Fairphone CEO says it is a ‘myth’ that sustainable technique should cost more and be of lower quality: ‘nobody is needed’

In the midst of the usual noise around Apple, Samsung and Google in recent months you would be forgiven to sleep on the meaning of Fairphone 6.

The sustainability-focused Dutch electronics manufacturer has made an overall effort to redirect himself as a serious smartphone player in 2025 (“We are not unique to the person who wants to buy sustainable-we simply have really good products,” Fairphone told us in April), and Fairphone 6 is the first benefit of this new-found focus on quality.

The company’s latest handset has a better display, a faster chipset and a more attractive design than last year’s Fairphone 5 – and miraculously it is also much cheaper. It’s an unlikely combination in today’s smartphone landscape, but Fairphone CEO, Raymond van Eck, is Bullish that Fairphone 6 is a Bona Fide -Rival for the best cheap phones.

“It’s important for us to understand the market we are in,” Van Eck told me at the Exertis Tech conference in London. “We are in a smartphone market and that means your product must be a product that is desirable, offers good value for money and also comes with specifications that people expect [at this level]. With Fairphone 6 we are very well equipped for [meet those expectations]. “

“A phone is something you use several times every day, so it’s something people don’t want to compromise on. With the lifetime and specifications that Fairphone 6 has, it’s a very good phone for a middle-class Android device.”

(Image Credit: Peter Hoffmann)

Fairphone has made a conscious effort to make Fairphone 6 look for the part as well. The rounded sides of the Fairphone 4 and Fairphone 5 have been replaced with flat sides à la iPhone 16E and Samsung Galaxy S25, and while three-lens camera array is still present, these lenses are now independent of a physical module (not unlike the lenses-you guess it! -Iphone 16E and Samsung Galaxy S25).

“It’s good to be more attractive to a mainstream customer,” Van Eck continued. “Fairphone 6 looks much more like a phone that any other person would have, but eventually it still has all the righteousness you should expect from a fairphone. It’s one of the things we looked at: making the design attractive to people who are not so familiar with Fairphone yet […] The sustainability story then comes after that to make them feel good about a phone they have already decided to buy. “

With the lifetime and specifications that Fairphone 6 has, it is a very good phone for a middle-class Android device.
Raymond van Eck, Fairphone CEO

“It’s important to take the next step and be, let’s say, a more mature company – one with a customer group that has an interest in Fairphone not only because of the things that Fairphone stands for, but also because they think it’s cool to have one.”

This shift towards developing more ‘mainstream’ products may sound alarming for Die-Hard Fairphone fans, but van Eck does not see it as a compromise: “The mission has not changed [that approach]. “

Sustainability cost ‘myth’

Fairphone 6

Fairphone 6 together with Fairbuds (Image Credit: Fairphone)

It is often assumed that sustainable products must necessarily cost the consumer more, but Van Eck is convinced that A), which does not have to be true at the purchase point and b) sustainable products are ultimately cheaper for the consumer anyway.

Fairphone itself has been criticized for pricing its products too high (Fairphone 5, which is referred to for a Google Pixel 8-Nutrition £ 649), but for £ 499 (approx. $ 680, AU $ 990), Fairphone 6 is a significantly cheaper device. Why (and how) made Van Eck this decision?

The mission has not changed. We are looking for growth, but that does not mean that we discard our values.
Raymond van Eck, Fairphone CEO

“It is important to realize that it is not in itself a sustainability premium that people pay,” he explained. “To make a phone more sustainable and make it fully ethical as we do, are you talking about several $ 10s – between $ 20 and $ 25 per phone. It’s about economies of scale. You get a different price [from a supplier] If you order, let’s say, 10 times more screens than [you previously ordered]. So it helps: Getting better prices from your suppliers, without compromising on paying fair living wages, etc.

“Because you’re right,” Van Eck continued. “The perception that Fairphone is too expensive? It’s something we had to take away. I also really want to convey that the overall ownership costs for a consumer are lower if you hold on to a phone longer and it comes with quality. If the quality of your product is good, then you will eventually take everything else to pay that you have a sustainability -OSV. Quality.

Fairphone 6 is Now available in the UK for £ 499While an open source (ie non-Android) version is Available in the US for $ 899 / £ 549. For our full judgment on the quality of the phone, see our Fairphone 6 Review.

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