The Fairphone (Gen. 6)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Hardware privacy switches & offline mode

  • Strong interest from some for physical kill switches: full radio “airplane mode”, and especially hard switches for mic/cameras.
  • Use cases cited: attending protests, avoiding location dragnet/geofence warrants, general principle of minimizing surveillance even if not doing anything “wrong”.
  • Counter-arguments:
    • Risk at protests is a political problem more than a technical one; leaving the phone at home is more effective than partial mitigation.
    • Truly needing this level of protection is niche; engineering cost unlikely to “double market potential”.
    • If you don’t trust power-off, you’d also have to electrically verify any claimed hardware switch.

Operating systems, security, and GrapheneOS

  • Fairphone 6 is available with /e/OS (microG-based) as an alternative to stock Android; some users report painless installs and good daily use.
  • Several people want official GrapheneOS support. GrapheneOS developers explain Fairphone devices lack key hardware security requirements (secure element, memory tagging, timely firmware/driver updates, relockable bootloader).
  • Fairphone is characterized as “as insecure as most non-flagship Android phones,” while GrapheneOS targets significantly higher threat models, currently only feasible on Pixels and possibly a future custom device.

Modularity, size, and repairability

  • Questions about how modular the FP6 remains; site mentions 12 modules and spare parts are listed, but technical descriptions (e.g., dimensions) are inconsistent and frustrate some.
  • Several users emphasize that the most sustainable option is to keep using existing phones; multiple people report long, successful use of FP3/FP4 with battery and module replacements.
  • Some want smaller, compact phones; others argue this is a personal preference, not a universal requirement.

Ports, USB, and missing features

  • Loss of USB 3.0/DisplayPort (present on Fairphone 5) is a major disappointment for those wanting convergence/desktop mode or AR glasses; some call it a dealbreaker at this price.
  • Debate over whether this is a fringe feature Fairphone can drop vs. a key differentiator for a niche, enthusiast-oriented brand.
  • Complaints about lack of headphone jack, AV1 hardware decode, and only 8GB RAM for a phone intended to last many years.
  • New battery/back design with screws weakens the “hot-swappable battery” use case.

Camera quality

  • Several comments say the main camera still underperforms: washed-out colors, inconsistent focus, and underwhelming “50MP” output despite pixel-binning, even with the proprietary camera app.