5 Years Fairphone: Everyday-Use Review + Camera Demo :^)

[@UndineAlmani]

*YOUR QUESTIONS HERE:* Should I do an in-depth tech review testing various specs of the FP4? I feel it's a little late for that and I'm sorry I could not find the time before. But if you want one I'll do it. Please post your questions for such a video below or what tests you'd like me to perform. So far I am thinking: - wifi speed and GPS real-time test - camera demo in bad lighting measuring SNR etc. - mic test - call quality test - battery life vs. daily usage plot

[@alan_core]

I am interested in the quality of the screen 🤔

[@Fairphone]

love it :) Thanks for the great video!

[@UndineAlmani]

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

[@pablograciasanchez1251]

Jesucristo le ama muchísimo, arrepiéntete de tus pecados y ten perdón de pecados en Su Nombre

[@HelderPereirajsp]

Hey @fairphone , send her a new FP5... 8k views...

[@etherbeans]

lol I wasn't expecting to be called out for being a full stack dev

[@UndineAlmani]

Count me in 😅 my last project was full stack including a piece of shit SQL interface... I even made a nice no lag web frontend for the dumb thing. I was humbled though when I met a GUI girly. The stuff she could do with her hands 😱

[@Arcane-Axis]

@@UndineAlmani Haha, sounds like quite the adventure! Full stack with a side of SQL shenanigans, huh? But hey, kudos on wrangling that unruly beast into a shiny web frontend! 😅 And meeting a GUI guru? That's like finding a unicorn in a coding jungle! It's always humbling to see someone weave magic with their fingers, isn't it? 🪄✨ Well, keep on coding and learning from the wizards and witches of the tech world! Who knows, maybe you'll conjure up your own GUI masterpiece next time! 🎨🚀

[@leostyle97playlist12]

Caught me off guard as well, but she was right :) shitty front end developer I am haha

[@gregcampwriter]

I went with a Pixel 6 Pro and CalyxOS, since there are some apps that I need on my phone, and that combination worked the best. But Fairphone was among the options I gave serious consideration to. It's good to see that the big data collectors, I mean, device makers like Apple and Google are facing meaningful competition.

[@UndineAlmani]

Now I am curious what apps those are? With all the google stuff on FP.... yeah, I mean you can run Graphene and have it nice and contained, is that what you are referring too?

[@gregcampwriter]

@@UndineAlmani I'm on the road a lot, so I need audiobook apps. At the time I was looking, Libby, Librivox, and Audible were only available through the Apple or Google stores--I can, of course, get into the latter through Aurora. But if there's a way around this setup, it's above my level of skill.

[@user-bf5qh3ih4u]

Meaningful competition might be overstating it a tiny bit.

[@gregcampwriter]

@@user-bf5qh3ih4u Meaningful competition as in there are viable alternatives.

[@mbahmarijan789]

I wish someone doing video like this for fairphone 5

[@powerdollkirby]

finally a realistic review

[@alan_core]

I have the same Beyerdynamic, I can't live without them to listen to my FLAC files.

[@UndineAlmani]

I just wanted some decent headphones cause I needed a reference for the videos' audio quality... Everyone kept telling me it was awful, and I started wondering if those people just had crappy headphones. And I was right mostly 🙈🙈🙈

[@alan_core]

@@UndineAlmani Yep, the audio of your videos is very good and clean

[@UndineAlmani]

Thanks! 🙏🏼

[@electionmaster4898]

I really like firephone and the ability to take the battery out of the phone, but unfortunately I'm stuck on Google Pixel. The thing is that Graphene OS is the only operating system that gives you the ability to install Google services but not give them any privileges on the smartphone, as well as other applications (and even disable their internet or other permissions) and this OS is only on the Pixel. Overall the Fairphone is a very romantic phone, somewhat reminiscent of ThinkPad or Framework, maybe I will consider it as my next one (in 5-7 years if it still exists by then) About the camera, I might sound like a google fanboy (no, I hate that company), but have you tried installing google camera? Nerds make it modifications for every phone, you can try the "Wichaya" mod, fairphone owners say it works well on Fairphone 4. Btw, thanks for the cool videos! There are so many of them lately, I take it these are old videos for paid subscribers? (In your vlog a few videos ago, you referenced the line about your husband installing linage OS).

[@UndineAlmani]

Yes, you got that right! I don't always release them chronologically, cause I forget ... Pixel camera isn't compatible with FP4 so I can't tell, but Pro Shot is good for all I need. Especially no flickering with light indoors, which isn't removable in the normal app where I can't choose a frame rate and 25 fps (to make it compatible with Sony footage that's also 25 fps by default.... It's stuff like that, I just don't have time to fuck around with it. I think I should opt for a Google free phone but I just don't have time for it at the moment and it's not a priority as I don't store much sensitive data on my phone and I don't have private conversations online in any way either. I only use it for work / KZbin...

[@Poulton64]

Have you used or thought about using murena e/os? I am thinking of buying the Fairphone 5 but have never used alternative OS before, and am deciding between cheaper Fairphone with Google or slightly more expensive with Murena. Loved this video, vielen Dank :)

[@UndineAlmani]

I must say that Google is very dominant on FP4 already... It makes it kinda comfortable to use, e.g. if you have Lineage OS, imo the autocorrect/keyboard just sucks. But I mean, Gboard... yeah... it's the Google keylogger I guess. Feels a bit "too good to be used". My husband uses Lineage and I'd say it's at 90% functionality. Some camera stuff, syncing ofc and the keyboard ooof.... I have not been thinking about e/os a lot but heard good things.

[@mortheres]

Not having the mini jack input for audio is kind of deal breaker for me because I use it all the time: with my beyerdynamic headphones and to connect my phone to my electronic drumkit to play music on. Having to buy an adapter for that (or 2 because you always loose one) is entering the bad "adapter game" like Apple or others.

[@UndineAlmani]

Yes, that sucks... I get why they did it but I also think they should've asked their buyers first. That would've been possible

[@Dem0Men]

Hello. I work as TechLead in IT company. I fully support your approach. I love Apple for their hardware and hate for all other things. That's why I also use Android. I had two Xiaomi phones before and have installed two different custom firmwares. They're good enough. Especially Pixel Experience. But it's not as good as official experience with normal flagship devices. I use phone many hours each day. Small increase in quality may be worth a lot. Repairability is important, but my ability to not break also has improved a lot. Glue is hard to deal with, but possible. And modern flagships has really nice extended support. Also phone cameras are not perfect, but they are became better every year. Last Apple Event for example, was recorded with iPhone.

[@CRYPTiCEXiLE]

i like the mid ranger of samsung galaxy cause of the card slot u can put up to 1tb i think on A54 i have a 256gb card + 128gb internal ... i dont even use half , but i dont take much photos .. the card is mainly with ska punk music lol.

[@UndineAlmani]

is the card slot easy access??? like it totally fucks me up that i can't just open the back and take it out. i had samsungs in the past where i could just take the slot out from the side, and nokia had it too, there was a little rubber lid not closing it very tightly, and when i dropped my phone, it would come off lol.... most of the internal memory is actually eaten by all the idiotic pictures i get from family members, memes and shit and whole videos sent on telegram. telegram alone is so full of spam and it is all saved... also like every download you ever take, every video i save from youtube in full resolution, and movies my kid watches on 7h drives or so... ooof. but the reason you would want a big internal memory is because if you run a stock rom or bloated system or install a lot of software and updates, all the low budget phones run out of space fast, cause you can not move the apps to external space. i did in the past with my rooted phones, but it is an issue still in almost all devices, which is crazy, and it is because they want to rip you off with their shitty overpriced internal memory... so with the fairphone at least i get uber-huge internal memory and sd memory on top, don't know how much, i have 512 i think at this moment.

[@CRYPTiCEXiLE]

@@UndineAlmaniyeah well i dont install much apps im a very light user when it comes to mobile i just wnat something that works good and samsung does me fine i dont get flagship i get the A ones and it works good for me for texting and calls, and some social media stuff , web browsing reading the bible etc its not much usage or anything .... i also just use it to play music as well ... something to check the weather cause its bloody cold here in eastern canada and um yeah pretty much it... i dont need much memory as i dont use much stuff on it... its just something for a phone really i use it for and something to kill time on break at work etc.

[@MNHS16]

I chose for the S24 Ultra, because it was very similarly priced and also I fear of the underwhelming battery life. I use my phone a lot and often also on the road. It was kind of disappointing that the battery life was bad. My S24 Ultra lasts 2 days for me. I would so love to have a FP5..

[@UndineAlmani]

Of the FP4? I must say that's the only thing that could be better, but I come from a life with 3 days of battery... So one day was hard. But I barely ever run out and I film videos and edit TikToks on it...

[@AninoNiKugi]

​@@UndineAlmaniFairphone should really sell a fast external battery charger. I know replacing the battery needs turning off the phone but in my opinion, that's still a lot better than being tethered to an outlet or powerbank. There are extenal chargers out there but they are usually slow and hard to find. BTW, my FP4 is running Ubuntu Touch and I actually find its battery good. It can last a whole day with quite heavy use. With light/moderate use, it can last 2 or more.

[@BombCyclone7]

I like that fairphone allows the user to replace and repair parts on the phone. The battery is easy to replace and most of their products is designed with repairable components. It’s a game changer device but sadly it’s not mainstream. EU is mandating all phone manufacturers in 2025-2027 to redesign their products to allow easy replaceable batteries. I am from USA and fairphone isn’t here yet I wish it was!

[@Kiwigucci]

Is it correct that fairphone never need to update?

[@UndineAlmani]

it has rolling updates basically

[@aranperumal]

👍🏾

[@Ryan-ct3rv]

I'd get a fair phone if I could get one in Australia without paying ridiculously high shipping fees. Unfortunately my best option here is to get a pre-owned phone to reduce your impact

[@UndineAlmani]

Makes sense! That is a sensible choice too and I fully support that. I got all my phones 2nd hand and it never bothered me until I started using it for saving videos (not just my own, also yoga stuff etc., I just like to have stuff offline) and somehow that never worked well with stock ROMs and small size internal memory... and I hated glued-in batteries. It just erks me.

[@mystic-xero]

I DON'T know but i like your videos !😐

[@UndineAlmani]

Well, there's enough of them to binge for a week I guess 😅

[@phobiac281]

Hey hey just wanted to day I bought the fairphone 4 I was talking about (real steal for 125eurs) :D. I was wondering did you had CalyxOS installed or not? I am thinking about flashing it but I am sort of nervous because I dont want to brick my phone hahah. If u had experience of doing that I wouldnt mind the help because I am really bad at following instructions (a plane text) and just dont want to destroy the phone.

[@UndineAlmani]

No. I have the shit custom ROM cause I had no time yet :/ But my husband has Lineage on it, he said it was pretty easy to set up. I don't think you need to root it for that but I can ask him how he did it or shoot you a voicemail if you're on instagram.

[@phobiac281]

@@UndineAlmani Do not use instagram or any social media besides yt and discord but will give it a go and pray that i wont brick the phone. If i get stuck theres always reddit XD Tho it does look pretty easy and straight up like flashing of os or linux which ive done before.

[@UndineAlmani]

@phobiac281 Understandable! Good luck!

[@jonabitstream]

my Fairphone 4 can't do voicemail (I have to call in to listen to messages), can't connect to my car's bluetooth (WTF?), and can't do touchless pay. Adding insult to injury, Murena Fairphone has the worst customer service I've ever had. There's no phone number to call them, forcing us to send an email, then wait a week for them to reply (if they reply at all).

[@UndineAlmani]

WTF 😒 that sounds like a "Monday model" ... I can do all of that with mine. Can you contact FP directly? This is awful and I understand your frustration. But it would be key to figure out if it's the hardware...

[@jonabitstream]

@@UndineAlmani according to Murena Fairphone (the US distributor) the voicemail problem rests with my provider Mint Mobile. Yet, my previous Motorola phone worked just fine with Mint's Visual Voicemail. Customer service (after a month of waiting for their email reply) tells me they're "working on" enabling bluetooth connectivity with car audio. And lastly, they told me that they intentionally designed their OS to not work with Google apps like Google Pay. I really wish I'd known these limitations before I bought this phone, especially the bluetooth issue. And while I agree with all your complaints about Apple, one very good thing they do is provide excellent customer service, which is a great comfort to me.

[@UndineAlmani]

So now the vendor is talking shit about the phone when they don't want to fix it, seems legit. I can not answer to all of this, and I can't help you from across the ocean. I get this stuff before coffee and I understand you are pissed. But I am having my coffee now. It is really hard (for you and me) to verify any of this. But I can tell you one thing: FP is way too deep in bed with Google and their phone is optimized for many Google apps. I use fdroid too, which also works seamless, but Google PlayStore and all of this stuff, like built in gboard etc. works natively and without issues. This sounds like a made up thing, as in maybe they can't fix it and want to blame the company (like they usually do with the user). Bluetooth is an international standard. If your car doesn't connect with your phone, that can also be a problem from the side of the car. I can even send bluetooth to apple phones with my FP and I am typing this on my logi keyboard, and it connects to my GPS just fine. Am I in the right bc of that? No. Because I can't tell. I can't see your phone, an I am too far away to help you. Don't hate the company for this. You did a good thing buying a fair product and now you are disappointed, which is understandable. But it does not make it a shitty product, it just makes you one unlucky guy and I am honestly sorry for you that you got fucked for some reason.

[@jonabitstream]

​@@UndineAlmani I'm all about telling my experiences with this device, as are you. I have the email here from Fairphone where they write that the problems I'm having are known issues that they are either "working on" (bluetooth connectivity with Honda Link/no way to get Visual Voicemail via Mint Mobile) or that they have no intention of making work (that would be the Google Pay/NFC failure). Does Google Pay work on your Fairphone? Does Visual Voicemail work on your phone? Have you tried to connect your phone to a car's bluetooth network? If you can't answer these questions, be quiet until you CAN answer them. These are important questions to answer for all Fairphone users.

[@jonabitstream]

@@UndineAlmani Update: just learned that Google Chrome doesn’t work on Fairphone. Not looking good for this device, no, not at all.

[@CRYPTiCEXiLE]

i actually have that same keyboard but in US model lol and the pebble mouse.. but i bought a full size cherry mx brown switch Logitech MX keyboard i paid A LOT for it but man it type so much better than that keyboard... but that is what im doing sitting on the couch running Fedora 40 KDE editon watching this video on a 50inch tv lol ... fairphone seems interesting hmm i use samsung galaxy a54 i quite like it... but this phone seems interesting. thanks for the video. cheers.

[@UndineAlmani]

OMG that mouse looks so cute. It looks like an actual cat toy lmao. I actually would love to have one of those ceramic key caps boards. The ASMR motherfucker ones... oh boy, I could eat that kinda keyboard. But I am too much of a cheapskate and also don't know where to get one XD Thanks for commenting anyway! I can't say anything bad about the better Samsung Galaxys cause I never had one. I guess they are nice and have really black dark pixkels when the screen is actually supposed to be black, which for a while, none of the phones could do... But it's no longer an issue. I do however like Samsung better than Xiaomi etc. Just the handling and look. And the Pixel too seems cool too from the tech specs. I can only say that I am forever done with anything other than FP (unless they do a company philosophy u-turn or something), just because they have won me over by what they offer. I am so happy with that phone and I hated all my phones before it. Maybe it would've been a downgrade from some flagship phone but I never had that, so I don't miss it. That, and the "better camera" (like I got my Sony, I'm good.)

[@CRYPTiCEXiLE]

@@UndineAlmani yeah the pebble is a cool little mouse I really like using it. Now I got the MX keryboard and its moer a darker grey i wish i would of got the mouse grey instead of white oh well.. the mouse is small and it is comfy on the couch too and its not really expensive i had the battery in there that came with it for over a year now still working good, though i do not use it a lot welll not as much as I do on my workstation setup. umm yeah cheers.

[@vlad-rs8pb]

I don't think you suck at everything if you're full stack. I might not be great at SQL sure (because had mininal contact with it), but I can handle .NET on the back end and Ember.js, SCSS on the front end pretty competently within my project. I think when you start to think like an engineer, and not just like a developer, you start to identify the right patterns regardless of environment, language, paradigm etc.. It's not like I'm going to start sucking at F# the moment I start dabbing in SQL and learn more about that -- no, it will just be another tool added to the toolbelt Plus nowadays there's plenty of great standards to be inspired by, so you never have to get _too_ creative

[@UndineAlmani]

idk man, I think to be excellent at something you need a wide range of "surface level knowledge", a wide level of "i could understand it if I really wanted to" and one area that you focus most of your energy on. imo that can not be both backend, frontend and intersec/integration or web... I mean, unless you're a genius, but then you're also an outlier and need to be omitted. I'd go as far as saying that I'm pretty decent at GUI dev, but honestly, it's just not my domain and I accept that there are some weird ass GUI gods out there, and they accept that their backend dev spiel isn't at competitive levels either... So I agree with you by the way, about the engineering mindset. If you know where to look and what to look for, you can master so many skills. But just because life is short and there are other things too... at some level life makes you pick one over the other. Or maybe I just suck, idk :D

[@vlad-rs8pb]

​@@UndineAlmani You are never going to be excellent, or even as good at every single thing at once, that is true. But you can have working/professional knowledge in multiple domains. By professional knowledge I don't mean hacking stuff together in a senseless way. I do have my metrics and standards regarding readability, test-ability, robustness, organization etc.. I think regardless of the "end" you're working on, researching and applying current best practices is more than enough to do a satisfying job. Thankfully, for 99% of day to day development problems there are solutions that other people thought really hard about for a really long time, so the burden on us commoners is not that big :D

[@UndineAlmani]

@vlad-rs8pb yes! I agree 👍🏼 and I think it's really good to think outside the box and acquire knowledge from that very outside... I just have a hard time with the idea of full stack dev, cause I think it's not really a thing, it's more optics and am I wrong or do most of us just do full stack because they're asked to and not because they enjoy it? 🙈🙈 Again generalizing a bit, just want to hear what's your experience

[@vlad-rs8pb]

@@UndineAlmani For me, being on one side for too long can get a bit dull, so I really appreciate being able to switch things up every once in a while. What I really enjoy about programming is designing and organizing, and solving problems elegantly. And you can do that on any side

[@tomzeru]

Will you review Fairphone 5 ?

[@UndineAlmani]

If they send me one I'd review any Fairphone

[@tomzeru]

@@UndineAlmani You could always ask :p I've heard it's not that solid nor efficient.. I find it more to be a value choice than a performance choice. Maybe it shows that every phone are underpriced regarding the sourcing of their components

[@UndineAlmani]

@tomzeru I can try. I see it the same way. If I want performance, I use a large camera. It outsmarts absolutely every phone already. From the "viewing shit" perspective, I just don't care enough rep rate etc. I see a phone - I see a tiny display and text neck...

[@Ali.al0sh]

it's not available in Libya or middle east or north Africa

[@UndineAlmani]

Maybe in those companies it is better to get a refurbished phone then. That is sustainable too. I mean, you want to be able to get the spare parts too if you drop it or something breaks.

[@tommichalcik]

Nice video. You mention that you do not need mobile with good camera or battery etc... because you have your Sony Alpha. How much it cost ? I really like concept but its not yet there. I want good camera in mobile so i do not have to buy your Sony which si most probably not ecologic product at all and much more expensive. Maybe camera was not good argument. You say "fuck them". Well... (to how many products we use, we can say that...) I however..., am still thinking if i will replace my Samsung with products like Fairphone. For now it feels like downgrade like in camera case.

[@UndineAlmani]

You don't need a Sony Alpha to shoot private snapshots. The Fairphone camera isn't actually bad or anything (for reference, see the vlog I filmed solely on the Fairphone). My point is that people have the audacity to criticize it as not good enough, yet they do not have a real justified need for pro quality, and on top on that, other phones are also not at a competitive level, if you are looking for that. If you want to film videos for a living, no phone is good for that. But if you want a normal phone that works, the Fairphone is perfectly fine. If you want to take okay pictures in not completely dark rooms with no weird artificial lighting, then it does well. Oh, and not even the latest full format sensor Sony will do good in a shitty lit room anyway... the body costs between 1.5-2k depending on the model. Mine was less than that in a bundle, cause I do not need the newest (same argument btw. cause it does not make that huge of a difference, but if you look, you can always find "something"). If you want to take decent photos with a small camera, buy an RX 100, not an Alpha. It is not needed for that. If you want to take epic photos and videos, like nature wildlife amazing blow your mind epic, you need something better than an Alpha. A camera is on all levels a more sustainable product than a phone. Vastly more e-waste comes from thrown away phones. Labor conditions are worse because of the crazy demand, there is no repairability while there are always repair centers for camera, and there always have been, can't say that for most phones, if your XIaomi breaks, it's officially e-waste, it can maybe still repaired, but the vendor doesn't give a shit, unlike with expensive cameras (although it is not ideal yet, but still way better). DSLR and mirrorless Cameras come with a range of long-lasting long-time-compatible lenses you can use for many years. Most people don't use a camera for

[@tommichalcik]

@@UndineAlmani appreciate this long response. You do not agree that better phone means better camera which i do think -> for a lot of people is sufficient and they do not need separate camera. Maybe the way to look at that is that for the most people use case really is with all in one scenario -> one good phone. Does not need to be flagship at all. But subpar hardware / software limitations is what still makes it bad e.g. for example also Linux (dont kill me) is reason why it is still not mainstream (i do hope at one point it will...). That said, by no means i am here to fight each your argument and am not in position to spend a lot of effort to compare what is good and bad with Fairphone. Just felt at the moment, to point out some logic issues with which i personally, do not agree. 👍

[@UndineAlmani]

Yes, I basically see 2 opposing use cases: 1. You just want to take snapshots now and then → no professional camera needed. Fairphone good enough. 2. You want to be some sort of professional creator → camera needed anyway. No need to shame Fairphone for not being a Sony Alpha. Camera still good enough for when your battery runs out or snapshots and everyday life stuff. But maybe there is 3, the "compromise cheapo"... aka "Hm... I think a Sony is too pricy, but I want to splurge on a phone..." and for some reason they don't want to buy a used phone or support a fair company, idk... that's the part I try to understand. Cause to me it is like: I spend money on a cause, not a product. And most people neither get a fair phone nor a fair (used) camera. So they can at least be inspired to do one of those, no? The thing for me, why I am not (anymore) in the "compromise cheapo" group, is because it's not really that cheap. Aka, yes I spent 500 on my FP4. But it gives me piece of mind. A Galaxy, even used, would have been much cheaper, and if I drop it in water, it is fried, I can not repair it anymore, I can't even take out the battery fast enough to avoid damage (yes, that works). That is too high and too avoidable of a risk for me. The money spent on the camera is also non negotiable, and just compared to my hiking gear, it's really not that pricey anymore actually. A tent, a car, all my jackets cost more over the years, and I had that camera since 2020 or 21 now... Just an example, as this is sustainable to me. (And I know, some creators get new shit each year, but I don't support that.) I think one mistake you are making is assuming that it's really a crappy phone for some reason, but it's not... like there are some fair products that are shit, but this is not it. The FP2 was kinda bad. But the 4 and 5 are really up to standards. What I have a problem with is that people don't see that you pay for it to be fair, so it actually should be compared to like a 200€ phone, not another 500€ phone. Because that phone is just based on child labor and shit. I also have a fair mouse and it is a really great product. It has some minor flaws, like no bluetooth lol... but honestly, I don't care, at home. No need to fight every point. I am also not trying to do that now, just saying that some thoughts can be questioned from different sides. E.g. I get that cameras are not sustainable, but I am not saying everyone should get one. I am saying: If you have the money and you can buy a fair phone when you get a new one, buy it. Especially if all you take is shaky cat pics, cause you won't see the difference. And the few moments where you would, are negligible against the overall benefit/cause. Sure, that is activism, but that is kinda my point. :D

[@mdvhimself]

listen to your husband, and join the lineageos clan

[@UndineAlmani]

you don't hear him complaining when all his shit lags again though... i gotta invite him to a live and quiz him on lineage :D

[@TheBeardedLibertarian]

So not a apple fan girl 😂😂😂😂😂