Fairphone 5

The Fairphone 5 is built around a principle no other smartphone manufacturer takes seriously: you should be able to repair your own phone with a screwdriver and parts ordered online for under $50. The back cover pops off without tools. Battery, screen, camera module, USB-C port, and speaker are each individually replaceable modules held by standard Phillips screws. Repair guides live on Fairphone's website, and every component is sold directly. When the battery degrades after 2 years, you spend $30 and 10 minutes instead of $300 at a service center or buying a new phone. Conflict-free minerals and fair trade gold go into the circuit boards. Each phone ships with a supply chain transparency report mapping exactly where cobalt, tungsten, and tin originated. Specs are mid-range for 2024: Qualcomm QCM6490, 8 GB RAM, 50-megapixel camera. Fine for everything except heavy gaming. The 6.46-inch OLED runs at 90Hz, and near-stock Android comes with 8 years of security updates. Fairphone is honest about trade-offs. Thicker than an iPhone, camera not competitive with flagship Samsung or Pixel, modular design means some water resistance compromises. But a phone you can keep 5-7 years by swapping parts produces less waste than a sealed device replaced every 2. At 699 euros the math works if you actually use the repairability. This approach remains unusual in 2025 says more about the industry than about Fairphone. I want to see what happens when EU Right to Repair legislation forces others to compete on the same terms.