The Fairphone 6+ is an upgrade to last year’s Fairphone 6 , yet the smartphone that focuses on repairability and ethical sourcing is more than a mid-cycle refresh. I’ve spent time with this $649 mid-range smartphone to see how it differs from the mainstream approach to smartphones and the different pitch it makes to consumers

With current technology, the baseline smartphone usage, features, and functions needed every day are available across the board, from basic pay-as-you-go, over-the-counter “my first smartphone” to premium flagships with luxury designs. The former might run a little slower, while the latter might fold in half, but every phone on the market meets the basics of what a phone should do.

This raises the question of what factors lead consumers to buy Phone A over Phone B. In Fairphone’s case, the company pitches its latest smartphone, the titular Fairphone 6+, as a user-repairable handset with sustainability built into the production process.

Fairphone 6+ Repairability And Supply Chain Strategy

The Fairphone 6+ introduces an industry-unique modular hardware architecture backed by a guaranteed spare parts supply until at least 2033, prioritizing circular-economy longevity over ultra-thin aesthetic constraints .

Since releasing its first smartphone in 2013, Fairphone has ensured its smartphones are easy for consumers to repair. That means not only making spare parts readily available through its website and partner sites, but also designing smartphones with user-accessible screws, easily replaceable components, and simple-to-use connectors, ribbons, and pogo pins, rather than the solder and glue found in sealed smartphones.

The flip side is that phones are larger to accommodate the necessary fixtures and internal casings, which leads to a design that certainly isn’t fashionably thin. The IP55 rating for the Fairphone 6+ is lower than competing sealed smartphones, which isn’t surprising since it can’t be opened to the elements. That’s the trade-off, but many are happy to accept it.

A repairable smartphone also requires access to spare parts. Fairphone has stated that parts for the 6+ will be available until at least 2033. The best yardstick for that future-looking claim is the Fairphone 4 : parts are still available to order from the Fairphone website for this phone launched in 2021. At least five years of spare-parts availability for the 6+ is a reasonable expectation.

Fairphone leans heavily into using fair trade and recycled materials, so you will find a high level of recycled plastics and metals inside the Phone 6 Plus ( You can read Fairphone’s Impact Report for 2025 here ). This has been part of the company’s DNA for many years, which helps ensure they understand their own supply chain. Research by The Ethical Consumer into smartphone manufactuers rated Fairphone in the number one spot with a 98/100 scor e.

Fairphone 6+ Market Positioning And The Ethical Hardware Premium

Priced at $649 for the 12.8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage tier, the Fairphone 6+ commands a distinct financial premium over commoditized flagship alternatives to subsidize its ethically sourced metals and recycled plastics supply chain .

None of this comes cheap. The Fairphone 6+ is the first Fairphone to reach the general market in the US, and consumers are being asked to pay $649 for the 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage; notably, the 6+ supports microSD cards for up to 2 TB of expandable storage.

That price is higher than similarly spec’d smartphones from competing manufacturers. The price difference is, essentially, a repairability and ethical premium. This isn’t a new issue for Fairphone; it is part of the nature of doing business in the way that they do. Its community has accepted it over the years, and it will be interesting to see whether its debut in the American market continues to draw that level of support seen in Europe.

The Fairphone 6 Plus, as with its previous handsets, does not sell in the same volume as the Galaxys, Pixels, and iPhones of the world. The Dutch manufacturer has far less economy of scale, another factor contributing to the higher retail price. It also means they’re a bit more limited to off-the-shelf items that will feel familiar to many… It uses the well-known Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, a 6.3-inch OLED screen with 120 Hz adaptive refresh, and a 50-megapixel main camera sensor. All of this feels pretty standard and speaks again to the basic expectations of a smartphone; the 6+ meets all of those easily before Fairphone adds a sprinkle or two of its own unique features.

The Fairphone 6+ stands out in a few areas. Most obviously, it has a removable battery. It is small, rated at just 4,415 mAh, and part of that is the extra volume needed for the plastic battery case and the electrical connectors that will stand up to multiple cycles. It also doesn’t use the latest silicon-carbon technology. While the phone can get through an average day of use, there’s little margin for error. On the pros column, it’s easily replaceable, although the back plate is held in place by two screws rather than plastic clips in this model, so it’s not as fast to switch it out when you’re in the office.

Fairphone offers alternative backs to the Fairphone 6+. You have the standard flush fitting you would expect; you also have a fitting that has an integrated finger loop and space for a lanyard to hang the phone around your neck—not something for regular day-to-day use, but I can imagine going on a long trip, a concert, or a festival, it would be very good for keeping the phone secure and accessible. A third option with an integrated credit card holder on the back is also available at launch.

On the right side of the Fairphone 6+ you’ll find a sliding switch. By default, this is set to Fairphone’s Moments software, which hides many of your apps behind a minimalist UI. It’s certainly a nod to the minimalist movement, but it’s a very light touch on the smartphone. I appreciate that you can quickly remap the switch to other toggles, torch, functions, such as do not disturb or the blue light filter for nighttime viewing, which is my preferred choice.

Fairphone 6+ Software Ecosystems And Privacy-Centric Operating Systems

Consumers entering the American market can choose between Google’s standard Android distribution or the privacy-focused e/OS/ operating system, providing a modular software approach that matches the handset’s hardware ethos .

Fairphone also offer an option for your OS. The standard option is Google’s flavour of Android. It comes with the standard apps a regular consumer would expect: Chrome, YouTube, and Gmail, but nothing beyond that from Google’s suite. Fairphone adds one app: its “My Fairphone” app. Otherwise, you have a vanilla out-of-the-box experience.

The Fairphone 6+ is also available with e/OS/ , a popular OS option based on the Android Open Source Project. This removes Google Play software and offers an ecosystem that makes privacy one of the build’s key tenets . It is a natural fit between the two, but there’s a certain level of knowledge over and above Google’s flavor of Android required to use e/OS/to its full potential.

The Challenge For The Fairphone 6+

The Fairphone 6+ is one of Fairphone’s more attractive offerings. Part of that is because other manufacturers are pulling back on storage and memory specs; the 6+’s 12 GB of memory and 256 GB of storage sit nicely alongside the competition, and the inclusion of microSD to expand storage will be welcomed by some. Paired with a workhorse Snapdragon 7 chipset, you get a competent smartphone that delivers a good experience.

Add in the ease of repair and an official path to obtain spare parts, and you have a phone that feels more suited to the pressures of the economy in 2026 than at any other year when Fairphone has been an option. The Fairphone 6+ is a clean and simple smartphone that offers utility and practicality to consumers.