Month: September 2023
Proton builds its very own privacy-first CAPTCHA system
The cybersecurity firm describes it as “the world’s first” censorship-resistant CAPTCHA that can access its VPN and email where blocked. Here’s all you need to know.
The cybersecurity firm behind the popular encrypted email and VPN service has just unveiled its very own secure CAPTCHA service.
Proton CAPTCHA solves issues within existing systems that website providers use to discern between genuine login attempts and malicious bots. The new technology claims to never compromise privacy, security, and accessibility, while describing itself as “the world’s first” CAPTCHA with built-in censorship-resistant technologies.
This isn’t the first time the company behind ProtonVPN and ProtonMail has gone the extra mile to protect its customers. Just a month ago, for example, it launched Proton Sentinel to offer increased protection to users at higher risk of cyberattacks.
Fixing CAPTCHA issues
Short for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart,” there are many CAPTCHAs systems out there that websites utilize to protect users from bot and spam attacks. However, Proton wasn’t satisfied with existing solutions as it felt they were not aligned with its company’s values.
“Captchas are an incredibly important tool to protect users against increasingly sophisticated attacks. However, most Captchas are not privacy first and can divulge users’ sensitive information to internet giants,” Eamonn Maguire, Head of Account Security at Proton, told us.
He explained that in order to function, many CAPTCHAs retain a permanent record of users’ phone or computer unique identifiers. This allows them to track their activities across the web, collecting more data that might be used to train the company or a third-party AI system. Chat-GPT and similar apps are also making common CAPTCHAs obsolete, seeing as the software can easily crack the puzzles.
For this reason, and to promote better usability, tech giants like Apple and Cloudflare are switching from the classic CAPTCHA puzzle to alternative mechanisms, such as device performance and telemetry data. Yet, for Proton, this was still just a patchwork solution.
“That’s why we developed Proton Captcha, a new system that can adeptly balance security with usability, accessibility, and privacy that can evolve in tandem with the shifting tactics of malicious actors,” said Maguire.
(Image credit: Proton)
Proton CAPTCHA takes a multi-layered defense approach, combining a computational proof of work with visual challenges to determine if the login attempt comes from a genuine human. At the time of writing, the latter includes a beam alignment challenge and an intuitive 2D puzzle. The system also offers accessible alternatives for users with visual impairments.
Proton proof of work also differs from other CAPTCHA offering something similar, as the system adapts the difficulty of the task if it records suspicious behaviors. In practical terms, even if a bot can bypass the initial proof of work, after struggling with the visual challenges, it will be met with increasingly complex computations.
Proton’s security suite keeps growing as new cyber threats arise. It now includes its VPN (ProtonVPN), ProtonMail, Proton Drive, Proton Calendar, and Proton Pass.
Proton CAPTCHA promises to take a privacy-first approach that’s fully GDPR compliant.
It also claims to be the first system ever to support anti-censorship technologies, which can be activated directly from Proton’s website and apps to grant users access to places like Russia and Iran where its services are often blocked.
On this point, Maguire told us: “By developing our own solution, we have built a CAPTCHA that navigates such issues when alternative routing is turned on whilst still working normally for those who don’t need anti-censorship tools.”
This is the most recent tool within Proton’s continuous commitment to users’ online safety and internet freedom. The company assures more innovation will arise in this space as new CAPTCHA threats evolve. Third parties caring for users’ privacy might also be able to use Proton’s system via an API in the future—there are no plans in this direction just yet, though.
“However, we are assessing third party interest in the system,” Maguire told TechRadar. “If we receive a large amount of interest and opening it up makes economic sense, then we would be open to making it available to third parties.”
Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.01 is coming soon with a save file corruption fix for PS5
CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 patch 2.01 is “coming soon” and will mainly address performance issues and bugs.
CD Projekt Red has announced that Cyberpunk 2077 patch 2.01 is “coming soon” and will mainly address performance issues and bugs.
The developer shared a post today to confirm that a new update is on its way, and although we don’t have a set release date, we do know what will be included when it does arrive.
First and foremost, Cyberpunk 2077 will receive some performance improvements for both PC and current-gen consoles, particularly surrounding the game’s brand-new Dogtown district that arrived with the Phantom Liberty expansion – which should hopefully smooth out any major FPS drops.
The patch will also fix the PS5 corrupted saves bug, which has been achieved by increasing the maximum save file size limit. However, this won’t fix the saves corrupted before the update and the developer says if you’re still having the same problem after the update, reserve a manual save until 2.01 arrives.
Other major changes coming include fixes to several buggy quests, including The Gig, The Heist, and Automatic Love, while the vehicle radio music has received a sound boost to make it easier to hear over the background noise of Night City.
Everything coming to Cyberpunk 2077 in patch 2.01:
The distorted effect caused by selecting a specific dialogue option when talking to Johnny at the end of Automatic Love will no longer persist on the screen.V will no longer die in The Heist by falling through the elevator when riding to the 42nd floor with low FPS.Fixed an issue where the UI could show controller inputs when playing with keyboard and mouse.Made it possible to properly switch to arms cyberware by cycling through weapons.Gig: Breaking News will be properly triggered after approaching the quest area.Vehicle radio volume will be adjusted so it’s not too quiet when compared to other sounds in the game.Addressed the issue of corrupted saves on PlayStation by increasing the maximum save file size limit. Note: this won’t fix the saves corrupted before the update. If you’re experiencing the issue, keep a working save (e.g. resave it as manual save) till 2.01 arrives.Performance improvements for both PC and consoles, especially in the Dogtown area.
CD Projekt Red mentions that these are only the highlights of patch 2.01, so players can expect more details soon.
Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.0 went live prior to the release of Phantom Liberty and has massively improved the original game by completely overhauling a ton of features, like the combat and police system, as well as improving upon the UI, overall performance, visual quality, and more.
The game, alongside the expansion, is essentially a brand-new game that CD Projekt Red has recommended that returning players start a brand new save to get the full experience.
If you’re looking for something new to play, here are our picks for the best RPGs, as well as our essential guide to every upcoming game of 2023.
The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Building a Strong Tech Team
Imagine a tech team where every member feels heard, valued, and empowered. Think of a workspace filled with individuals from
The post The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Building a Strong Tech Team appeared first on ReadWrite.
Imagine a tech team where every member feels heard, valued, and empowered. Think of a workspace filled with individuals from diverse backgrounds, each bringing their unique perspectives to the table. Among them is Maria, a talented product designer who grew up in a small town, navigating a world dominated by a singular narrative.
However, her experiences, shaped by her cultural heritage and upbringing, give her a fresh outlook on problem-solving. As Maria joins this inclusive tech team, her ideas and creativity flourish. Collaborating with colleagues from various walks of life, they combine their expertise and viewpoints to create groundbreaking solutions that resonate with a diverse user base.
This short story exemplifies the power of diversity and inclusion in creating a better tech product. By embracing differences and fostering an environment where everyone’s voice is valued, we pave the way for remarkable innovation and growth. In this article, I’ll explore the benefits of diversity and inclusion in tech teams. I’ll provide insights into cultivating a culture of inclusivity that sets the stage for success in our ever-evolving tech industry.
Understanding Diversity and Inclusion in the Tech Industry
To truly appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusion in building a solid tech team, we must first understand what these terms encompass and how they differ.
Diversity goes beyond just demographic factors like race, gender, and age! It encompasses a broad range of experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. Inclusion, on the other hand, refers to creating an environment where all individuals feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique insights and skills.
Unfortunately, the tech industry has historically struggled with lack of diversity and inclusion. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, and other underrepresented groups have faced significant barriers to entry and advancement.
However, acknowledging these challenges allows us to work towards creating a more inclusive tech community.
Think about it…
The benefits of diversity and inclusion in the tech industry are multifaceted and far-reaching.
By embracing gender diversity in the workplace, for instance, the tech industry can unlock its full potential and create a more inclusive and prosperous future.
When individuals from diverse backgrounds collaborate, they bring a wealth of different perspectives, ideas, and problem-solving approaches to the table. What you get as an inclusive organization is enhanced creativity, innovation, and out-of-the-box thinking.
Moreover, diverse teams are better equipped to understand and address the needs of various user bases, resulting in the development of more inclusive and accessible tech solutions.
By fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion, we create a more equitable and fair industry. We also unlock the full potential of our tech teams.
In the following sections, we will delve deeper into the current state and impact of diversity and inclusion in tech and explore the numerous benefits they bring to the table.
The Impact of Diversity on Tech Team Performance
Embracing diversity goes beyond ticking boxes. It is about creating an environment where individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can thrive.
Such diversity fosters an atmosphere of innovation, problem-solving, and collaboration. Research consistently supports the positive correlation between diversity and team performance. They highlight the advantages of diverse teams in driving business success.
Moreover, successful tech companies that prioritize diversity have not only achieved significant growth but also become industry leaders in creating inclusive cultures.
In the following sections, we will delve deeper into how diverse teams enhance problem-solving and innovation, examine the research supporting the correlation between diversity and team performance, and explore examples of tech companies that have successfully prioritized diversity on their path to success.
How diverse teams can enhance problem-solving and innovation
One of the remarkable aspects of diverse tech teams is their ability to excel in problem-solving and drive innovation. When individuals from different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together, they bring a rich tapestry of ideas and insights that can lead to breakthrough solutions.
Diverse teams have the advantage of approaching problems from multiple angles. Each team member brings their unique knowledge and expertise, which expands the range of possible solutions.
Different perspectives can challenge conventional thinking and spark creative approaches to tackling complex issues. By embracing diversity, tech teams can tap into a wellspring of creativity and innovation that would be otherwise inaccessible.
Moreover, diversity encourages healthy debates and discussions. When you have a mix of voices, opinions, and ideas in the room, it sparks critical thinking. Different perspectives challenge the status quo, helping to uncover biases and blind spots that might otherwise go unnoticed. This inclusive approach to problem-solving creates an environment where everyone’s voice is valued, fostering a supportive and collaborative team culture.
The positive correlation between diversity and team performance
Numerous studies and research have demonstrated the positive correlation between diversity and team performance in the tech industry. A 2019 study by McKinsey & Company found that companies in the third quartile of gender diversity were more likely to achieve above-average (25% more) profitability than their less-diverse counterparts. The research highlighted that diverse teams tend to foster a more inclusive and innovative environment, driving business success.
Another study published in the Harvard Business Review showed that diverse teams outperformed homogeneous teams in decision-making and problem-solving. The research found that companies with various teams solve problems faster. HBR found that diverse teams were better at considering different perspectives, processing information more carefully, and avoiding groupthink. This ability to leverage diversity led to more effective and successful outcomes.
Furthermore, several studies have revealed that diverse teams are more likely to produce higher-quality products. Teams with greater gender diversity demonstrated a higher level of attention to detail, problem-solving capacity, innovation, improved communication, and a more customer-centric focus. These factors contribute to enhanced product development and customer satisfaction.
Successful Tech Companies That Prioritize Diversity
Several tech companies have recognized the importance of diversity and made it a priority in their organizational culture. These companies have cultivated a diverse workforce and have also experienced ignificant growth and success as a result.
Microsoft
One notable example is Microsoft, which has implemented initiatives to increase diversity within its workforce and leadership positions. The company actively seeks to create an inclusive environment where individuals from all backgrounds can thrive.
One of their noteworthy programs is its Diversity and Inclusion Program. This program empowers employees to become advocates for diversity by providing them with training, resources, and opportunities to engage in initiatives that promote inclusivity. These champions are pivotal in fostering a culture where everyone feels valued and respected.
Microsoft also recognizes the importance of supporting underrepresented groups in tech. Their DigiGirlz program aims to inspire young girls to pursue careers in technology. Through workshops, mentoring sessions, and immersive experiences, Microsoft encourages girls to explore the possibilities in the tech industry, breaking down barriers and fostering a more diverse talent pipeline for the future.
Microsoft’s dedication to diversity and inclusion extends to their leadership positions as well. The company has set ambitious diversity goals for its executive team and holds leaders accountable for progress in achieving these goals. By prioritizing diversity at the highest levels of the organization, Microsoft sets a powerful example for the entire industry.
Google has also made significant efforts to foster diversity and inclusion within its workforce. The company has implemented programs to increase the representation of underrepresented groups, such as women and people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Google also provides resources and support for employee resource groups that promote inclusivity and celebrate diversity.
Google is widely recognized for its commitment to diversity and inclusion, both within its workforce and beyond.
One notable program led by Google is the “Made with Code” initiative. This initiative aims to inspire young girls to pursue careers in computer science and close the gender gap in tech. Through partnerships with organizations, coding projects, and events, Google empowers young girls to explore coding and technology, nurturing their passion and potential in the field.
By implementing these diversity and inclusion programs, both internally and externally, Google strives to create a more equitable and inclusive tech industry. The company recognizes that diverse perspectives and experiences are essential for driving innovation and solving complex problems.
Salesforce
Salesforce, a leading cloud-based software company, has been vocal about its commitment to diversity and equality. The company takes equality as a core value and focuses on building a culture of inclusion, and provides resources and programs to support underrepresented groups in tech. As a result, Salesforce has experienced remarkable growth, both financially and in terms of its reputation as an inclusive employer.
Salesforce is renowned for its commitment to diversity and equality. The company has established robust diversity programs, including initiatives focused on gender equality, racial and ethnic diversity, and LGBTQ+ inclusion. By prioritizing diversity, Salesforce has created an inclusive culture that fosters innovation and drives business growth.
Adobe: Adobe recognizes the importance of diversity in driving innovation and creativity. The company actively supports employee resource groups, provides diversity training, and offers mentorship and sponsorship programs to promote diverse talent. Adobe’s focus on diversity has contributed to its reputation as a leader in design and creativity.
Tackling Common Challenges to Diversity and Inclusion
We know it! Creating a diverse and inclusive tech team is not a one-time effort. It requires ongoing commitment and the implementation of best practices. Let’s explore common challenges and strategies for building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive tech team.
Monotonous job pool
Picture this: you’re searching for diverse talent, but the applicant pool seems a bit monotonous. Don’t worry! Companies can take proactive steps to expand the pool.
You can team up with organizations that focus on underrepresented groups. You can cast a wider net through targeted recruitment efforts. Employ graduates from programs like these. You can even give your job descriptions a makeover to make them more inclusive and appealing to a diverse range of candidates.
Overcoming bias
Bias in recruitment and hiring processes is a sneaky little devil that we need to address. But it’s not an intractable problem. How about implementing blind resume screening or blind hiring?
It’s like putting on a blindfold and evaluating resumes solely based on qualifications, removing personal information that might unconsciously trigger biases.
Structured interviews and clear assessment criteria also play a role in leveling the playing field and ensuring fair evaluations.
Education is key
Ongoing training and education are essential for promoting diversity and inclusion. Companies can provide diversity and unconscious bias training to all employees, giving them awareness of their biases and fostering a culture of inclusivity.
Employee resource groups and mentoring programs can also help create spaces where individuals from underrepresented groups can learn, grow, and be supported.
Building a culture of respect
Nurturing a culture of respect, collaboration, and open communication is vital. Why not encourage your team members to embrace diverse perspectives, challenge biases, and engage in meaningful discussions? But remember, it all begins from the top of the hierarchy!
Foster an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique ideas and insights. Finally, celebrate achievements and promote teamwork to create a sense of belonging.
Conclusion
We have explored the multifaceted benefits that diversity brings to the table, from enhanced creativity and innovation to a deeper understanding of diverse user needs. Inclusion fosters an environment where every team member feels valued, empowered, and able to contribute their unique perspectives and talents.
As we move forward, organizations must prioritize diversity and inclusion efforts. It’s not just about ticking boxes or meeting quotas—it’s about creating a culture that embraces diversity as a driver of success. By implementing inclusive policies, practices, and strategies, organizations can unlock the full potential of their teams and contribute to a more inclusive tech industry.
Looking ahead, I envision a future where diversity and inclusion are not just buzzwords but integral components of the tech industry’s DNA. This future holds the promise of more incredible innovation, breakthrough solutions, and a more accessible and equitable tech ecosystem for all.
The post The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Building a Strong Tech Team appeared first on ReadWrite.
How to Set Up Quick iPhone Camera Shortcuts With iOS 17 – CNET
Access all your camera modes with ease using iOS 17 shortcuts.
Access all your camera modes with ease using iOS 17 shortcuts.
The Fairphone 5 is less about what comes in the box and more about what you get over the years
Fairphone’s latest repairable device is for people who hate saying goodbye to an old smartphone more than they like buying a new one. At the risk of oversimplification, I think there are two main types of phone buyers in the world. There are those who are happy to be in the market for a new device, who delight in discovering how phones have improved since they last upgraded and who can’t wait to reap the benefits of better low-light camera performance, a prettier display, and more premium build quality.
Then, there are those who hate the process of shopping for a new phone, who see it as all cost and no upside. They’re the people who respond with despair when they’re told that their phone has reached the end of its software support period or that it’s no longer cost-effective to repair a seemingly minor hardware fault.
Fairphone’s devices have traditionally been targeted at this second kind of phone buyer, but the new Fairphone 5 is more of a halfway house. You still get the modular design with a user-replaceable battery, a long warranty, and readily available spare parts. But now the phone comes equipped with technological advancements such as a modern OLED display with a high refresh rate, more robust waterproofing, and a higher-capacity battery.
With a starting price of €699 (£619 or around $740, though Fairphone currently has no plans to sell the device in the US), the Fairphone 5 still comes at a price premium compared to some of its similarly specced competitors. But it might be a price worth paying if the thought of having to replace your phone after a couple of short years fills you with dread.
Although the Fairphone 5 is available in three colors — black, blue, and transparent — I’d argue that the latter is the one every prospective owner should be considering. While the color scheme isn’t as transparent as Nothing’s devices, it’s arguably a much more functional kind of transparency. You’re not just looking at aesthetically pleasing innards; you’re looking at the exposed screws and user-replaceable battery that are (hopefully) going to keep the phone functional long into the future.
As well as a transparent back, Fairphone also attempts to be transparent about how its devices are produced. The company pays a living wage bonus to over 2,000 workers on key production lines for the phone and attempts to source raw materials for the phones sustainably. These include Fairtrade gold and recycled aluminum, tin, nickel, zinc, copper, magnesium, indium, and plastics. In total, there are 14 raw materials that Fairphone attempts to sustainably source, and the company says that, of these materials, (which make up around 42 percent of the total weight of the phone), 70 percent come from fair or recycled sources. Fairphone isn’t alone in its attempts to sustainably source more of the raw materials for its phones. Although the figures aren’t directly comparable, Apple says that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is made from 20 percent “recycled or renewable content,” including 100 percent recycled cobalt in its battery.
Actually getting inside the phone is a simple matter of getting your fingernail under the bottom right of the cover and unclipping it. From here, you can lever out the battery without the need for any tools at all (which you’ll need to do to insert a physical SIM or microSD card into the phone) or else remove the phone’s other replaceable modules using a small Phillips-head screwdriver.
Individual modules are designed to be replaceable with a screwdriver.
Like the Fairphone 4, the Fairphone 5 doesn’t have a headphone jack.
At the risk of stating the obvious, the reason it’s good that you can easily remove these modules is so that you can replace them if and when they break over time. Fairphone has experimented with selling upgraded modules in the past (you could swap out the cameras on the Fairphone 3 with the improved sensors from the 3 Plus, for example), but here, the focus is on repairability, not upgradability. To that end, there are actually more individually accessible modules this time around, which is nice if you, say, only need to replace one rear camera that’s broken or swap out a faulty SIM card tray.
Fairphone hopes to have spare parts for the Fairphone 5 available for the eight to 10 years it intends to support the phone with software updates and will replace faulty components under warranty for five years after purchase. The company ran out of some Fairphone 2 parts in 2020, five years after that phone’s launch, and spokesperson Anna Jopp tells me the company has gotten better at managing its inventories of spare parts since then. From a hardware perspective, that means it should be possible to keep the phone operational into the next decade.
Fairphone is targeting up to 10 years of software support
The downside of making the phone this easy to open and repair is that it only has an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. That’s better than the IP54 rating of the Fairphone 4 (which was still resilient enough for me to use throughout an exceptionally rainy hike), but it still falls short of allowing you to fully immerse the device in water like you can do with an IP68-rated phone. Most modern phones at the Fairphone 5’s price point and above carry an IP68 rating.
The Fairphone 5 is the first of the company’s smartphones to come equipped with an OLED display, which is bright and colorful, with a nice, sharp 1224 x 2700 resolution and a snappy 90Hz refresh rate. You also get a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera this time around rather than a teardrop notch. Just do yourself a favor and head into Settings > Display > Visual Enhancement and set the color mode and temperature to “Natural”; the default “Vivid” is overkill.
The OLED screen is a big step up from previous Fairphones.
Battery replacements are about as simple as they get here.
An OLED screen isn’t particularly impressive or unusual for a phone costing €699 (Samsung and Google sell phones with fast-refreshing OLED screens for hundreds less), but they’re more notable in the context of Fairphone’s previous devices, which have typically lagged behind what’s offered by more mainstream smartphones. Fairphone has successfully caught up in the screen department, and it feels good. Unfortunately, on the audio side, the phone’s stereo speakers sound hollow compared to other devices.
Although the screen looks much more modern, I’m not going to claim the overall construction of the Fairphone 5 feels as premium as that of the competition. Although it’s got an aluminum frame, its back is plastic rather than glass, which does feel less premium, even if it feels good knowing it’s made of 100 percent recycled plastic. Fairphone also boasts that the phone is slimmer and lighter this time around, but it’s still not as svelte as a typical smartphone these days.
The Fairphone 5 is powered by a Qualcomm QCM6490 paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is expandable by up to 2TB more via microSD. If that processor name doesn’t sound familiar to you, that’s likely because it’s a chip that’s generally aimed more at industrial hardware rather than consumer devices, and Fairphone says it picked it to allow for a longer support period (since it’s very difficult for smartphone manufacturers to continue to release updates for a device after a chipset’s manufacturer ends support).
The result is that Fairphone is guaranteeing “at least” five major Android upgrades after Android 13, which means the Fairphone 5 should be updated to at least 2027’s Android 18 (or whatever it ends up being called). Then, in terms of security patches, as mentioned above, Fairphone is committing to keeping the Fairphone 5 patched until 2031 and is even aiming to extend support to 2033 for a total of 10 years of support.
You’ll need to pop out the battery to insert a SIM and / or microSD card.
The phone has two cameras, a main and an ultrawide, both with 50-megapixel resolutions.
To be clear, this is basically class-leading when it comes to Android manufacturers. Even Google currently only commits to supporting its latest Pixel phones for five years (though there are rumors this could change with the Pixel 8). Apple has historically fared better and only just stopped supporting 2017’s iPhone X with OS upgrades (meaning it received five major iOS updates), but it doesn’t offer any explicit promises about software support periods going forward. Fairphone has a good track record of supporting its older devices. It only recently stopped supporting the Fairphone 2 earlier this year, seven years after it first shipped. That said, it’s impossible to guarantee how well Android 18 will eventually run on this device. All Fairphone is saying is that it’ll run, period.
Although we’ve got Qualcomm’s QCM6490 to thank for this long support period, I’m less sold on its proficiency as a processor in a consumer device. Yes, it’s technically equivalent in power to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G, but the Fairphone 5 tended to chug under heavy use. I never experienced a crash, nor was the phone ever unusable, but the occasional stutters when flitting between apps were noticeable on the phone’s 90Hz screen.
Fast charging, if you have the hardware
I got good battery life out of the Fairphone 5’s removable 4,200mAh battery. I typically put the phone on to charge at night with around 50 percent remaining and averaged around five hours of screen-on time per charge. But you can’t charge the Fairphone 5 wirelessly, which is another feature other phones like the Pixel 7A and iPhone SE offer at, or below, its price point. Fast charging tops out at a respectable 30W, though you don’t get a charging brick or cable in the box.
The Fairphone 5 has taken a big step forward in terms of camera quality compared to Fairphone’s previous devices, but the photos I got out of its 50-megapixel main camera and 50-megapixel ultrawide are far from class-leading.
Hold the phone still while taking photos, and it’s possible to get shots that are sharp, clear, and colorful, but the Fairphone 5 can struggle to deal with less ideal shooting situations. If light drops, then detail quickly drops with it, and despite the optical image stabilization, I ended up with several blurry shots where I’d clearly not made enough of an effort to hold the camera still. In low light, the phone produces superficially nice shots, but peer a little closer, and it looks like this is the work of aggressive processing, with a lot of fine detail smoothed out and colors artificially boosted. And despite offering the same 50 megapixels of resolution, shots from the phone’s ultrawide camera end up lacking in detail.
But the most overprocessed shots I got out of the Fairphone 5 came from its 50-megapixel selfie camera, which almost had me thinking I had some kind of AI or beautification mode turned on. They all just looked a little too bright and blown out.
None of which is to say the Fairphone 5 comes with a bad camera system; I got plenty of usable photos out of it. But there are a lot of very good midrange smartphone cameras out there, and the Fairphone 5 isn’t among them.
The Fairphone 5 is a lesson in delayed gratification.
Yes, you can get more features and better performance for less than its €699 asking price. Both the €509 Pixel 7A and the €529 iPhone SE come with speedy flagship processors, support for wireless charging, and a more robust IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The Pixel 7A, in particular, comes with the best camera system you’re likely to find at its midrange price point. And that’s without mentioning the €449 Samsung Galaxy A54 and its amazing screen.
But the Fairphone 5 isn’t the phone for people who want the best price-to-performance ratio out of the box. It’s the phone for people who want the best price-to-performance ratio over time, who balk at the idea of replacing a phone just because it’s developed a faulty charging port or even replacing a perfectly good phone just because a newer and shinier model is available.
The Fairphone 5 is not a phone for people who love buying new phones; it’s for people who hate saying goodbye to their old ones.
Photography by Jon Porter / The Verge
Fairphone’s latest repairable device is for people who hate saying goodbye to an old smartphone more than they like buying a new one.
At the risk of oversimplification, I think there are two main types of phone buyers in the world. There are those who are happy to be in the market for a new device, who delight in discovering how phones have improved since they last upgraded and who can’t wait to reap the benefits of better low-light camera performance, a prettier display, and more premium build quality.
Then, there are those who hate the process of shopping for a new phone, who see it as all cost and no upside. They’re the people who respond with despair when they’re told that their phone has reached the end of its software support period or that it’s no longer cost-effective to repair a seemingly minor hardware fault.
Fairphone’s devices have traditionally been targeted at this second kind of phone buyer, but the new Fairphone 5 is more of a halfway house. You still get the modular design with a user-replaceable battery, a long warranty, and readily available spare parts. But now the phone comes equipped with technological advancements such as a modern OLED display with a high refresh rate, more robust waterproofing, and a higher-capacity battery.
With a starting price of €699 (£619 or around $740, though Fairphone currently has no plans to sell the device in the US), the Fairphone 5 still comes at a price premium compared to some of its similarly specced competitors. But it might be a price worth paying if the thought of having to replace your phone after a couple of short years fills you with dread.
Although the Fairphone 5 is available in three colors — black, blue, and transparent — I’d argue that the latter is the one every prospective owner should be considering. While the color scheme isn’t as transparent as Nothing’s devices, it’s arguably a much more functional kind of transparency. You’re not just looking at aesthetically pleasing innards; you’re looking at the exposed screws and user-replaceable battery that are (hopefully) going to keep the phone functional long into the future.
As well as a transparent back, Fairphone also attempts to be transparent about how its devices are produced. The company pays a living wage bonus to over 2,000 workers on key production lines for the phone and attempts to source raw materials for the phones sustainably. These include Fairtrade gold and recycled aluminum, tin, nickel, zinc, copper, magnesium, indium, and plastics. In total, there are 14 raw materials that Fairphone attempts to sustainably source, and the company says that, of these materials, (which make up around 42 percent of the total weight of the phone), 70 percent come from fair or recycled sources. Fairphone isn’t alone in its attempts to sustainably source more of the raw materials for its phones. Although the figures aren’t directly comparable, Apple says that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max is made from 20 percent “recycled or renewable content,” including 100 percent recycled cobalt in its battery.
Actually getting inside the phone is a simple matter of getting your fingernail under the bottom right of the cover and unclipping it. From here, you can lever out the battery without the need for any tools at all (which you’ll need to do to insert a physical SIM or microSD card into the phone) or else remove the phone’s other replaceable modules using a small Phillips-head screwdriver.
Individual modules are designed to be replaceable with a screwdriver.
Like the Fairphone 4, the Fairphone 5 doesn’t have a headphone jack.
At the risk of stating the obvious, the reason it’s good that you can easily remove these modules is so that you can replace them if and when they break over time. Fairphone has experimented with selling upgraded modules in the past (you could swap out the cameras on the Fairphone 3 with the improved sensors from the 3 Plus, for example), but here, the focus is on repairability, not upgradability. To that end, there are actually more individually accessible modules this time around, which is nice if you, say, only need to replace one rear camera that’s broken or swap out a faulty SIM card tray.
Fairphone hopes to have spare parts for the Fairphone 5 available for the eight to 10 years it intends to support the phone with software updates and will replace faulty components under warranty for five years after purchase. The company ran out of some Fairphone 2 parts in 2020, five years after that phone’s launch, and spokesperson Anna Jopp tells me the company has gotten better at managing its inventories of spare parts since then. From a hardware perspective, that means it should be possible to keep the phone operational into the next decade.
The downside of making the phone this easy to open and repair is that it only has an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. That’s better than the IP54 rating of the Fairphone 4 (which was still resilient enough for me to use throughout an exceptionally rainy hike), but it still falls short of allowing you to fully immerse the device in water like you can do with an IP68-rated phone. Most modern phones at the Fairphone 5’s price point and above carry an IP68 rating.
The Fairphone 5 is the first of the company’s smartphones to come equipped with an OLED display, which is bright and colorful, with a nice, sharp 1224 x 2700 resolution and a snappy 90Hz refresh rate. You also get a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera this time around rather than a teardrop notch. Just do yourself a favor and head into Settings > Display > Visual Enhancement and set the color mode and temperature to “Natural”; the default “Vivid” is overkill.
The OLED screen is a big step up from previous Fairphones.
Battery replacements are about as simple as they get here.
An OLED screen isn’t particularly impressive or unusual for a phone costing €699 (Samsung and Google sell phones with fast-refreshing OLED screens for hundreds less), but they’re more notable in the context of Fairphone’s previous devices, which have typically lagged behind what’s offered by more mainstream smartphones. Fairphone has successfully caught up in the screen department, and it feels good. Unfortunately, on the audio side, the phone’s stereo speakers sound hollow compared to other devices.
Although the screen looks much more modern, I’m not going to claim the overall construction of the Fairphone 5 feels as premium as that of the competition. Although it’s got an aluminum frame, its back is plastic rather than glass, which does feel less premium, even if it feels good knowing it’s made of 100 percent recycled plastic. Fairphone also boasts that the phone is slimmer and lighter this time around, but it’s still not as svelte as a typical smartphone these days.
The Fairphone 5 is powered by a Qualcomm QCM6490 paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is expandable by up to 2TB more via microSD. If that processor name doesn’t sound familiar to you, that’s likely because it’s a chip that’s generally aimed more at industrial hardware rather than consumer devices, and Fairphone says it picked it to allow for a longer support period (since it’s very difficult for smartphone manufacturers to continue to release updates for a device after a chipset’s manufacturer ends support).
The result is that Fairphone is guaranteeing “at least” five major Android upgrades after Android 13, which means the Fairphone 5 should be updated to at least 2027’s Android 18 (or whatever it ends up being called). Then, in terms of security patches, as mentioned above, Fairphone is committing to keeping the Fairphone 5 patched until 2031 and is even aiming to extend support to 2033 for a total of 10 years of support.
You’ll need to pop out the battery to insert a SIM and / or microSD card.
The phone has two cameras, a main and an ultrawide, both with 50-megapixel resolutions.
To be clear, this is basically class-leading when it comes to Android manufacturers. Even Google currently only commits to supporting its latest Pixel phones for five years (though there are rumors this could change with the Pixel 8). Apple has historically fared better and only just stopped supporting 2017’s iPhone X with OS upgrades (meaning it received five major iOS updates), but it doesn’t offer any explicit promises about software support periods going forward. Fairphone has a good track record of supporting its older devices. It only recently stopped supporting the Fairphone 2 earlier this year, seven years after it first shipped. That said, it’s impossible to guarantee how well Android 18 will eventually run on this device. All Fairphone is saying is that it’ll run, period.
Although we’ve got Qualcomm’s QCM6490 to thank for this long support period, I’m less sold on its proficiency as a processor in a consumer device. Yes, it’s technically equivalent in power to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G, but the Fairphone 5 tended to chug under heavy use. I never experienced a crash, nor was the phone ever unusable, but the occasional stutters when flitting between apps were noticeable on the phone’s 90Hz screen.
I got good battery life out of the Fairphone 5’s removable 4,200mAh battery. I typically put the phone on to charge at night with around 50 percent remaining and averaged around five hours of screen-on time per charge. But you can’t charge the Fairphone 5 wirelessly, which is another feature other phones like the Pixel 7A and iPhone SE offer at, or below, its price point. Fast charging tops out at a respectable 30W, though you don’t get a charging brick or cable in the box.
The Fairphone 5 has taken a big step forward in terms of camera quality compared to Fairphone’s previous devices, but the photos I got out of its 50-megapixel main camera and 50-megapixel ultrawide are far from class-leading.
Hold the phone still while taking photos, and it’s possible to get shots that are sharp, clear, and colorful, but the Fairphone 5 can struggle to deal with less ideal shooting situations. If light drops, then detail quickly drops with it, and despite the optical image stabilization, I ended up with several blurry shots where I’d clearly not made enough of an effort to hold the camera still. In low light, the phone produces superficially nice shots, but peer a little closer, and it looks like this is the work of aggressive processing, with a lot of fine detail smoothed out and colors artificially boosted. And despite offering the same 50 megapixels of resolution, shots from the phone’s ultrawide camera end up lacking in detail.
But the most overprocessed shots I got out of the Fairphone 5 came from its 50-megapixel selfie camera, which almost had me thinking I had some kind of AI or beautification mode turned on. They all just looked a little too bright and blown out.
None of which is to say the Fairphone 5 comes with a bad camera system; I got plenty of usable photos out of it. But there are a lot of very good midrange smartphone cameras out there, and the Fairphone 5 isn’t among them.
The Fairphone 5 is a lesson in delayed gratification.
Yes, you can get more features and better performance for less than its €699 asking price. Both the €509 Pixel 7A and the €529 iPhone SE come with speedy flagship processors, support for wireless charging, and a more robust IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The Pixel 7A, in particular, comes with the best camera system you’re likely to find at its midrange price point. And that’s without mentioning the €449 Samsung Galaxy A54 and its amazing screen.
But the Fairphone 5 isn’t the phone for people who want the best price-to-performance ratio out of the box. It’s the phone for people who want the best price-to-performance ratio over time, who balk at the idea of replacing a phone just because it’s developed a faulty charging port or even replacing a perfectly good phone just because a newer and shinier model is available.
The Fairphone 5 is not a phone for people who love buying new phones; it’s for people who hate saying goodbye to their old ones.
Photography by Jon Porter / The Verge