This Review is Going to Make Me Very Unpopular

Making a cell phone is psycho hard, though. We actually developed entirely new project management paradigms just for it. From this is where Six Sigma comes where we make a goal of some number of defects like 1 in some 6 million aspects. The way we do that is by each component that as it starts gets measured for what we would tolerate. Like, maybe the raw metal has to be so pure or it gets rejected, and then the wires have to be +/- a certain thickness. Then we measure the components as they get assembled. Each step goes through testing to make sure components are within standards. Components that are defective get rejected, of course. Eventually put the whole thing together and ship the phone (after testing it). That's how that works.
This allowed companies to start pumping out cell phones like crazy. Cell phones are crazy intricate with many limitations because they're so darn small and need to be mobile, but perform with minimal power usage, and still be within budgets so they sell.
I can see how a small company not used to this struggles with this. Not only is this psycho hard but there are patent trolls that will come and tear apart all your resources which can cause project failure.
Another project threat is outsourcing and realizing the company made a few edits to your design to save costs further. They gave you a quote and what shipped was something out of specs. Now you have something untested and something that requires proprietary drivers. Why buy an indie cell phone? To get indie results, obviously. Now your software doesn't deliver no matter what because you have to use these trashy drivers. Remember the whole Winmodem thing where your modem wasn't really a modem, it was just a piece of trash and sucked up your computer's processing power (computers were really slow back then, like, we're talking silly slow). Of course, there's there's China being China. You want to make a competitive phone? OK, cool, so do I, but then you need to keep the price down, so outsource to China. Again, China being China, they will steal your designs and rip you off. You pay for all the development and they ship your phone under their brand and leave you high and dry.

Its almost like its using linux

Have a Fairphone 4, which came unlocked and did pretty much what I wanted with the software I chose and good repairability, a shocking weakness of smartphones. Obviously there is a trade off, there always is. On the upside fixing a charging port or a screen replacement a year or two down the line (when the machine won't be worth so much) is about as cheap & easy as it gets.
Although I have no hands on experience of the 5, I suspect development or Lineage might iron out many of these niggles- are you sure you're not complaining about being unable to have your cake an eat it?

BEARDED Linus FTW!

This doesn’t feel like it was done in good faith. The software comments show your lack of awareness of bog standard stock android.
Do better.

$800 is a ridiculous price for this

Awful review… I think LTT flunked 100% on this one

How many times a day do you change your SIM Card, Linus? 😂

It's sad how tone def linus has become over the years

Comparing using special equipment to compare against just pulling something out? I mean from the guy the invests in framework laptops but doesn't make the same comparisons?

Hi Linus from Germany,

your title unfortunately hits the nail on the head. Your belief in the mission of Fairphone is unfortunately far too short and one has the feeling that you just want to destroy the phone and the deeper meaning behind it. The project doesn't deserve that and should have been allowed to continue in the video.
Where are the comparisons to software updates with other manufacturers? iFIxit comparisons to repairability or the availability (+ duration) of spare parts for the FP5? I love your channel and your videos and your merch is certainly cool if not affordable outside North America due to shipping + customs fees (LTT Store Europe in planning?).
Also forgive yourself for a misstep (Nexus Gate) but this is too personal. With a lot of energy, blood, and sweat, we were able to introduce this phone in our company as the successor to the Huawei P30 lite even though it is twice as expensive because it is almost unique in the market when it comes to sustainability. And that's exactly what every user who complains about the device or features gets, just like you, dear Linus, smeared on the bread! Yes, your arguments regarding hardware and software are absolutely understandable, but Fairphone's goal is not to produce an affordable "flagship killer" but something fairer and more sustainable than what Samsung, Apple, and others produce, and this approach not only falls short in your video but simply does not happen! Personally, the advantages outweigh the "weak points" for me by simply making a few personal sacrifices that the world will not end from. You receive regular software updates and security patches. The performance is more than OK. Some parts of this post are complaining at a high level and unfortunately reflect the overall problem in society, which is why we probably won't be able to stop climate change.

Sorry, but that had to be said!

I had a problem with my fp5 occasionally disconnecting from the network, only to be fixed with a reboot. Sometimes this occurred once every two weeks but then I had to reboot 3 times in 20 minutes. Drove me crazy! 🤯
The service was quite supportive and mentioned it could be the rather old SIM card, which I didn't belive right away. But as I finally switches to an eSim the problem was gone!

you are already now unpopular for other reasons and I also unsub you lol

750 dollars lol

Wireless charging is a gimmick

yeah, for €699… nah, not really

I like the use of both SI and USCU, especially SI!

As it turns out, competing with companies that use slavery and exploitation as cost cutting measures, and at more or less same price point at that, is really hard.

1:15 Linus suddenly looks like a Grandpa

"ancient note 9" 😢

A few people might worry about the weight of their phone, but I haven't heard a single person care about the thickness… basically ever? Who cares about this? Nobody.

Who cares about extreme off-axis screen viewing?

Most of the rest of the critiques here might genuinely be for pre-production quirks.

There are so many talking points here that are right out of the tired play book of giant phone manufacturers that haven't innovated in years and therefore try to convince us that a gram of weight or a mm less thickness on a phone is BETTER.

I like a bit of bezel. It's USEFUL.

I also like knowing that I'm not supporting slave labor in third world countries or supporting anti-environmental practices that push me to buy a new product before I should.

Linus is invested in Framework. They also have build issues and challenges like any small manufacturer, even though they don't even go as far in ethical materials and wages, but he doesn't focus on just what a huge deal this is when another company does it.

Here's the Fairpne response: https://youtu.be/Q79Jl842B4g?si=7ocbxH9bTi4g47lz

Let's start focusing on what really matters and not Samsung and Apple talking points. This will be my next phone. I couldn't care less about any of the foibles.