![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-01.jpg\"\/)
<\/a>![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1755961455_454_fairphone-6-01.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n$899<\/p>\n
The Good<\/p>\n
- \n
- Exceptionally user-repairable<\/li>\n
- Ethically produced<\/li>\n
- Decent performance<\/li>\n
- Long-term software support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Bad<\/p>\n
- \n
- Basic cameras<\/li>\n
- Only IP55<\/li>\n
- Expensive in the US<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Fairphone 6 is available now across the UK and Europe. It costs \u20ac599 \/ \u00a3499 for a version running Fairphone\u2019s custom Android software, which is fairly close to the stock experience, or \u20ac50 \/ \u00a350 more running \/e\/OS, a privacy-centric, Google-free version of Android made by Murena. If you\u2019re in the US, that\u2019s the only model available, and you\u2019ll have to buy it directly from Murena for $899, a price that Murena founder and CEO Ga\u00ebl Duval told me reflects tariffs on US imports. It\u2019s a substantial price difference that takes the Fairphone 6 from competing with midrangers like the Pixel 9A<\/a> in Europe to flagships like the Pixel 10<\/a> or iPhone 16<\/a> in the US, making it significantly harder to justify.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-05.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n\/e\/OS replaces Google\u2019s Discover feed with a set of dedicated privacy controls. Image: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been testing the privacy-focused \/e\/OS version of the phone. It might not look a million miles from stock Android, but the out-of-the-box experience is quite different. It has quick access to options to block tracking cookies within apps, fake your geolocation info, or hide your IP address, along with a \u201cWall of Shame\u201d listing your apps by how many times they try to track your activity. Murena describes it as \u201cde-Googled,\u201d which means it\u2019s built on the Android Open Source Project, but doesn\u2019t require a Google account to use, includes no Google apps by default, and should share none of your data with Google.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re ready to commit to the Google-free life, there\u2019s an array of relatively simple stock software, like calendar and map apps that look like they\u2019ve been lifted from a decade ago. An app store defaults to open-source options, giving every app a privacy score with details on the trackers it uses and permissions it requires.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-06.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nYou can install open-source apps, or Play Store alternatives like Google and Samsung\u2019s. Image: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
The app store also lets you install just about any Android app \u2014 even the Google ones \u2014 but only if you want to. That\u2019s thanks to microG, an open-source alternative to Google Play Services. The only caveats are that Google Wallet won\u2019t work for NFC payments, and that some apps are a little\u2026 janky. Most seem to work, but MyFitnessPal won\u2019t run, and a few others tend to stutter and crash.<\/p>\n
On the hardware side, the Fairphone 6 is smaller and lighter than the 5<\/a>, with a brighter and smoother 6.31-inch 120Hz display. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset isn\u2019t flagship hardware, but it\u2019s smooth enough most of the time, and with 8GB of RAM, it\u2019s powerful enough for anything except serious gaming. The 4,415mAh battery lasts more than a day, and the 30W wired charging speed is fine but unimpressive, with no wireless option.<\/p>\n
The cameras remain a big downgrade compared to the competition. The 50-megapixel main lens and 13-megapixel ultrawide are fine for the basics \u2014 and exceeded my expectations every now and then \u2014 but they struggle in the dark, in complex lighting, or with fast-moving subjects. If you just need your phone camera to be good enough then these definitely are, but you can get much better cameras for the same money (or less) elsewhere.<\/p>\n
1\/13<\/strong>The Fairphone 6\u2019s main camera does the basics well.<\/p>\n
The other big addition to the Fairphone 6 is a range of semi-modular accessories, similar to those offered with Nothing\u2019s CMF Phone 2 Pro<\/a>. There\u2019s a lanyard, a card holder, and a loop grip, but the clever thing is that all three screw onto the phone\u2019s rear, becoming integral parts of the hardware. I hope more options are coming.<\/p>\n
More important is the phone\u2019s ability to last for years. Whether you buy from Fairphone or Murena, you\u2019ll get an extended five-year warranty. Fairphone also commits to eight years of software updates and seven Android version updates, though Murena only promises five years of software support for its version \u2014 worse than the likes of Apple, Google, and Samsung.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-03.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nThe Fairphone 6\u2019s cameras aren\u2019t anything to write home about. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-02.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nI\u2019m a fan of this slight dent on the phone\u2019s back, which becomes a natural place to rest your little finger. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-04.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nThat blocky yellow button turns off the camera and mic on \/e\/OS phones, but switches between customizable modes to control notifications and distractions on the regular model. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
The phone is made from fairly sturdy plastic, with Corning Gorilla Glass 7i on the display, and feels tough. There\u2019s one big durability downside, though: it only has an IP55 rating for dust and water protection \u2014 good, but not great \u2014 which is the drawback of a repairable design that swaps glue for less watertight screws. So while the Fairphone 6 is more repairable than other alternatives, there\u2019s a slightly higher risk of needing that repair in the first place, at least when it comes to sand and water.<\/p>\n
Speaking of: you only need a single Torx T5 screwdriver to strip the phone down to parts, which connect and disconnect with a simple push, clicking into place. You can replace the battery, display, rear cover, each individual camera lens, speaker, earpiece, USB-C port, and SIM tray (which doubles as a microSD slot for expandable storage). Spare parts are sold by Fairphone and iFixit, with a promise to stock them for years. In the US, Murena should stock them, but at the time of writing, the parts aren\u2019t on its site yet.<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-07.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nA Torx T5 screwdriver is all you need to take the phone apart. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-08.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nReplacing the backplate \u2014 and swapping in accessories \u2014 involves just a couple of screws. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-10.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nReplacing the battery requires a few more\u2026 Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/fairphone-6-12.jpg\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\nAnd taking the whole thing apart requires a little commitment, but it\u2019s easy work. Photo: Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
I wanted to confirm if any idiot could pull off a repair, so I took apart every bit of the phone I could and put it back together again, which took a little over an hour and left me with a perfectly functional phone on the other side. Fairphone has some good YouTube videos to run through any given repair step by step, and it couldn\u2019t be much easier, so long as you pay attention to screwing everything back in the right order (ahem, not a mistake I\u2019d ever make\u2026).<\/p>\n
The \u201cfair\u201d bit of the name applies to production too. Fairphone claims to use as many recycled materials as possible, and to work with mines, recyclers, component factories, and assembly lines with fair working conditions, from living wages to worker representation. There\u2019s no ethical consumption under capitalism, but Fairphone claims to get as close as it can.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been cautious to recommend previous Fairphones. The elevator pitch is great, but paying a premium for underpowered hardware is still a hard sell. But pure power isn\u2019t the differentiating factor it once was, so even if the Fairphone 6 is less powerful than its counterparts, it\u2019s still powerful enough for most of us. Still, improvements in software support and durability from other manufacturers have made Fairphone\u2019s offering less unique \u2014 though no one offers repairability like this.<\/p>\n
Up against midrange alternatives, as it\u2019s priced in Europe, the Fairphone holds its own. There are small compromises, but it remains a fair choice for just about anyone. In the US, where it costs more than some flagships and comes with the de-Googled \/e\/OS whether you like it or not, it\u2019s only for those truly committed to the cause.<\/p>\n
Photography by Dominic Preston \/ The Verge<\/p>\n
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