Fairphone, the Dutch company that promises its smartphones are designed and built from the ground up with sustainability and ethics in mind, has unveiled its third-generation model, the Fairphone 3. The company is committed to using only responsibly sourced raw materials and fair labour practices. Fairphone models have been designed to be long-lasting and easily upgradeable in order to reduce e-waste and spark conversations about the environmental and social costs of our everyday products. Notably, Fairphone’s website lists every supplier of raw materials and components, and every point along its supply chain in order to foster a community around its goals.
The new Fairphone 3 carries these goals forward. It will be more widely available across Europe than its predecessors, the Fairphone 1 and Fairphone 2. The company says it has also been able to develop better partnerships with cellular service operators and is going to scale up its marketing and publicity efforts.
Rather than specifications, the primary selling point of the Fairphone 3 is its story of respecting the rights of workers and concern for the natural environment. The device will begin shipping in early October and is priced at EUR 450 (approximately Rs. 34,650).
For that price, you get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 SoC, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The screen measures 5.65 inches and has a full-HD+ resolution with an 18:9 aspect ratio. There’s a 3000mAh battery and support for Quick Charge 3.0.
The Fairphone 3 is a dual-SIM 4G phone. It has a single 12-megapixel f/1.8 rear camera, and an 8-megapixel f/2.0 front camera. There’s dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 as well as NFC and a fingerprint sensor. The device runs stock Android 9.
The body of the Fairphone 3 is a dark translucent material. The device has a 3.5mm headphones socket. This device is shipped without a charger, USB cable or earphones in order to reduce clutter since many buyers will already have such accessories, but official ones can be ordered separately. A mini screwdriver for modular component replacements, and a bumper case are included.
Fairphone promises easy repairs and says that users can order spare parts from the company and perform a swap themselves in case of any accident or damage. There’s still a two-year warranty. the device has been made out of recycled and fairly sourced materials. The phone is 9.89mm thick.