To me the FP4 feels more like a slightly improved OnePlus One. Sure, the FP4 is faster and the camera can do (just) a bit better in challenging environments. And yes, sometimes I could shoot a nice picture with that OnePlus One. It was a phone I bought after my Galaxy Nexus which was from 2011. Now both these phones were capable devices. But not considered high end in terms of price, performance and camera quality.
Below are some of the “best” pictures I could quickly get. Most others are blurry and under/over exposed, like a Fairphone.
Galaxy Nexus (2011)
OnePlus One (2014)
When I look at my old pictures, some already 10 years old, I see the same kind of picture quality as I often shoot with my Fairphone 4. The many bugs and sudden reboots that are not solved also remind me much of these phones of a decade ago.
The “best” pictures I shot with my Fairphone have not really came close to these highlights I took with that phone. And it’s not for a lack of trying… So, that’s what I mean with what I said. The FP4 would be impressive, if it was released 5 years ago as a midrange phone. I’m actually being generous towards FP.
And to clarify, this is mostly about software quality. With the hardware there isn’t much wrong. As you also pointed out. But just releasing a phone with a recent SoC doesn’t make it a good phone.