While most smartphone brands push ever-faster chips, glossier cameras, and AI-infused gimmicks, Dutch phone maker, Fairphone, has spent over a decade focused on ethical sourcing, modular hardware, and devices you can actually repair yourself.
And the new Fairphone 6 doesn’t stray from that mission. It’s not trying to outdo Samsung or OnePlus on power, and it’s definitely not here to impress with foldable screens or magic photo erasers. Instead, it’s doubling down on something you almost never see in modern smartphones: long-term repairability.
This year’s model comes two years after its predecessor, the Fairphone 5, and is smaller and 9% lighter than it, with a 6.31-inch OLED display that now supports 120Hz refresh.
It also ships with Android 15 (or a privacy-focused /e/OS version), and under the hood you get a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage — expandable up to 2TB via microSD. On paper, that’s firmly mid-range, even slightly behind recent Google Pixel A-series or Galaxy FE models.
But Fairphone 6 isn’t targeting power users. It’s aimed at people who want a phone that’s easy to fix and built to last. The 4,415mAh battery (30W fast charging) isn’t the biggest around—even budget models like the $251 Vivo T4 5G pack 7,300mAh—but here at least, you can swap out the battery yourself with a screwdriver.
Same goes for 11 other parts, including the screen and USB port. That kind of repairability is still rare, especially when most phones, including flagships, are glued shut and nearly impossible to open without special tools.
Camera-wise, the Fairphone 6 offers a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 13MP ultrawide, and a 32MP selfie cam. That’s a step down from the triple-50MP setup on the Fairphone 5, though the new main sensor is physically larger.
There’s also a dedicated “Moments” switch on the side—a hardware toggle that launches a simplified, distraction-free mode. Think Focus Mode on Android devices, but more deliberate.
At €599 (~$695), the Fairphone 6 costs about as much as a Pixel 8 or Galaxy A55, but you’re paying for sustainability, not flagship perks. No IP68 water rating, no wireless charging either; just a phone you can repair, upgrade, and hang on to for years.
And in today’s throwaway tech culture, that might be the most radical feature of all. Pre-orders for the device are now open.
Kelechi Edeh
