after seeing the FP5 announcement recently I had several gripes that I want to see whether we can address here:
I seem to recall that in the livestream announcing the FP4 you kind of apologized for coming out with a new model while the old one was still in support. The reasoning was the arrival of 5G which I could kind of understand though I have no use for it myself.
What is the reasoning this time? Did I miss it anywhere?
A lot of issues that arose with FP3 and FP4 were never adressed:
FP4 bootloader and bricking
Camera firmware that made delays huge and snapping pictures awfully clunky (FP3, + and 4)
Slow security updates and Android upgrades (compared to Google, won’t accept comparisons to Samsung etc.)
Lack of Titan Chipset - This (to my limited understanding) is a big part - as well as the last point - as to why there is no GrapheneOS support. While I appreciate the development team being difficult to work with at times, it is something a lot of people have been asking for, as well as probably best-practice to begin with. Was this something you looked into at all since it is Open Source?
Feel free to add questions below or answer mine in case I just missed something.
I really want to like and support what you do and would really appreciate an answer!
Note that although Fairphone employees do have accounts on this Forum, you’re unlikely to get an official answer here. (It appears you want one since you were talking to Fairphone directly.) For that better contactsupport. This Forum is mostly for discussions and support within the Fairphone user community.
Hi and welcome,
just note this is a user forum, so if you are seeking for FPs reponse when you say “you” please contactsupport
The “why now” question was addressed in detail here
and should you understand German Eva explained it in a podcast I shared somewhere(there is simultaneous translation, which makes is difficult to listen to the original EN statement)
I’ve said this before at least once or twice elsewhere, so forum regulars can feel free to ignore me. I think it’s easy to just focus on one’s own situation and say that the FP4 should still be good, so the FP5 is a bit of a waste.
In my case, I’ve just ordered my first FairPhone, and getting one right at the beginning of a support lifespan seems a lot more responsible than getting one that’s already a few years in. On a similar note, if someone has been holding their FP2 together with duct tape and roofing tar for a few years now, the same thing might apply.
There are plenty of other explanations, but that one wraps it up neatly for me. Most customers don’t actually buy a new thing each time the vendor releases a new generation, but not everyone needs a new one at the same time.