Fairphone 6 is switching to a new design that's even more sustainable
62 comments
·June 23, 2025godelski
ZeroWidthJoiner
The backside fingerprint reader could even be used as an input device on some models for scrolling, or pulling down/up the notification bar. Great for scrolling through content or swiping through screens without having to cover your display for gesture input: https://www.androidauthority.com/miss-rear-fingerprint-scann...
rtaylorgarlock
Exactly--this plus the usability original commenter communicated made this why I did so much work to keep my Pixel 3 alive for so long. I still think about the rear fingerprint sensor after a Pixel 3 -> pixel 6 -> S21 Ultra -> S24 Ultra journey, and further how much fun i had back in the ROM + kernel + modding + undervolting days.
snapplebobapple
Have you tried phones with it on the power button? That was the best for me by far.
nicoburns
> Fastest way to unlock your phone, because no matter how slow the fingerprint reader is you activate it while pulling it out of your pocket.
You can also do this with under-screen fingerprint readers which are excellent these days.
aceazzameen
I have never been able to unlock my under-screen fingerprint reader by taking it out of my pocket. This is because the reader isn't in a good position when the phone is in my pocket. Yes, it's where my thumb is when properly holding my phone, but my grip is different when pulling the phone out of my pocket. My older phone with the reader on the back had my index finger in position before I even attempted to take out of my pocket. It was slower at reading my prints, but was always unlocked before I looked at the screen.
I'd love to use the old phone for so many reasons, but the lack of updates has rendered it useless. No Lineage or Graphene for that one either.
godelski
Plus you can feel it on the back which gives you natural feedback
godelski
Never worked out quite as well for me. There's no tactile feel, which is more important than people give credit for, especially when grabbing something without looking.
Plus, as others are pointing out, there's additional benefits
RandomBacon
Usually you can't place your finger in the just the rigbt spot when blindly frabbing the phone from your pocket.
I loved the rear fingerprint reader on my old Nexus 5X.
jcalx
My main gripe with fingerprint sensors on the back is that it's easy to inadvertently smudge the camera lens when unlocking the phone. Some phones have/had fingerprint unlock on the side power button which is similarly convenient, although I actually don't mind the underscreen sensors that are most common these days. I do appreciate being able to sneak a peek at my phone by discreetly unlocking it at very oblique angles that aren't possible with Face ID.
godelski
That's more a design failure of the camera system, not the fingerprint reader. You can have the best of both worlds here.
stavros
I do the same with the sensor being on the lock button, why does it have to specifically be the back?
godelski
Hold your phone. Where does your index finger sit?
stavros
Are we talking about holding the phone, or about taking it out of my pocket? Because, for the latter, my fingers are on the sides, including on the power button.
lawn
The thumb works well enough with the finger print scanner to the side IMHO.
rustyminnow
Who said it has to be on the back? Bro said that's what he prefers over Face ID, maybe just has never had one on the lock button.
godelski
I have. Better than FaceID and under screen but I still prefer on the back. It had other benefits and just felt nicer than in the lock button
stavros
If it doesn't have to be on the back, he can just buy a phone with a fingerprint reader on the side today.
Bluestein
> fingerprint reader on the back of the phone
Seconded, vehemently.-
My humble, tiny, circa-2014 Elephone E1 (RIP) was unsurpassed.-
Me wonders if the "onscreen reader" is not an integration-cost cutting measure, as it saves one part?
jerlam
Another plus: you could swipe down on the fingerprint reader for additional actions, like seeing your notifications.
aidenn0
It's not exactly a flagship phone, but the Unihertz Jelly Max has a fingerprint reader on the back.
smallerfish
The problem with Unihertz though is that they lose interest in fixing software bugs approximately 5 minutes after lauching new phones. And, based on my experience, they tend to launch with a lot of bugs.
strangecasts
Was lucky enough to get my Fairphone 4 on sale, but I'd happily pay full price now - even though the Fairphones are pricey for the specs, unless you absolutely need 24 cores etc. I'd say they are worth it, knowing the company is at least trying to improve the parts supply chain, and knowing you stand a chance of fixing the devices yourself (luckily I've only had to replace the USB-C port, which was trivial)
About the only thing I'd ding Fairphone on is not communicating earlier that they were having trouble getting Android 14 out to the FP4s, but the security patches have been consistent.
(Okay I'm also dinging them on getting rid of the headphone jack, yes I know it's a lost cause... )
bombela
The removal of the phone jack is so obviously planned obsolescence, it is ironic that this project for sustainability follows the trend.
Wired headphones still have better sound quality. Don't need charging. Don't break with software update. But because of that it means less consumption.
Think about how insane it is that companies can remove the phone jack and glue in the battery with the very obvious goal of planned obsolescence. And this is legal.
jack_pp
I don't think it's about planned obsolescence. It's about cutting costs and having one less hole water can get in.
Also wired headphones are a very niche market. If you care so much there are wireless DACs that can feed your wired headphones better than any phone in history.
chaosharmonic
My hotter take is that this is the same problem as IR blasters, and relative to the old normal -- when device makers like LG were specifically advertising how awesome their built-in DAC was -- this whole thing could be solved in a much more elegant, flexible way if anyone at all would just give us a second fucking USB port.
winternewt
How do they avoid lossy compression?
KingOfCoders
After years of a Fairbuds XL (never again!) and Bose QC for my Zoom sessions, I've ordered a Sony MDR-7506 because it does not need to be charged, and bluetooth doesn't need to be reconnected etc. Hurray for headphone jacks.
exabrial
+1 for headphone jack. At least they got the MicroSD correct!
onli
Not really a lost cause in general, there are a bunch of regular phones that have a headphone jack. But fairphone seems unwilling to listen to all the feedback they are getting telling them this is a blocker, so yes, in that way it is a lost cause there.
A shame really.
lawn
I've been very happy with my Fairphone 4 that I've had for 4 years now running CalyxOS.
I could probably use it for a few more years but I may upgrade to the 6 if the speakers/microphone are better (and to support the company).
TheCraiggers
Still wish I could actually buy one. I know the market for a phone like this is probably quite small in the USA, but I'd still love having the option.
Fingers are still crossed that the upcoming announcement mentions other countries.
BlackjackCF
I heard about Fairphones and really wanted one. I was disappointed to find that they have poor support in the US.
TheCraiggers
I think by 'poor' you mean 'none'? Last I knew if you bought one in the USA (from eBay, having a friend ship it to you, etc) you have zero support from Fairphone. There was actually an entry in a FAQ about this.
I can't blame them, I just wish it were different.
NewJazz
Yeah hard to justify a repairable phone when sourcing parts for repairs is going to be a major headache :/
Spunkie
Still no headphone jack makes this a nonstarter, lame.
msgodel
They should switch to an SOC with mainline Linux support so you don't have to throw it out in three years.
jacek
> They should switch to an SOC with mainline Linux support so you don't have to throw it out in three years.
Starting 20th of June this year (so 3 days ago) every new phone released in European Union will need to have software updates for at least 5 years from the date of the end of placement on the market. This might be the first one released under new regulations. Also looking at Fairphone's history it looks like they really support their phones for a long time.
msgodel
The problem is that it's not really up to Fairphone. Qualcomm and Google have to collaborate to provide the artifacts that Fairphone packages and signs for their devices. If for any reason they're unable or unwilling to do that there's nothing Fairphone can do. (and they have pretty consistently failed to do this after just a couple years. In the past it sounds like Fairphone has managed to hack around it with varying degrees of success.)
This is why using SOCs with poor support and closed drivers like this is a terrible idea.
ppseafield
Which SoC should they switch to? Google's Pixel phones for Android 16's release just updated[0] their kernels to 6.1, which means the bleeding edge kernel version for Android phones is a release from December 2022. What Qualcomm SoCs are supported by this kernel, and how fast are they?
[0] https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-linux-6-1-android-15-...
msgodel
If the drivers were upstreamed it would be supported by the latest kernel.org kernel even before release.
AFAIK outside the Pinephone and Liberem 5 no hardware manufacturers explicitly target this and only 10 year+ old Qualcomm (other vendors such as Freescale tend to behave much better) SOCs have open source graphics drivers because the SOC vendors themselves often refuse to support their own hardware.
Google is able to do this because they build their own SOCs (probably because they got tired of being jerked around by Qualcomm) but still don't merge their stuff upstream (or at least they don't last I checked.)
tetris11
> Snapdragon 7s Gen 3
GPU: Adreno 810
- 895-1050
- 256 shaders
CPU cores: 8
- 1x2500 (Cortex-A720)
- 3x2400 (Cortex-A720)
- 4x1800 (Cortex-A520)
pkulak
Man, would I ever love to buy one of these. But last I checked, even if you import to the USA, you won't have most of the bands you need. :(
exabrial
ahhh I wish GrapheneOS was supported on these!
onli
CalyxOS support Fairphones. It is a better option anyway, also supports bootloader relocking etc.
dsr_
Is the combination proof against pre-unlock attacks with Cellebrite?
(I would like the answer to be yes, and I would like the answer to be yes for many more phones and OS combos. I don't think it is.)
icy
Really wish they’d make a 5,5” version of this. Desperately holding on to my 13 mini.
neoromantique
Manufactured entirely in China and no headphone jack, that's a pass for me.
pkulak
I'm curious to know your current phone that passes that test.
guerrilla
TINA.
ElijahLynn
Does it have QI2 wireless charging?
article doesn't mention if it does, does not
They mention the Pixel and I just got to say, I wish someone would bring back the fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. That was seriously the best solution. Fastest way to unlock your phone, because no matter how slow the fingerprint reader is you activate it while pulling it out of your pocket. I honestly don't get why people like Face ID more (what I currently use). Someone, please bring this back