The Dutch smartphone maker was recognized by iFixit for its “winning formula” of “modularity paired with easy access to all major components.”
Fairphone, which was founded 10 years ago, make smartphones with the stated aim of minimizing the ethical and environmental impact of the devices.
It does this by using recycled, fairtrade and conflict-free materials, and also by ensuring the devices are easily repairable. With this goal in mind, the phones feature a modular design, which makes replacing components easy and affordable.
Unlike many top brand smartphones where replacing components can be difficult, even impossible in some cases with batteries glued into the device, Fairphone components, including the camera modules, USB-C port, and the battery can easily be removed and replaced.
While the Dutch company began this push towards repairability ten years ago, it appears to have been ahead of the curb with many countries including France and a number of US states now bringing out laws demanding tech makers make their devices more repairable.
The phone’s modularity aside, iFixit said that the most significant repairability feature of the Fairphone 5 is its software longevity. The phone comes with a promise of 5 Android version upgrades and at least 8 years of security updates, with 10 years being their stated goal.
According to iFixit, this is some way ahead of big brands like Samsung and Google, who offer security updates of 5-7 years for some of their top models.