Fairphone 2 - a pre-production review of the new modular smartphone

Ahead of UK launch John Leonard gets an exclusive preview of the new ethical smartphone that's built to last

Amsterdam-based Fairphone pulled off something extraordinary with its first smartphone. Originally chalked up for a run of 20,000 units, the eponymous crowdfunded Fairphone (FP1) eventually went on to sell three times that number. That may not sound much when set against the 70 million or so units shifted by the likes of Apple and Samsung, but Fairphone was not a global manufacturing company. In fact it was not a manufacturing company at all: it was a tiny advocacy group that had never made a phone, or anything else for that matter, before.

Added to the challenge of building a phone with no prior experience was Fairphone's insistence that the minerals such as tin and tantalum used in its construction be "conflict free", verifiably sourced from areas where the profits would not fuel conflicts, that other materials be recycled as far as possible, and that the Chinese workforce building the phone be guaranteed certain standards of safety, pay, hours and representation.

Lofty ambitions indeed - and inevitably there were some compromises along the way. For example while the FP1 used conflict free tin and tantalum in its manufacture, the provenance of other minerals, such as gold, was impossible to guarantee.

It is perhaps not surprising that a company that had never made a phone before ran into a few production difficulties too. The first batch was months late, arrived with a different chipset to that originally specified, and early hopes that it would be able to run a choice of operating systems proved wide of the mark.

Despite these hiccups, Fairphone managed to produce a solid and reliable mid-range smartphone featuring dual SIM cards (popular in the second-user markets of Africa and Asia) and a high-end scratch resistant screen. The online shop was stocked with spare parts and the phone and the concept behind it won the firm several awards for design, sustainability and innovation. There were some moans about the quality of the GPS and the camera, but the tide of goodwill accompanying the project was more than enough to see the FP1 over the finish line.

Fairphone 2

So can Fairphone pull off the trick again with its second model, the FP2? The organisation's ambitions for innovation combined with ethics are certainly undiminished. Now swelled to 39 permanent staff (together with a coterie of interns and volunteers) this time around the social enterprise has turned its attentions to sustainable design, and the results are quite radical.

While the FP1 was based on an existing Chinese phone, the FP2 has been designed from the ground up in collaboration with Chinese technology consultancy Hu-Do and London-based designers Seymourpowell. Together they have created a modular smartphone, with its replaceable parts grouped into seven modules for easy repairs by the user. This goes against the general trend in smartphones which have become disposable sealed units in which not even the battery can be replaced by the owner.

While modular phones have been proposed before, Google's venture (codenamed Project Ara) has yet to materialise, which will make the FP2 one of the first - if not the first - modular smartphones on the market, when the first batch is delivered in November.

Fairphone invited Computing to see an advanced working prototype ahead of it's UK launch in London Bridge this weekend, when members of the public will be able to try the phone for themselves.

Like its predecessor, the FP2 comes with dual SIM slots and a high-end screen, but the latter is bigger, the CPU more powerful, memory doubled and the integral protective case and attention to shock-proofing means that the phone is pretty klutz-proof. Public engagement officer Daria Koreniushkina (pictured) barely batted an eyelid when I asked if I could test its claims for ruggedness by dropping it six feet on to a hard tiled floor.

"We've done that hundreds of times and we've only broken one," she said.

Should damage occur nevertheless, the screen (the most frequently damaged component of a smartphone) can be easily replaced by popping a couple of blue catches at the base and sliding it off - there is no need to uncouple any wiring or even to remove any screws. Other modules (cameras, speakers etc) are fixed with a couple of screws, but even the least technical of users should be able to remove and replace them with minimal problems.

Replaceable parts means users will not have to do without their phone while it is sent for repairs, and they will continue to be able to upgrade the phone after its warranty has expired or if damage occurs that is not covered. Prices for the spares have not yet been announced.

In terms of the software, Fairphone 2 runs UI designer Kwamecorp's modified version of Android 5.1. The company is in discussion with providers of open-source operating systems such as Canonical (Ubuntu), Firefox and Jolla (Sailfish OS) to make good on its original "openness" promise, but says these are not quite ready yet. So Fairphone users will have to wait still longer before being able to flash their ROM of choice - but not too much longer perhaps.

"We have been talking to alternative OS manufacturers and have an important announcement planned in the next few days," said Koreniushkina, who refused to be drawn further. Definitely a case of "watch this space" then.

Update: on 22 October Fairphone announced a collaboration with Jolla to port Sailfish OS to the FP2

A quick review of the specs (PDF) shows the FP2 sports a 5-inch Full HD Gorilla Glass display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU ("a good compromise between performance, reliability and an affordable price"), 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage plus micro-SD slot, an 8 megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p high definition video, and a 1.9 megapixel front-facing unit, and 4G networking capabilities. The replaceable battery is rated at 2,420 mAh, a step up from the 2,000 mAh unit in the FP1, and the data connection is standard micro-USB.

"This is a high-end phone," says Koreniushkina. "It's part of our strategic decision to select high-quality components so it should last longer and be more sustainable."

There is as no NFC chip as yet, but there is an extension port on the back of the phone so that one can be incorporated into the case at a later date. While the company may eventually enable the chipset to be upgraded, Koreniushkina said this is not on the radar right now.

"At the moment we're focusing on repairability and building an ecosystem around that," she explained.

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Fairphone 2 - a pre-production review of the new modular smartphone

Ahead of UK launch John Leonard gets an exclusive preview of the new ethical smartphone that's built to last

The modular design aims to be "future resilient" to accommodate additional Fairphone innovations and industry developments in the years ahead. The integral case and replaceable parts means the FP2 is not going to win the slim wars, but that's not the point.

"There's a problem with really thin phones in that the parts have to be glued together," said Koreniushkina. "This makes it hard to replace the parts and hard to recycle. We have gone for modularity because we want to design for longevity and also so it can be recycled. There are limits to how thin you can go with a modular design."

Anyway, she points out, the FP2 is not much thicker than a thin phone with a protective case (picture below is without the case).

The clever design work in the FP2 is all under the skin. To look at, it is a standard black rectangle with rounded corners like a larger FP1 but without the white bezel. It feels well balanced and comfortable in the hand, neither feather light nor unduly heavy, with the semi-translucent protective cover (which comes in a choice of colours) allowing visibility of the components inside. The Gorilla Glass screen in particular feels very responsive to the touch and the modified version of Android 5.1 (by interface designer Kwamecorp) intuitive and easy to use. The case on the prototype did not fit perfectly, but this and other minor glitches will be fixed before the phone goes into production in November.

Taking the FP2 apart and reassembling it was simplicity itself, and the design, internal and external, is clean and uncluttered.

One of the aims of the self-designed FP2 was to allow more control over the supply chain. Like the FP1, tin and tantalum are sourced from conflict-fee mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but tungsten will now come from a mine in Rwanda and this should hopefully make its way into the production model, pending some final paperwork. Progress is also being made with Fairtrade gold, although there is more to do. All gold coming into China is sold through a single market, making it difficult to ensure transparency, "But we're working on it," said Korenkiushkina.

Meanwhile the new Chinese manufacturer Hi-P has past Fairphone's social assessment programme and has agreed to the concept and is taking first steps to establishing a Worker Welfare Fund.

Is the price right?

15,000 pre-sales will be enough to put the crowdfunded FP2 into production, a number that has nearly been achieved. One sticking point that might prevent Fairphone reaching its goal of 100,000 annual sales is price. While the first Fairphone retailed at €325, the FP2 is priced at around €525 (£390), putting it in a space dominated by the iPhone 6 (from €660), Samsung S6 (€550) and the Google Nexus 5 (around €400). In the spirit of openness the company has produced an infographic showing where the money goes, but as a small company economies of scale available to the likes of Samsung are impossible for Fairphone.

A lot will hinge on whether Fairphone can support the phone outside of Europe. The problem lies with the differing networking standards around the globe. Large phone manufactures produce models with localised chipsets, but for a minnow like Fairphone this is not so easy.

"In 2015 the phone will be for sale only in Europe. We are testing it in other countries but that testing has not been completed yet," Korenkiushkina said.

Addressing the phone's relatively high price compared with the first model she said: "We understand there are many people who want to support us but cannot afford €525 up front so we are looking into ways to helping them, for example, paying in installments.

"It is a high-end phone with quality components. You may have to pay more up front but then you will be able to use the phone for longer," she added.

Buyers who are only searching for the cheapest smartphone with the highest specs will probably look elsewhere. Those that support Fairphone's goals of challenging the current methods of building electronic devices, who are interested in new design concepts or who are willing to take a punt on something a bit different may well do otherwise. Korenkiushkina is confident there will be enough people minded thus to make it a success.

"60,000 of people bought a phone they had never seen from a company that had never made a phone before, proving there is a market for ethical electronics. Thanks to them we've been able to invest in original design. This enables us to have much more freedom in creating our own fairer supply chain," she said.

"What we're trying to do is to build a movement for fairer electronics and a phone for us is a tool to address social and environmental issues throughout the value chain of the phone, all the way from the mines to the design, to the factories to the end of life of the phone."

The UK public launch of the FP2 takes place during the London Design Festival 26-27 September.