And that has been the case for a number of years already, indeed. Not just the latest greatest stuff. But for a modular phone things are harder to get an IP68 rating. For that you really need a tight seal. I think the IP54 rating is already quite impressive.
1 Like
I stand corrected! There is clearly more of a market than I realized. Still, it would not be a deal-maker for me; I would prefer convenient access over demanding environmental sealing. Where I to need that, I would probably look to another solution (an external housing for instance).
1 Like
How come then that Samsung Xcover 4 and 5 can achive IP68 with an easy removable backplate and a removable battery? Magic?
Making the battery removable is the easy part. Creating a waterproof seal around other components (such as display, cameras etc.) without the use of glue is not.
5 Likes
Itās indeed the least companies can do. But for some reason they think we want a glass back cover.
2 Likes
No, I donāt
1 Like
Itās the use of the word āweā that provokes the problem. Iām sure many, if not more people that spend high end, where thereās a lot of profit, do want a āsmartā phone. And by smart that can be the latest fashion of a silky smooth back cover of glass.
Criteria for most I imagine is
- phone works
- phone lasts for a few years
- phone looks good for a few years
- price: may include options to change batteries and more
I go along with that with the caveat that at the top of the list I put Fair trade and battery before looks.
3 Likes
Maybe, but I hardly see people without a plastic protective case around their phone. 
So I donāt see why companies keep pushing glass back covers, which inherently make it difficult to open them.
2 Likes
Probably as most companies donāt want user management of the hardware. Itās probably cheaper to use glue and less warranty request from DIY people.
1 Like
I do agree that glass back covers are annoying, especially if the arenāt flat and go over the edge.
And imagine the already slippery frame of the FP4 combined with a slippery glass back, oooff 
But glass back covers donāt have to be difficult to open. My Nexus 4 has one and itās easy to remove with just 2 (normal sized torx) screws, not that much harder than the FP4 backcover. And it didnāt get damaged once in almost 10 years of usage (without a case), canāt say that for the front screen.
So itās possible to make 'em serviceable, manufacturers just donāt care as @anon9989719 allready said.
2 Likes
For me a screen that has a broader brightness range would be great. The current screen canāt go very low and high on brightness. Now that the sun starts shining I notice that the screen isnāt ideal to read. And at night the screen is too bright at the lowest setting.
Size of the FP4 could be around 6". The iPhone 13 has the size just right.
WiFi6E would be nice to sync my Nextcloud faster at home. Also more reliable connection.
Stronger vibration motor.
Nice to haves:
OLED to have an always on display.
Maybe an extra camera for zooming. And a better sensor for low light.
2 Likes
For me the biggest one would be better camera/camera software.
Before getting FP4 i thought a better processor would be big, but it seems OK for now. Better processor is definitely something for extending the longevity of the phone though.
Wireless charging.
Bigger battery.
2 Likes
If there would ever be a fairphone 5 / 4 pro / 4 plus or something, I have some ideas for it (you donāt have to take them seriously its just my preference)
-
OLED&HDR screen
-
Optical zoom
-
Not a better camera in terms of specs, but just better colour accuracy, less noise, etc
-
Smaller bezels?
-
Maybe a headphone jack?
-
I know it is difficult with the repearibility and such, but maybe a bit lighter, it is a very heavy phone.
-
Gorilla Glass Victus
-
IP68 rating?
1 Like
Idea: Make the new fairphones in the same shape as the fairphone 4, so you can upgrade your fairphone 4 with fairphone 5/4+ parts
I donāt know if this is already the plan but it would be great!
5 Likes
IĀ“ve added that āpreviousā above inside the quote ā¦ cause ā¦
From my point of view itĀ“s less important if itĀ“s for the upcoming FP 5, ā¦ or 6, 7 ā¦
ItĀ“s a great vision!
LetĀ“s image:
Something inside your device got broken or terribly outdated and you want to replace it.
Maybe not with the same module from years ago when your device was published - nah, something better and more up-to-date.
Dream a little bot more with me and compare it roughly with a good old desktop system.
CPU died ?
Or a better graphics card out there?
ā¦ some to several versions higher?
LetĀ“s just replace that thingy and upgrade your device cause ā¦ you can!
Yes, I know IĀ“dreaming a bit 
ā¦ but ā¦
Terribly interesting idea ā¦ I want to see this come alive before I die!
Yeah that was my idea, maybe this is indeed a better place for it.
Yeah or you can just pick and chose the components you want, like a good display (maybe OLED?) but you donāt care as much about the camera so you add a worse camera.
Maybe also look at the company Framework, who is doing this but for laptops
That dream is a nice one but it is as old as Fairphoneās modular devices. You can search the forum for older discussions about this and youāll find reasons why this remained a dream until now. Main reasons have always been different interfaces of components which you cannot easily make fitting with the older ones. In computers thatās not a big issue because you have plenty of room but with compact devices as smartphones thatās a completely different story. Some things might change sometime in the future but I fear weāre not yet there, so I wouldnāt expect too much here in the FP5 - yet .
3 Likes
Well, realistically even for (desktop) computers exchanging central parts (like motherboard and CPU) is a more or less theoretical option, if the machine is older than 4-5 years.
For example new CPU sockets make new CPUs incompatible to the old mainboard, SSD form factors change (e.g. 2.5" drives seem to be declinign) etc.
And when it comes to notebooks, things donāt become easierā¦
So I also guess it makes sense to keep this on the list of strategic long-term goals.
4 Likes
They told me on Facebook, that they are against it, because it is so energy inefficient.
I liked it a lot in my car or next to my bed.
1 Like
I know, all these eco freaks, just sticking to Fairtrade would have been so simple.
Still no matter how crazy I think that is, Fairphone is the only fair phone on the market, so the rest is tolerated joke. But Fair Trade is no joke.
We all exploit the planet but only some of use exploit specific people, which we are in control of, to a degree.
More fair trade and if that includes a wirelss charger Iām all for it: not that I want one 