wait for your s21 dies and then you’ll have a better scenario to decide. before my fp4 I’ve had a pixel 4a 5g that I tried to replace the screen and glue it again to the main body. this was the trigger for me to buy a fp4, being able to repair a phone I like myself and have spare parts and an extra battery.

if you are comparing only specs: don’t buy it

I used to only get lower mid-range phones (~€250, and not latest models) and keep them as long as possible, mostly due to financial and environmental concerns. My last phone broke a few months ago so I got a Fairphone 4 as a replacement.

I’m very satisfied so far, but of course I’m not accustomed to fancy phones either so I’m aware that the bar is lower for me. Functionally speaking it does what I want it to, and feels good enough to fulfill my modest needs even in 4-5 years from now when requirements will have gone up.

The price is significantly higher than any other phone I’d bought - but I’m fine with that due to the extended warranty. I’ll save money from not buying another phone in 3-4 years, and the added peace of mind from not having to replace the whole phone if anything were to break is worth some money in itself too.

But all the above would only convince me of 80-90% of the price. The fair production and environmental/personal freedom aspect of the phone are both the reason for the higher price but also why I’m happy to pay the price. I’d rather know that €500 is supporting things I want to see more of, than €300 is encouraging and perpetuating things that dislike.

But I also fully understand that I happen to have a little money to spare - a few years ago I was very tight with money, so as much as I would’ve liked to support it I’d have to make do with what I had. There’s other ways to help if money’s tight: Like I think also FP themselves say, “the most sustainable phone is the one you’re already using” (or something along those lines).

In short, my advice from my personal (limited) experience would be:

• If you can afford it and don’t have very high needs, the FP4 is a good long-term investment.
• If you want a higher-end phone/even longer parts availability, go rather for the FP5.
• If you want a high-end phone but foresee that you’d like to continue switching to higher-end phones fairly frequently, a non-FP would make more sense.
• If you are very tight on money and the FP4 is too expensive, a cheap conventional mid-range phone would provide most of the same functionality (bar longevity) for a significantly lower price.

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Finally, one note on the warranties: iirc (do correct me if I’m wrong), the FP4 will allow for an extended warranty of 5 years only until the end of 2023, after that it’ll be 3 years. So if you’re going for a FP4 it’d make more sense to buy before the year ends. The FP5 continues to offer a 5 year extended warranty regardless of when you buy it.

Not part of this sub but I saw your post cruising all. I’m liking mine, but I don’t closely follow phone trends. I like being able to take the battery out and repair it.

No.

I needed a new phone a few months ago and decided to spring for an FP4… and honestly, I am not pleased at all. The FW seems to be pretty bad, with frequent errors, crashes, and the camera software especially is dogshit. Oh, also a shitload of ghost touches, even during calls, which has resulted in many dropped calls for me. The original UI also has a permanent, unremovable Google search prompt in the middle of the main screen. Buck wild.

Now I will continue to use it anyway (and I’ll probably root it) but so far I’ve been severely underwhelmed. Would not recommend it if you’re gonna use it out of the box as-is.

Go straight for a FP5. Longer support and newer components. Yeah it’s more expensive but if you have it for 10 years that kind of relativizes it.