Fairphone repairability and Android updates until 2031
An industrial Qualcomm chip chosen for longevity.
- Answers
- How long does the Fairphone get Android updates and can you repair it yourself?
- Topics
- Durable · Freedom · android · apple · cloud · design · review · smartphone
- Full article on willem.com
- https://willem.com/en/2025-03-05_durable-smartphone/
Summary
The Fairphone I switched to in 2025 is built to be serviced: nearly every part is replaceable, including the 4200mAh battery, and Android updates are guaranteed up to 2031 thanks to its industrial Qualcomm chip.
Full text
Unlike fragile flagships with delicately glued glass, the Fairphone has military grade drop resistance and an IP55 water and dust rating, yet its parts remain easy to reach. If needed you can replace pretty much everything, including the 4200mAh battery. The chip is a Qualcomm Dragonwing QCM6490 with 8 cores and 8GB RAM, an industrial IoT chip that also powers nautical vessels, harbour cranes, manufacturing plants and drones. That choice makes updates up to 2031 possible, because enterprise applications cannot swap chipsets every season. The bootloader can be unlocked to install any software you want. I upgraded storage to 1TB with a 90 euro microSD card, where a similar upgrade on an iPhone 16 Pro costs 630 euro. It changed my mind about frequently replacing smartphones: newer models barely differ any more, especially when you can service the parts that wear.