extra. Someone already have it.
It would be very great to include a Webcam Cover to the front camera to protecting privacy. Similar to the picture but included in the front cover (display).
USB 3.1 or at least 3.0 is very important!
The FM Radio would be fantastic too.
But what about “Display-Port over USB Type-C”?
And the option to use a USB-Mouse and Keyboard?
Then I can connect my Fairphone to a monitor and use a mouse and keyboard.
Edit 1)
I still have an “Lumina 950XL” with a “Display Dock”.
I can connect my old Galaxy Note 8 to this “Display Dock” and there I connect a USB-Mouse, a USB-Keyboard and a monitor.
So I can use the Note 8 like a PC (the Note will go to a friend these days).
You can already do so now (at least with a mouse) by hooking up an OTG adapter or cable to the USB-C port. I think that’s a better solution than making room for an additional port on a smartphone.
Maybe not just for an FP4 or later but also doable on FP3(+) via software update?
I’d like to have Seedvault as a second backup provider in addition to Google cloud backup. It would allow to store the backup on the SD card, a USB stick our your own nextcloud server.
It should work, at least it does on Lineage which has Seedvault as default. And as I also installed the GAPPs package, the two different backup providers are present and I can select which one to use.
I would love those dip switches on the side. One switch each for GPS, wifi, Bluetooth, Microphone and one for all cameras. That´s really a good idea for the FP4!
(Then a Webcam Cover is no longer necessary.)
I’m certainly interested in the smaller size. Work just gave me an iPhone se 2020 and I’ve realized it’s all the phone I need. It’s so small and light, it fits easily in a running belt so can be carried anywhere, anytime. If I could update my knackered Samsung to a fairphone I could train with I’d be top of the queue. Phones have gotten too big and impractical and a lot of customers simply need an easy to handle device.
Subjectively for some people buts ‘lots’ as a percentage is not very many. Fairphone are looking for customers that are concerned primarily about Fairtrade, user friendly modularity secondly.
I doubt a small phone is popular enough and that Fairphone have the financial backing to make more than one model. With the degree of modularity they are investing in would be technically far more difficult than the options that companies as affluent Samsung can afford.
If the modularity was forsaken then a smaller phone would be possible but I doubt Fairphone would want to backtrack on that aspect.
Fairphone 4 - smaller, cheaper, less performance, two camera (normal + wide)
Fairphone 4+ - more expensive, more performance, better camera, OLED, that’s sounds great.
You will cover two big parts of market, some people just want to phone for Facebook, messenger, instagram, nothing more.
Some people (like me) want to pay more, for better phone near to flagship.
Covering both part of market sounds like great shape to get more customers and help change the world.
Haven’t read all the comments yet, but a few thought from me…
I see a few mention USB-3.x. Although I still find it unbelievable that the FP3 basically has a usb-c-2.x bottom module, why not skip usb-c-3.x andgive it USB4?
5G has already been mentioned in different issues.
OLED displays sound really nice
Different specs/versions, like one “low end” and one “high end” version, can really make Fairphone more interesting for a wide, very wide range of (future) consumers.
I’ve read the USB-C port in the module is the problem here. It seems to be missing some connector pins. If the port/module is re-designed (why not shoot up to USB4 while we’re at it?) wouldn’t these problems be solved???
Well it all depends upon what the core module can support, it’s nothing to do with the bottom module. You know we all have one, the bottom just follows the body.
One switch each for GPS, wifi, Bluetooth, Microphone and one for all cameras. That´s really a good idea for the FP4!
