Fairphone vs Nothing (or any other phone)
1d 5h ago by feddit.dk/u/stenAanden in buyeuropean@feddit.uk
I am looking for my next smart phone.
It seems like I will choose between a Fairphone 6 or Nothing 3 (or any other phone) How do these phones compare?
Nothing’s new bloatware includes Facebook services that can’t be uninstalled
https://9to5google.com/2025/10/29/nothing-phone-3a-lite-facebook-instagram-apps/
yeah, I saw that one... is it serious?
Both are midrange. If you're basing your desicion on a cause (which seems to be the case as you're posting here) the sustainability aspects of Fairphone (both environmental and social) should make it a clear winner for you. It also has official /e/os/ support (European de-googled Android) if you ever decide to go down that path in the future.
Yeah… but I been on various sites and the ratings for the new Fairphone 6 are kinda lukewarm
There is no non US tech company privacyninvading flagship.
Xperia?
Android.
I have a lot of thoughts on xperia, definitely flagship pricing.
Nothing is better than Fairphone.
Ok fine, I'm already leaving.
I have great experiences with Fairphone, have every intention to stick with them for years to come. I'm on the FP5 now, but FP6 looks like an upgrade, and I have heard nothing bad about it.
We need to have a pinned post about nothing on this community.
Nothing is a Chinese company with American investors, using the UK marketing office as a tax haven, there is nothing European about it.
All of the electronics are designed and produced in China, all of the firmware is designed and written in China, most or all of the software is written in China. All of the electronics & technical job postings from then since inception have been for their Chinese office. (Disclaimer, the past year they had 1-2 software engineering jobs posted at their london office, so maybe sometime in the future, they will start writing a bit of the software in europe)
All of their smart watches and their whole CMF line is ODM'ed (white labeled) by fully Chinese companies, that is why they are all completely generic dime-a-dozen base designs.
Their CEO has had a history of misleading and/or lying with his other Chinese company he started, and has worked in the Chinese smartphone industry for 15 years in China. Sure he grew up in Sweden, but that is literally the only EU-related affiliation the company has, and he didn't put the headquarters marketing office in Sweden because he is dodging taxation.
I have recently stumbled across Jolla. No personal experience (yet) but it looks promising. I think it uses Micro G for Android app compatibility. Banking apps might be a faff to get working
https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-community-phone
Many banking apps should work, they have a list of them in their forum https://forum.sailfishos.org/t/banking-apps-on-sailfish-os/18438
Ultimately, any phone that depends on Google code is not free or European.
Fairphone works better than most with alternatives. PostmarketOS runs pretty well on Fairphone 5, for those who really want to be completely free of Google. Personally I'm happy with /e/OS for now.
You can install iodeOS on the FP 6 though
Iode is android. Meaning it will still use and depend on Google code and updates. This is like using Chromium instead of chrome as a web browser.
If its only uses the Foss part of android you really don't need google for updates. But it helps.
How does it receive security updates?
You write them yourself
You don't think the devs that work on lineageOS (which is what iodesOS and /e/ is forked from) fork any code directly from google?
Yes of course. And now google have made it a bit harder to. Because they only release the source code when they release the new version.
But you are less dependent on google/manufacturer with an open source version of android, Then a closed version. And as far as I know fairphone also release drivers open source when possible ( sometimes its not allowed from the chip manufacturer side )
So atleast in theory you don't need google for updates to your phone. But in reality much code will come from google.
So its stills matter that you can install an open source variant on your device.
My argument was and still is this:
Ultimately, any phone that depends on Google code is not free or European.
I agree that using a "degoogled" ROM is better than using a version of android directly from Google. However, a new solution is required.
Anyone that actually wants to to be degoogled or boycott the US (which should be everyone that opposes fascism, including US citizens like me), should be considering phones that use an OS which isn't derived from a company based in the US which profits off of war and the breaking of international law.
Yes I agree. I have a different reason for it but it would be good with more phone os;s.
But some other in this thread recommended Jolla. And I guess that's an alternative. I think a android emulator is included but otherwise i think its based on Nokias old megoo OS. The new phone was announced after i bought my fairphone otherwise i probably had bought that.
More like using Brave (besides the questionable leadership, of course)
IMO: I would wait until GrapheneOS comes out on the new OEMs hardware, which they said is happening 2026 Q4. Personally GrapheneOS is the only OS I would use, as it gets rid of everything from Google.
Used is a decent option. I really like swappa. A used phone stops a new phone from coming into the world, and you can check reviews with more confidence
I guess its depends on what you think is important. I went with fairphone and e/os and I'm happy with it. Nothing 3 seems to have a lot higher specs. But for me repairability is important and my old fairphone 4 I was able to keep for atleast a couple of years longer because it was easy to replace USB port and battery.
FWIW, I am back on my FP4 after returning a FP6. The hardware on the 6 is definitely an upgrade but there were some quality control and design issues that were frustrating. Chief among them is the decision to go from a toolless access to the internals to one requiring a screwdriver.
I liked the idea initially as I understand it allowed them to improve the IP rating, but it introduces multiple points of failure, ie. the screws. I’m sure there’s going to be people frustrated when they inevitably strip one of these screws and can’t get the back cover reinstalled, but mine came from the factory with two of them stripped.
That is to say nothing about the fact that not everyone has a screwdriver or will carry one with them in case they need to open the phone while away from home.
For my purposes that’s a fatal flaw I hope they address with a FP7 someday. Until then I’ll stick with my FP4.
These are actually the two phones my partner and I have and we're both very happy with our choices.
I really like the sustainability and European angle of Fairphone, my two main gripes with it are that the battery life isn't quite as good as my previous phone which theoretically had a lower capacity and that it only has USB2, which I guess means it'll never support the upcoming Android 16+ desktop mode