Let me start with saying that i love Fairphone’s concept and overall products. But… I really think Fairphone needs better software developers/designers, and most likely more of them too. Android 14 came in late, and did not much good in my opinion (besides giving the option to change the ‘recent’ and ‘back’ buttons position and improving notifications and calls volume).

Now they are removing features instead of fixing them. Also, the overall UI seems not to be polished very well (part of screenshot as an example in comments). The default launcher sometimes lags/freezes, framerate sometimes still struggle to be a stable 90fps, you still need to confirm your pincode in lockscreen (minor annoyance) and some, IMO, ugly design choices. Have yet to discover if other issues are (still) there, but will probably flash a custom ROM soon.

What are your thoughts/experiences?

  • @BoeddabartOP
    11•4 months ago

    One of the poor UI design “issues” (the top row icons don’t seem to fit the appdrawer, gets either a little better or much worse when changing screen/letter size). I already made sure to let them know.

  • VikEnglish
    9•4 months ago

    Could they not use whatever is closest to the pixel ROM as their base image? It would be lovely if they had a formal partnership with GrapheneOS, CalyxOS in addition to that.

    • @BoeddabartOP
      8•4 months ago

      I very much agree. Would call that a win-win situation for everybody: we get more privacy and better performance, they have more time and money for innovations and releasing more (different) products globally.

      • VikEnglish
        2•4 months ago

        calyxOS might be a shout for you if MicroG isn’t a dealbreaker. We’ve been on android 14 practically since release.

        • @BoeddabartOP
          1•4 months ago

          Thanks for the recommendation. I’m not sure if i want to want to continue using Google services at all, since i use my Fairphone as a secondary device. If MicroG is optional, or if i decide i do need some Google services, it might be worth it. First i’ll see how a degoogled Android suits me

          • VikEnglish
            1•4 months ago

            I guess it’s optional in the sense that it can remain completely unused / disabled

            • @BoeddabartOP
              2•4 months ago

              True. Will look into it. Thanks :)

              • VikEnglish
                2•4 months ago

                no prob. The developers are active in their matrix room (bridged to telegram). You can find out more there if you’re interested.

                • @BoeddabartOP
                  2•4 months ago

                  Oh nice, that’s great. Thanks again!

  • @[email protected]English
    6•4 months ago

    Why are they rolling their own software? Can’t they just use stock AOSP with some drivers?

    I’m not against them doing something custom, but it seems like a lot of extra work

    • @BoeddabartOP
      2•4 months ago

      I don’t know. I guess they have some vision about how their products should behave/look, which is a fair thought. It is just not executed very well…