Or it succeeded. It is entirely normal that you need to buy a new battery every now and then. I used my batteries for approx 1,5 years each.
Of the rest you mentioned, translucent cover had a known fault, and the bottom module is flaky due to the mic and USB port.
I have a FP3 simply because I really wanted a Fairphone for my next phone but didnāt think it was a very good idea to buy a 4-year-old model whose specs werenāt even great when released. Is it fair to expect much from a FP2 at this point?
That being said, while waiting for Fairphone to release a new phone, I kept using my Samsung Galaxy S5, which I got around the time the S7 was released in 2016. I used it for 3.5 years with the only problem being lack of storage and having to wipe its memory on a regular basis. In fact, it still worked so well that I felt a little ashamed I bought the FP3.
Still, coming from the S5 the FP3 is definitely a step forward for me (apart from the camera, which is not a priority for me). I have a much newer version of Android, no annoying bloatware and hopefully no storage issues for years to come.
In the end, a phone is only as good as your expectations of it. Samsung pleasantly surprised me with the durability of one of their high-end models. So far I am pleasantly surprised that, in spite of the mediocre specs for a phone released in 2019, the FP3 feels like such an improvement for me. Personally I feel your expectations of the FP2 might be a little too high in 2020. That doesnāt mean itās a bad phone, it means it doesnāt meet current expectations of what phones should be able to do.
Justifying design defects wonāt make it a more successful project. Thanks for your opinion anyway.
I was explaining the underlying reason(s). Whether these are justified or not is subjective, up to the reader to decide.
I have the feeling that the people who are protecting FP at all costs pretend not to see the elephant in the room.
Itās OK to recognize that the pragmatic experience of durability and usability of many users (the majority?) is not aligned at all with the narrative the company is carrying on.
What I think it is not OK, it is to come up with excuses like ādo not carry your mobile in your pocketā or ādo not install those appsā because those are exactly the things we are supposed to do with our smartphones.
Itās that part, āthe majority?ā, thatās the problem here. This forum creates the impression that Fairphones are falling apart en masse in the hands of overwhelmingly disgruntled customers because thatās the nature of a support forum: people come here because they have issues, and people who donāt have issues donāt seek out the forum.
So we donāt know whether or not the overall experience is aligned, as you say, with the corporate/fan narrative. Though Iād say my real life encounters with FP2 users skew toward the overwhelmingly positive, which you may or may not consider a data point.
But on top of all of that I think we need to distinguish between enthusiasm and adulation. Itās possible to be enthusiastic and positive while recognising the shortcomings of FP products. My FP2 has had some minor issues that I resolved, and I couldnāt be happier with the thing - and that goes for most FP2 users Iāve run into in real life. I know this deviceās weaknesses, and Iām still happy to sing its praises.
An example of the enthusiastic-and-realistic mindset: just last week I was chatting with someone when I saw she had an FP2, and I asked her if she had any issues, and she did: the phone would reboot when it was placed on a table with too much force. A common issue with the battery contacts, so I helped her stick down a bit of tape on the inside of the battery well, and she was practically beside herself at the joy of repairing her own smartphone. She wants to keep using it for the next five years, so she told me. Iād go so far as to say that in this case, the defect made this user enjoy the use of their phone more.
I donāt see blind adulation in this topic, just enthusiasm. And if anything, itās the enthusiasm thatās carried over into the mainstream: FP does not have a bad name, it isnāt widely known for making bad phones. People use these phones and even in 2020, any FP2 thatās offered on this forum for a reasonable price is likely to sell within a week.
Besides my total agreement to @robbert.fās posting above.
I hardly see anyone protecting FP at all costs.
Putting some statements into perspective, by adding relevant information or other experiences is something different; at least in my opinion.
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