What Makes a Phone Ethical? I Talked With Someone Who Builds One to Find Out

CNET

2 days ago

Fairphone is a David among Goliaths in the phone world. We're talking about a tiny Dutch social enterprise that shipped just over 100,000 phones in 2023, versus tech giants such as Apple and Samsung, which routinely ship hundreds of millions of phones annually.
On Wednesday, Fairphone CEO Raymond van Eck unveiled the latest device, the sixth generation, in its family of phones. Intended to be known simply as the Fairphone (but in reality more likely to be referred to as the Fairphone 6), this modular phone is designed to be easily repairable and last people who buy it at least eight years.
I spoke with van Eck at the Amsterdam launch event, which took a different tack for a smartphone company. Instead of foregrounding the specs and AI capabilities, Fairphone talked mostly about how this newest device has the lowest carbon footprint of any phone it has made. Company reps also talked about how the workers in its supply chain are paid a living wage bonus and protected from harmful chemicals.
It's not the easy or convenient way to make a phone. But if a phone maker as diminutive as Fairphone can do it, then it does raise the question of why industry mammoths can't too.
"It takes effort," van Eck tells me. "If we can do it, in my opinion, others can do it, because if you look at our scale, it's even more difficult to convince suppliers to work this way."
Niche phones are having something of a moment – just last week the Trump Organization announced the T1 device, aka the Trump phone, expected later this year, with much boasting of American origins. But rather than a preoccupation with making phones in the US, which doesn't have the supply chain or manufacturing capabilities, I'd much rather see more options that present people with more ethically made, more easily repairable devices. I've been covering consumer tech and the climate crisis for many years, and not only do phones such as the Fairphone provide people with better value for the money in the long run, but they also put less stress on our rapidly warming planet.
Van Eck is aware that Fairphone's slice of the market is a small one, but the company is also making an impact through its role in setting up systems that the entire tech industry can take advantage of. He cited progressive approaches focused on the use of minerals in mobile phone manufacturing like the Fair Cobalt Alliance and responsible gold credits (through which companies pay an extra $1 per every gram of gold mined in order to fund oxygen masks and other safety equipment).
A fairer phone
Then of course there's the Fairphone itself – a device designed to be easily repairable by anyone who owns it, regardless of skill level. It even comes with a dedicated iFixit screwdriver in the box so that you can replace the back panel.
Inside is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chip – a solid processor, but not the company's most sophisticated silicon. I can't help but wonder whether Fairphone is potentially shaving years off the phone's longevity by not using the most advanced chipset at the time the device is manufactured. But van Eck thinks not.
"The device is perfectly equipped to fulfill the needs of the customers that are buying it," he says. The Fairphone is designed for longevity via repair and updates, not to compete with future flagship models of competitors, he adds. "Within this midrange, we're very confident that we can still deliver to the expectations of the customers in the years to come."
One of the more notable (and noticeable) features of the Fairphone 6 is a lime green slider on the side of the phone. There's been something of a renaissance of physical buttons on phones over the past few years, but most phone makers install these primarily for activating a device's AI features.
The Fairphone 6 comes with software support through 2033.
Katie Collins/Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNET
I was fascinated to see that Fairphone has gone practically in the opposite direction. The slider is customizable, but comes pre-programmed to switch the phone into "essentials" mode. This pared-back monochrome interface gives you access to just the core functions of your phone – messaging, camera, web browser and the like – to give you something more akin to a dumb phone experience.
It's not that van Eck is against AI – the Android version of the Fairphone 6 will come with Google's Gemini – but he's also aware of the wider conversation around responsible phone us.
"We see debates about children's smartphones. We see debates about people who are glued to their devices even having eye problems," he says. "It's actually in our mission… that we want to make tech ethical. So it's also good for us to help our users to switch off."
When ethics meet scale
Worthy though its ideals and practices may be, this doesn't mean Fairphone is totally above criticism.
If you've followed the company's journey as closely as I have, it's impossible not to have seen an influx of negative customer experience reports over the past few months, especially complaints about wait times and lack of communication.
Fairphone's growth has been both a blessing and a curse, according to van Eck, who puts the issues the company has experienced down to systems, processes and workforce that have now been resolved.
"We see more interest for our devices, and that also triggered the fact that we needed to scale up," he says. "We expect that the longer waiting times that customers have experienced, that will be a thing from the past within the next few weeks."
Crucially, customers interested in buying a Fairphone 6 shouldn't see a repeat of these issues. This being the sixth generation device, rebranded without a number officially attached to it, I ask van Eck whether this ultimate Fairphone is therefore the last Fairphone.
It is not. "We're here to stay," he tells me. Not only will Fairphone continue developing its tech, but it will keep pushing for and holding itself to higher standards. The new device contains more recycled materials than the Fairphone 5, for example.
"Of course there will be next versions to come," he says. "But for now, we're very happy with the Fairphone."