The Fairphone (Gen. 6) Is the Antidote to Yearly Phone Upgrades

By default, the Essentials mode presents a minimal interface with just a few apps (Camera, Chrome, Maps, Messages, and Phone), and only allows notifications from starred contacts. You cannot go back to your normal Android experience without flipping the switch. That might not be a huge deterrent if your goal is to limit screen time, but it’s a way to block out distractions. You can create modes tailored for driving, your morning routine, and more. Don’t care for Fairphone Moments? You can set the button to trigger another action, like the flashlight or Do Not Disturb.

The other standout feature on the Gen. 6? Modular accessories. Instead of going with a magnetic system like Apple’s MagSafe, Fairphone is taking a page from Nothing’s CMF brand with accessories that you screw into the back of the phone. A portion of the back panel is removable, and you can swap it out for a fingerloop (my favorite), a lanyard, or a card holder. This is why there’s no wireless charging, though it’d be cool if there were an accessory that enabled it.

Finally, the camera system. It’s a 50-megapixel primary shooter paired with a 13-MP ultrawide and 32-MP selfie camera. You can expect sharp images, even in mixed lighting scenarios, though the prevailing issue is how the phone renders colors. In high-contrast scenes, colors can look flat, or the white balance doesn’t do its job, and you end up with weird tints. The blue sky is an odd hue sometimes, or the sunset isn’t as yellow as it should be. The details are largely there, it’s just these quirks of processing. 4K video footage is fine and usable, though not quite the quality you’ll get from a proper flagship phone.

Frankly, the camera system is better than I expected. No, it won’t beat the $500 Google Pixel 9a, but I still happily shared photos with friends and family and on social media as usual. Ultimately, it’s not about price. If it were, then even a $400 Moto G Stylus 5G would impress.

The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is made with more than 50 percent fair or recycled materials, an 8 percent improvement over its predecessor. The company believes it’ll achieve its lowest carbon emissions thanks to improvements in manufacturing and assembly. A total of 14 materials are considered fair mined or recycled, including cobalt, and the plastic is 93 percent postconsumer recycled.

Fairphone also partners with organizations like The Fair Cobalt Alliance to ensure responsible mining practices, and workers at three of its suppliers and its final assembly factory are in a Living Wage Bonus program, where the company pays the gap between minimum wage and a living wage. It’s also a Certified B Corp. If you believe in all of those practices, there’s just no other phone like the Fairphone.