8mo ago

Apparently Fairphone makes headphones and earbuds as well

shop.fairphone.com

Choose your Fairphone audio experience

Sorry if old news, I didn't know!

15 comments

Is that why they got rid of the headphone jack on the Fairphone 4?
- No idea, and damn didn't realize it's missing headphone jack
- Firstly, I didn't know they got rid of the headphone hack. Second, they could have made their own wired headphones, or even include them with the phone. Third, I was planning on getting one so now I'm thinking of getting a previous phone.
- I think it's the opposite, they got rid of the jack to simplify their design and follow the general industry movement, and as a compensation they offered earbuds, and later wireless headphones. I also dislike it, but they are still the most ethical option we have.
  They wrote about it: https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9836188988049-Audio-Jack-3-5mm
  Factors that have tipped the balance towards exclusion of the headphone jack are: modularity and its influence on the phone’s size and weight, market and legislative trends and longevity. We had to sacrifice the headphone jack to make the modules as accessible as possible. It was a tough decision to make but there was simply no space for everything and we had to make some choices. In the end, in order to build a modular, 5G device, this was the best way to go for the majority of users. If the phone were bigger than it already is (and we get a lot of feedback on it being too big), it wouldn’t be commercially viable and that would limit the impact we could have on the industry.
  Any decision we made would have supporters and detractors. Our main goal, however, was to ensure that we made a product that combines repairability with industry-competitive dimensions. On top of that, we wanted to create a product that lasts for at least five years. We also wanted to attract a growing audience, which would allow us to make a bigger impact on the industry.
  In the current user feedback (source: Trustpilot) we see more people being critical about the current Fairphone dimensions than about the fact that they have to use an adapter for using devices with headphone jack. Hence, at this stage we would not consider reinstating the headphone jack in our upcoming devices. [more details in the article]
I have some of these headphone. They are good and I love supporting a company making things repairable.
- Yess!! Awesome to hear that - been thinking about getting them. And agreed! The more we support such companies the more mainstream this hopefully becomes.
  
  I use them every day. This is the case I keep them in: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07ZKXQB56
It's on mine too now. That said the Amazon reviews are a bit concerning. Sound quality and control sensitivity seem to be the main issues.
- Ah damn it, have to read more into those reviews before I make a buy decision. Really wanna get them and support such a company (but still don't want a prototype-like product).
  
  The thing is, apart from internal testers, customers have to test these prototype-like products too, for the company to get somewhere from feedback🫠
That’s on my wish list!
- It will be on mine as well now! Here's to hoping this boosts their sales and these kinds of companies gain traction!

15 comments