Fairphone 6+ review: the ethical smartphone that makes compromises

Fairphone has been offering ethical smartphones for several years, ensuring that every link in its production chain is paid fairly. That ethical commitment affects the Fairphone 6+ price, but what compromises does it actually involve? Find out in our review.

Against all expectations, Fairphone has unveiled a new handset: the Fairphone 6+. It arrives just one year after the Fairphone 6. This replacement cycle is entirely normal in tech, yet surprising from a brand aiming to reduce its environmental footprint and which once championed longer product cycles.

Fairphone (Gen. 6+) at the best price

Starting price: €649

• Rueducommerce: €649 - View offer
• FNAC: €652 - View offer

This generational update remains modest, however, and is therefore aimed at first-time buyers rather than tempting existing owners. That is both positive, as it should reduce this purchase's impact on the planet, and negative, since most of the Fairphone 6's shortcomings remain.

Still, let us not be too harsh too soon, especially as the Fairphone 6 was almost certainly the first handset in the range we could genuinely recommend. That probably also explains why it was the line's best-selling model.

A specification sheet with few changes

The Fairphone 6+ is not a Fairphone 7. It does not reinvent the wheel, retaining almost all of its predecessor's specifications with just two exceptions: the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 has been replaced by the Gen 4, while RAM rises from 8GB to 12GB, still using LPDDR5. That is all.

Fairphone 6+
Dimensions	156.5 x 73.3 x 9.6mm
Weight	191 grams
Display	6.31-inch Full HD+ P-OLED display, 120Hz (90Hz by default), 1,400 nits
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4
RAM	12GB
Storage	256GB
OS	Android 16 or Murena /e/OS
Camera sensors	50-megapixel wide-angle sensor (f/1.6)
13-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensor (f/2.2)
Selfie camera	32 megapixels
Biometrics	Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
Battery	4,415mAh
IP rating	IP55
Colours	Green, black, blue

Everything else is exactly the same: the design, IP55 rating, camera modules, display and battery. The greater amount of RAM does push up the price - in this economy!!! - but only moderately. It rises from €600 to €650, which is relatively reasonable given the widespread price increases across the market.

The Fairphone ethos

First, it is worth revisiting Fairphone's philosophy, which explains both the compromises and a price that may seem high for the specifications. This is necessary to understand why a device with broadly the same features as a Nothing Phone (4a) is sold for twice as much.

Founded in 2010, Fairphone set out to create an ethical smartphone by sourcing the many rare earth materials, which are usually extracted in appalling conditions, differently. Cobalt, for instance, used in the lithium-ion batteries of technology products, largely comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa. These mining operations are linked to armed conflict, illness among nearby communities and child exploitation.

This is why Fairphone participates in the Fair Cobalt Alliance, investing in ethical mining operations that compensate workers fairly and keep young people away from mines. The Fairphone 6+ even pays tribute to the initiative with its new cobalt blue finish.

When you buy a Fairphone product, you are not buying good “value for money”. You are buying a device that fairly pays every part of the production chain.

Fairphone 6+ strengths

A phone designed to last

Manufacturers have recently begun to promise up to seven years of software updates for their smartphones, which is excellent news. Yet, honestly, software is rarely why people replace their phones. Over seven years, a battery can deteriorate to the point where it needs charging twice a day, the screen may break, or the camera may be damaged. Repairs are often expensive, encouraging people to choose a new handset instead - one that can sometimes be better and cost less.

The Fairphone 6+ is, meanwhile, a model of repairability, with the brand selling spare parts directly through its shop at affordable prices. A few tens of euros, a screwdriver and a little elbow grease can give your device a new lease of life.

Fairphone also does not fall behind on software support, promising updates until 2033. Should you fill the 256GB of internal storage before then, the microSD slot gives you extra breathing room before you need to replace your phone.

Better performance

One of the Fairphone 6's main weaknesses was performance, as the interface could noticeably slow down when navigating it. With its new SoC and additional memory, the 6+ removes this flaw.

Even demanding tasks are handled admirably by the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. A game as intensive as Fortnite, for example, runs at 60 FPS without stuttering on “high” quality and at around 40 FPS on “epic”. In other words, even with every setting pushed to the maximum, you can rack up Victory Royales without feeling held back by the hardware (stop making excuses for yourselves).

A customisable switch and Fairphone Moments

On the right-hand edge, the Fairphone 6+ features a large yellow switch that gives the device a certain character. More importantly, it is very useful and can be customised. With one press, you can enable aeroplane mode, Do Not Disturb, battery saver, the torch or the blue-light filter. Other manufacturers offer similar functionality, such as OnePlus with its “Plus Key”.

By default, though, this switch is not assigned to any of these functions. Activating it instead enables “Moments” mode, which is akin to a focus mode that reduces distractions. There is no wallpaper or widgets beyond the time and date, and only five shortcuts to apps you have selected in advance. In principle, it comes close to what the Light Phone offers.

The only drawback is the temptation to switch back to the full home screen to open your favourite social network. At least you will be doing so consciously, rather than automatically.

Decent battery life

Like its predecessor, the Fairphone 6 has a 4,415mAh battery. It nevertheless benefits from the new SoC's improved efficiency. This gives it better battery life and allows it to reach two days of use with light usage, although less so when running apps that demand more power.

Battery life is perfectly decent, but it now competes with Chinese smartphones fitted with much denser silicon-carbon batteries. It was therefore respectable by 2024 standards, but less so in 2026.

Charging is not especially impressive either. Its 30W charger, which is not included, restores 50% battery in 25 minutes. That is adequate, but hardly remarkable.

Fairphone 6+ weaknesses

A design that could be improved

In 2025, Pierre said that the Fairphone 6 was “still not very attractive”. I do not entirely agree, and this 6+'s cobalt blue colour reinforces that view. It is a distinctive design that will not appeal to everyone, I accept that, but it has an originality that I like.

Objectively, though, several important elements need improving. Aesthetically, I would say the display bezels are too wide by 2026 standards, although those choosing a Fairphone probably do not care about that detail. Throughout this review, however, I was troubled by the volume buttons' location halfway down the left edge. In truth, the ergonomics seem designed for left-handed users. That is a good thing for the roughly 13% of the population concerned, but everyone else will need to get used to it.

The most damaging point, in the literal sense, is its easily repairable plastic construction. To enable this, Fairphone has avoided glue and a “unibody” design. As a result, it achieves only an IP55 rating, offering good protection against dust but moderate protection from water. It can withstand splashes, but should not survive submersion. So avoid dropping it into the toilet.

The camera remains behind the competition

The Fairphone 6+ makes no progress in photography, retaining exactly the 2025 model's setup. Despite the three circles on its rear, it has only two modules: a wide-angle camera paired with a 50MP Lytia 700C sensor, and an ultra-wide-angle camera paired with a 13MP sensor.

If you use your smartphone camera only occasionally, this setup may be enough. Both day and night, it produces balanced shots with natural colours. But once you look closely at detail, the Fairphone 6+ can no longer keep up.

Its primary issue is a lack of sharpness. A slight zoom into an image is enough to reveal blur and smudged straight lines. Very bright areas also lose their definition, becoming a coloured, hazy halo. If you like photographs with high dynamic range, this is not the device for you.

Our verdict on the Fairphone 6+

Buying a new smartphone is not an act without consequences for the planet. The only environmentally friendly tech product is the one that is never made. Nevertheless, it is possible to limit the impact, and that is precisely what Fairphone strives to offer.

Choosing a Fairphone 6+ to replace your old smartphone is a form of activist consumerism. You agree to pay more than the market price to fund more responsible sourcing. As the generations pass, the small Dutch brand has improved its formula, ultimately delivering a phone that is pleasant to use every day and perhaps even genuinely desirable.

That said, such an activist choice also entails compromises: first in terms of price, but also in practical areas such as photography, which still lags behind rival devices. Another option would be to choose a refurbished phone. A Pixel 10 Pro, for example, occupies the same second-hand price bracket as a new Fairphone 6+. Environmentally, that arguably makes even more sense. Ethically, however, nothing comes close to Fairphone.

Fairphone (Gen. 6+) at the best price

Starting price: €649

• Rueducommerce: €649 - View offer
• FNAC: €652 - View offer

Fairphone 6+

€649

7

Category	Score
Design & durability	9.0/10
Display	7.5/10
Performance & battery life	7.5/10
Camera	5.0/10
Performance-to-price ratio	6.0/10

We like

• The Fairphone ethos
• No more slowdowns from the 6
• Clean, long-lasting software

We like less

• Camera performance trails far behind
• The price of its values
• IP55 only

Buy the Fairphone 6+