As I exchange with members of the development team of Fairphone, they say we need to have a topic with many upvotes to help them to decide what to upgade on the phone.
Here are some of my ideas I get from my previous phone, I would like to get yours and your opinion on that !
1 - Turn off the alarm
I was used to flip my phone to switch off the alarm on my LG G6.
With the FP4 the only thing you can do is to press a volume button. If you press the power button, it’s impossible to turn the alarm off and you have to turn the screen on to, then, turn off the alarm…
It’s like a code game when you wake up …
2 - Double tap to turn on the screen
An option which is so easy to use. All phones get that now and I lost it from my previous one. Double tap the screen to turn on the phone and double tap to turn off. As I use an app to double tap to turn off its 50% of the work, but I would love to turn on by double tap, which is so much easier than finding the power button everytime when the phone land on a desk.
3 - Improve the volume incrementation
Have you discover than the volume between position 3-4 is a very big gap ? It’s disturbing as you are not really available to get not so much and not enough music
4 - Camera Wide Angle
It’s a bit strange that you can’t switch between wide and narrow angle when you are recording a video
Do you have any idea ?
Please fill free to get the number of the idea and answer
double tap to wake is a feature that depends on the hardware. if the display doesn’t support having the digitizer (the part that registers touches) enabled in a low power mode, it’s going to result in a battery drain.
I don’t think that this is a problem specific to Fairphone. Blame Google Clock. However, I believe this functionality is possible to mimic, for example, using Automate. Or maybe using an alternative clock/alarm app.
As already mentioned, this requires HW support. I’m not sure if it’s possible on FP4. But you can utilize the proximity sensor (and possibly light sensor or accelerometer) to turn on/off the screen. You can use WaveUp or make your own rules using Automate.
It’s probably not as disturbing to me, but yeah, I suppose there is a slight jump. But the slider is definitely linear, so I’m not sure if anything can be done to change this.
By the way having a HW issue is maybe a good thing to improve the next device
With the LG G6 I haven’t the sensation of issue for the battery drain with the double tap to turn on. The screen was really off. You were able to see the difference between a screen on and off and it was darkly off.
@Razem you can switch from wide to narrow angle by disabling the EIS, right I recorded a video about that. But you can’t switching during the record
I just received my FP4 and my parents are using it. So far, it looks good. Potential to improve, that could make me switch:
longer security support (incl. for chip etc)
better camera software
60/120 Hz screen
maybe a model with a smaller screen (i‘m used to iphones - 3GS, 5S, 7, last one second hand)
I‘d also be willing to pay more, if the hardware were better.
Personally I don’t really care about the stock camera app. I just want access to all camera features through the Camera2 API. Then I can install any app of my choice. This is currently limited (only the main sensor is accessible and it tops at 12MP), but FP is supposedly working on this. (https://forum.fairphone.com/t/fp4-gcam-port/79450/75?u=razem)
60 Hz display isn’t a dealbreaker to me, but yeah, it would be fine to have options. Similarly with OLED. In the end, the phone is modular so it should be somewhat possible.
Yeah, I would also prefer a slightly smaller screen. But I’m not sure it would sell that well. Many people simply prefer larger screens.
I know, but as someone who uses online banking and many other security-relevant tools on his phone, without being a tech-wizz, I am just not taking the risk of my phone being open to known vulnerabilities after just two years or so. I guess this is also why Apple and Google use their own chips, where they have this under their own control. So I guess, only more market or even regulatory pressure on chip producers to secure their chips for longer is necessary.
For my tech-averse parents, keeping Android up-to-date for as long as FP does (incl. access to apps that ask for new OS) plus the changeable battery where the main reasons, beside the social aspects, that I bought them the FP4. for me, security is a top priority and the fact that I somehow trust Apple more than Google (and more than unknown software developers of other OS). If there were a European champion for mobile OS with a strong privacy focus, checked on by public authorities and NGOs, that would be a huge step though (even with a paid subscription, which I think is the reason why updates keep dying after 2 years). Until then, it remains difficult for me to make the switch and I prefer to just keep my phones for as long as possible (5years+).
I get it that larger screens are great for watching pictures and videos. but I can‘t hold today‘s phones with one hand (eg standing in public transport). so, although my hands are quite large, an FP4 is too big for me. also, i can‘t put it in my trouser pockets.
The size of today’s smartphones (this is not a problem specific to FP) is an example for male-centered product design. Fairphone should consider producing a mini variant or reducing the size for FP5.
Your anecdotical observation doesn’t change the fact that women’s hands are smaller on average and therefore they are less likely to be able to use a large phone with only one hand. And this puts smartphones in the long row of products that are designed mainly by males with average male users in mind, see this article for more examples.
This is of course not only a problem for women but also for people with disabilities .
Maybe a lot of women are not keen at all to use a smartphone with one hand, but like to look at at the Internet content on a larger screen?
I can’t see a male-centered product design here.
funny you should mention that, I remember reading about the first Galaxy Note (a behemoth by that era’s standards) being initially predicted to be used by women, because they carry their phones in their purses.
can really relate to the volume button issue, haha. the duoble tap to wake up would be nice but it’s not necessary. used it on an older phone and turned it back off bc I was often accidentally turning on the screen in my pocket. also I think the main problem for me atm is the camera software. it should be more transparent. it’s not really clear what I have to do for example to get wide angle in videos (solution mentioned by Razem). so either a bigger tutorial/manual would be nice or more user friendly ui on the camera
EDIT: the alarm thing I find pretty nice as is. I would never get up from bed if it would be that easy to turn off the alarm
Yeah, same here. I realized I could set an action on my smartwatch, which would snooze or cancel the alarm. But I can never do that as I would just snooze it indefinitely and never get up.
