What the reviewers said
The Guardian UK
No scoreFeb 4, 2026A repairable, modular mid-range Android with a good screen and long software support, but average cameras, clumsy button placement and a rough software experience make it hard to recommend over…
- Repairable at home with a single screwdriver
- Software support promised until 2033
- Good 120Hz OLED screen
- Rare microSD card slot for expansion
- Recycled and fair materials; five-year warranty
- Mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 performance
- Volume and power buttons poorly placed, causing accidental presses
- Average cameras, weak at high zoom
- Fingerprint scanner not the best
- Software a bit rough; no Android 16 yet
The Verge US
7/10Aug 23, 2025The most repairable Fairphone yet is easy to recommend in Europe, where its midrange pricing makes sense, but much harder to justify in the US.
- Exceptionally user-repairable with a single Torx T5 screwdriver
- Ethically produced with recycled materials and fair labour claims
- Long software support: eight years of updates, seven Android versions
- Smooth 120Hz 6.31-inch display
- Decent everyday performance for most users
- Cameras lag well behind competitors, struggle in low light
- Only IP55 rating for dust and water
- Expensive in the US at $899 with /e/OS only
- 30W wired charging with no wireless option
- Murena offers only five years of software support
Tweakers NL
No scoreAug 22, 2025Fairphone's best phone yet: far more usable day to day, with better camera, battery and software promise, though specs still trail rivals and software has bugs.
- Clear improvements in camera and battery life
- Easy modular repairability, battery swappable at home
- Long eight-year software update promise
- Fairphone Moments is a well-thought-out software feature
- Sustainably produced and fairly sourced
- Software contains annoying bugs
- Relatively slow chipset and mediocre display
- Speakers and haptic motor are weak
- Expensive for the hardware offered
- Back cover now two parts, more work to remove
SmartWorld IT
7.5/10Aug 21, 2025An ethical, highly repairable phone with a privacy-focused /e/OS option, but mid-range cameras, average battery life and a high price limit its appeal to buyers who prioritise ethics.
- Highly repairable, removable battery and tool-free-ish component access
- Strong ethical sourcing and supply chain transparency
- Privacy-focused /e/OS version with tracker blocking
- Bright, good-looking display
- MicroSD expansion slot
- Cameras only adequate
- Expensive for its mid-range specs
- Battery life only okay, 4,415 mAh
- No 3.5mm headphone jack
- Standard Android version has limited 5-app minimal mode
A repairable, long-supported Android phone with good performance, battery life and a bright screen. Camera color quirks and software bugs hold it back, and it is not officially sold in…
- Perfect 10 iFixit repairability score
- Long software support, seven OS upgrades and eight years
- Good performance and battery life
- Bright OLED screen
- 256GB storage with microSD expansion
- Not officially sold in the US
- Camera colors can look flat or tinted
- Some software bugs, including refresh rate issue
- IP55 rating only, not fully waterproof
- Mushy power button
PC-Welt DE
4/5Aug 10, 2025Repairable, long-supported phone with a sustainability focus; weak performance and mediocre cameras are acceptable compromises for many buyers.
- Easy repair with removable back and user-swappable battery
- Eight years of OS and security updates
- Modular accessories add practical value
- Good battery life, comfortable 6.31-inch size
- Fairphone Moments feature supports digital breaks
- Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 feels slow and dated
- Main camera photos often look washed out
- Ultrawide reduced to 13 megapixels
- Automatic brightness often drops too low
- Phone often falls back to 4G instead of 5G
Tech Advisor UK
4/5Jul 29, 2025A sustainable, repairable phone with a faster screen and modular accessories, held back by slow performance and inconsistent cameras. Its repairability justifies the compromises.
- Repairable design with user-removable battery and easy part swaps
- 120Hz display with strong outdoor brightness
- Modular accessories are fun to swap
- Eight years of updates and five-year warranty
- Fairphone Moments software helps limit doomscrolling
- Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 feels slow in menus
- Main camera photos can look washed out
- Auto-brightness often drops to near-minimum
- Ultrawide sensor drops to 13MP
- Defaults to 4G+ instead of 5G often
Phonandroid FR
No scoreJul 19, 2025A successful, eco-responsible smartphone that is modern and balanced, though not the best or best value. Its flaws are not deal-breakers.
- Repairable design with removable battery and replaceable parts
- Clean software with minimal bloat and Android updates promised
- Lower price than Fairphone 5 at 599 euros
- Microtext SD slot for expanding storage
- Good macro and daytime photos; solid video quality
- Speaker sound is weak and distorts near maximum volume
- Digital zoom is noisy even in daylight
- Bezels still thick compared with similarly priced phones
- Stereo audio capture can be muffled
- No equalizer and no lossless or extra high-definition audio codecs
Verdicts, pros and cons are short summaries in our words of each publisher's review; scores are as the publisher gave them. Specs are taken from the reviews' spec boxes — where they differ, we show the value most of them give; price is the US launch price of the base model. Read the originals for the full picture.
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