Fairphone is a Dutch electronics manufacturer that designs and produces

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s with the goal of having a lower

environmental footprint The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...

and better

social impact Social impact may refer to: * Social impact assessment * Social impact theory * Social influence Social influence comprises the ways in which individuals adjust their behavior to meet the demands of a social environment. It takes many forms and c ...

than is common in the industry. In particular, the company aims to minimize the use of

conflict minerals The eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has a history of conflict, where various armies, rebel groups, and outside actors have profited from mining while contributing to violence and exploitation during wars in the region. The four mai ...

in its devices, maintain fair labor conditions for its workforce and suppliers, and allow users to maintain their own devices. The company was founded in 2013 as a

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

with the support of the Waag Society, and is based in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, the Netherlands. , the company's most recent model is the

Fairphone 4 Fairphone 4 is a smartphone designed and marketed by Fairphone. It succeeds the Fairphone 3+. It was announced on September 30, 2021, and available for order from October 25, 2021. Major upgrades from the predecessor include bigger display, bet ...

, a

modular smartphone A modular smartphone is a smartphone made using components that can be independently upgraded or replaced as modules. This aims to reduce electronic waste, lower repair costs and increase user comfort. The most important component is the main boar ...

which supports 5G connectivity, has dual 48MP cameras with

optical image stabilization Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure. Generally, it compensates for pan and tilt (angular movement, equivalent to yaw and pit ...

, an IP54 rating and MIL810G drop test certification. It's only being sold in Europe. The purpose of modularity is to make the phone easily repairable and customisable by the user, and therefore longer-lasting. According to the company, increasing the lifespan of a phone by two years reduces CO₂ emissions by 30%.

History

Fairphone was founded by

Bas van Abel Fairphone is a Dutch electronics manufacturer that designs and produces smartphones with the goal of having a lower environmental footprint and better social impact than is common in the industry. In particular, the company aims to minimize the ...

, Tessa Wernink and Miquel Ballester as a social enterprise company in January 2013, having existed as a campaign for two and a half years. The company states on its website that it "designs and produces smartphones with minimal harm to society and the environment". In April 2015 the company became a registered

B Corporation In the United States, a benefit corporation (or in several jurisdictions including Delaware, a public-benefit corporation or PBC) is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, that include ...

. Since version two the Fairphone is produced in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, China, by Hi-P International Limited. Fairphone's founder Bas van Abel acknowledged in 2017 that it was currently impossible to produce a 100% fair phone, suggesting it was more accurate to call his company's phones "fairer". As of February 2022, Fairphone had sold around 400,000 devices.

Products

Price

The Fairphones are priced in the middle of the range of mobile phone prices; for example, the Fairphone 4 in 2022 was priced from €579.

Similar products

The

Shiftphone Shiftphone is a modular, easy to repair smartphone created by the company SHIFT in Germany. The company emphasizes fair trade and ecology similar to Fairphone. Instead of tantalum capacitors made from coltan, ceramic capacitors are used for t ...

is another small mobile telephone manufacturer with focus on sustainability, and also developed a modular smartphone. The founder of Shiftphone considers that the two companies working in collaboration could have more influence on bigger competitors.

Recognition and certifications

Tessa Wernink (right) receiving the Tech5 award at The Next Web Conference 2015 In 2015, Fairphone – a certified

benefit corporation In the United States, a benefit corporation (or in several jurisdictions including Delaware, a public-benefit corporation or PBC) is a type of for-profit corporate entity, authorized by 35 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, that include ...

– won the award for fastest-growing European tech startup at The Next Web conference.

Fairphone 2 The Fairphone 2 is a touchscreen-based, dual-SIM smartphone designed to be easily repaired by the user. First released in December 2015, it was the first modular smartphone available for purchase and has since received both hardware improvement ...

was the first smartphone to be awarded with a 10/10 score at iFixit for repairability and the first mobile phone to receive Blue Angel certification. In 2016, Fairphone's founder and first CEO Bas van Abel was one of the three recipients of the German Environmental Award. In 2019, Fairphone won the Partnership Of The Year prize at the Responsible Business Awards.

Operating systems

Fairphones can run several operating systems, including CalyxOS, DivestOS, /e/, iodeOS,

LineageOS LineageOS is an Android-based operating system for smartphones, tablet computers, and set-top boxes, with mostly free and open-source software. It is the successor to CyanogenMod, from which it was forked in December 2016, when Cyanogen Inc. a ...

Ubuntu Touch Ubuntu Touch is a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system, being developed by the UBports community. Its user interface is written in Qt, and is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, ...

, and more. Companies associated with e foundation also sell Fairphones with /e/ included, but Ron Amadeo at ars Technica in April 2020 warned /e/ users, "they'll most likely be on an old version of Android".

References

External links

* {{Use British English, date=June 2017 Fair trade brands Smartphones Mobile phone manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Amsterdam Dutch brands Modular smartphones