The modular phone dream stood on two legs, one that promised easy repairability and another that offered potential upgradability. Unfortunately, that dream nearly died completely after the cancellation of the Project Ara phone and, therefore, the failure of the LG G5. Only the Fairphone has survived to become the world’s most repairable and sustainable phone, and it’s once more proving its worth. The corporate has announced that one of its current phones has reached its end of the sale, but, unlike most smartphones, it doesn’t mean that the Fairphone 3 has reached its end of life.
Although it had been probably a futuristic dream, the modular phone as presented by Project Ara and, therefore, the LG G5 didn’t exactly appeal to consumers, a minimum of not with the technologies and styles available some time past. Fairphone opted to focus on a more specific market instead, specialising in consumers who value sustainability, sometimes over the top of current hardware features. Of course, not all people find that well worth the bother, but its recent announcement highlights the benefit that only a few phones can boast of.
After two years, Fairphone is discontinuing the Fairphone 3, meaning it’ll not be available purchasable directly from the manufacturer. The 2019 modular phone is already well-aged anyway by today’s standards, even for a mid-range device. In most cases, discontinuation also means the top of support from the manufacturer, but not during this case.
Instead, Fairphone promises that spare parts for the repairable phone will still be available. That also includes the camera module upgrade that lets the Fairphone 3 match what the Fairphone 3+ has. As if that wasn’t enough, the corporate promises an Android 11 update in 2022. it’ll be a tad late, but a minimum of it’s still coming.
No other smartphone within the market can proudly offer such a service; on the other hand again; no other smartphone is as easy to repair. Of course, there are tons of bumps along the way, like having to stay to an older processor, but a replacement Fairphone 4 with 5G is predicted to be coming soon to offer the road a much-needed upgrade.
