American smartphone shoppers know the tiresome routine.

A damaged screen might cost hundreds of dollars to repair. A dead battery usually implies sending the phone to a professional. A few years later, the expense of software support or repair can make ditching the whole thing seem easier than holding on to it.

Fairphone aims to change that model.

Dutch smartphone maker is introducing its Fairphone (Gen 6+) to the U.S. for $650, marking the company’s first official flagship-phone launch in the U.S.

The pitch is simple: don’t replace the full phone; repair the part that broke.

Fairphone sells a replacement screen for $90, a new battery for $40, and a new USB-C connector for $20. The phone features 12 modular parts that owners may switch out themselves. Each device comes with a screwdriver.

That’s a very different customer pitch than the paradigm employed by Apple and Samsung, where repairs can be costly and devices are often difficult to open up and repair.

For shoppers, it’s no longer just a question of whether a $650 phone has the finest camera or the fastest processor.

The question is whether a phone might be a better long-term investment by spending less up front and significantly less on repairs.

Fairphone is selling something bigger than a smartphone

Fairphone Gen 6+ isn’t trying to beat the iPhone or Galaxy merely on raw specs.

It’s selling longevity.

The phone comes with a five-year guarantee and will receive software updates until 2033.

Furthermore, it is the only smartphone series to get a 10/10 on the repairability scale from iFixit.

That’s a big deal, because repairs on smartphones can get really expensive.

According to WIRED, getting the screen replaced on an iPhone 17 directly through Apple costs about $329 without an extended service plan.

Fairphone’s replacement screen costs $90.

That’s a difference of about $239 for one basic fix.

For a consumer who holds on to a phone for several years, those economics can mount up.

Battery replacement is $40. The USB-C port costs $20. Device owners can replace the failed part themselves instead of paying for a full-service repair or replacing the entire device.

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That is the human appeal. A broken charging port no longer has to mean a major bill. A tired battery does not have to push someone toward a new $1,000 phone.

Fairphone’s $650 U.S. launch puts pressure on the sealed-phone modelKevin Dietsch / Getty Images Fairphone is entering one of the hardest phone markets in the world

Story continues

The problem is that the U.S. smartphone market is tremendously consolidated.

Fairphone CEO Raymond van Eck told WIRED that American consumers have very little real choice, describing the market as heavily dominated by Apple and Samsung.

That’s not just a matter of brand loyalty.

It’s also about how it’s distributed.

U.S. carriers account for as much as 66% of smartphone sales, according to a 2025 IDC report.

That’s a huge barrier for any phone maker without carrier store placement.

Fairphone is originally offering the Gen 6+ on Fairphone.com and Amazon. The gadget is certified for use on T-Mobile and AT&T networks.

The startup is also talking to big carriers and mobile virtual network operators about retail distribution, van Eck tells WIRED.

That might be the difference between Fairphone remaining a niche sustainable brand or becoming something more mainstream.

The U.S. market has already pushed out other brands of phones.

According to WIRED, OnePlus recently indicated it would depart North America, following the retreat of names such as Sony, HMD Global, and LG Mobile.

Essentially, Fairphone is going into a market that even much larger corporations have struggled to penetrate.

The $650 price is part of the argument

At $650, the Fairphone Gen 6+ is priced lower than many of Apple’s and Samsung’s flagship phones but higher than the cheapest Android devices.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor and 12GB of RAM.

The phone is also more than 50% built of fair-trade or recycled materials. Fairphone claims their devices are assembled using renewable energy and are 100% e-waste neutral.

The sustainability pitch still matters to the company.

But Fairphone appears to be increasingly aware that ethics isn’t necessarily the first thing consumers buy.

Van Eck said that the company’s recent growth has come partly from marketing the quality of the product rather than leading with its environmental mission.

That method seems to be working.

Phone shipments jumped 74% in the first half of 2026 compared with the year-ago period.

He also said 80% of Fairphone Gen 6 purchasers were new to the brand.

The results imply the corporation is expanding beyond its typical sustainability-minded customer base.

Repairability could become a bigger consumer issue

Fairphone’s launch in the U.S. comes as the right to repair is becoming more essential to consumers and authorities.

Nathan Proctor, who leads the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s Right to Repair campaign, said that Fairphone’s design demonstrates that modular, easily repairable smartphones are technically possible.

That may be the case as the price of phones continues to increase.

For many families, purchasing a smartphone is not a casual buy anymore.

For some consumers, the cost of a smartphone is as high as that of a laptop or a month’s groceries.

Repairability is increasingly valuable the longer a device stays usable.

Fairphone numbers consumers should know

$650: Starting price of the Fairphone Gen 6+.

$90: Replacement display.

$40: Replacement battery.

$20: Replacement USB-C port.

12: User-replaceable modular components.

5 years: Warranty.

2033: Promised software-support window.

10/10: iFixit repairability score.

74%: First-half 2026 shipment growth.

80%: Share of Gen 6 buyers who were new to Fairphone.

66%: Estimated share of U.S. smartphone sales driven through carriers.

Fairphone is still minuscule compared to Apple and Samsung.

That makes it unlikely to change the U.S. market overnight.

But it’s a question the firm is asking and one that the bigger phone makers may need to address at some point.

Why are pricey repairs and sealed hardware the norm when a consumer can buy a $650 phone, get a broken screen repaired for $90, change the battery themselves, and still get years of software updates?

Fairphone might not dominate the smartphone market.

But it might help the market hold on to a business model people have been buying into for years.

Related: Samsung’s $2,100 phone tests how much consumers will pay to fold

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Aug 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.