Teardowns

This Is What a Repairable Phone Looks Like

In 2013, Fairphone set out to create the world’s first ethically sourced, ethically produced, long-lasting smartphone—setting a new bar for the way we make, use, and reuse mobile phones. Their first phone scored a solid 7/10 on our repairability scale—with just a few points taken away for flaws inherited from their licensed design.

But Fairphone was not satisfied. They wanted to make their second, in-house designed phone even better. They even asked us for design feedback to get the Fairphone 2 up to a 10/10 for repair. Spoiler alert: they nailed it! Their phone doesn’t just top our repairability scale, it also has all the trappings of a modern smartphone: large touchscreen display, standardized ports, expandable storage, and a lighter, slim design.

The Fairphone 2 uses an innovative modular architecture, enabling consumers to easily fix their phones. It’s so easy, in fact, that you can swap a screen or replace your battery without any tools in just 10 seconds. In the time it takes you to tie your shoes, Fairphone users can replace a shattered display. Now that’s a future we want to be a part of.

Removable battery in the Fairphone 2 teardown
“Yours to open. Yours to keep.”

Fairphone 2 teardown highlights:

• The back of the phone features five extra spring contacts, an unpopulated USB 2.0 device interface, with power input—ready for future expansions and fancier cases.

• The Fairphone 2 sports a user-replaceable 3.8 V lithium ion cell rated at 2420 mAh with an energy rating of 9.2 Wh. For comparison: the LG G4 weighs in with a 3.85 V pack rated for a minimum of 11.2 Wh while the iPhone 6 has a 3.82 V battery with 6.91 Wh.

• Well, this is nifty! Fairphone modularized off-the-shelf components using breakout boards and spring contacts to foster compatibility.

So far the phone is only available in Europe—but we can’t wait until they expand into other markets. Want to see more of the Fairphone? Check out the full teardown here.