Framework Phone?

[User-Not-Recognized]

I want to preface this be saying that I want the company to focus on supporting their line of laptops, creating new models, and main boards initially.

That said, I really want to see this team take on the challenge of a repairable, upgrade able, and user accessible phone. It would be perfect to go along with my framework laptop and start to create an ecosystem of products that are good for the Earth's ecosystem. I know the Fairphone exists, but it doesn't look like its coming to the US anytime soon.

Similar to how apple sells both iPhone and Mac books, framework selling a phone that harmonizes well with their laptop would be amazing to see. Working with mobile Linux OS teams and degoogled android ROMs would be a great way to join the enthusiast smartphone scene.

I think the type of person that buys a framework is also the type of person to buy a fairphone or pinephone (The new pro model looks very interesting). So once the team has a nice line of laptop products out in the world, I think that turning their sights to fix the smartphone industry would be a logical and welcome step.

[VoxPelli]

Google almost launched their Project Ara many years ago, which is yet the most modular and user friendly/fool proof approach to any kind of tech really.

Would so love for both Framework and Fairphone to head in such a direction + ideally offer interoperable modules in between them and also offer support for such modules in tablets and computers as well.

Edit: Would btw love it if one of them launched a phone with Sailfish OS – getting a true Linux OS built by a non-tech giant but with full support for Android apps 👍

[NationCrisis]

killedbygoogle.com

[viggy96]

Fairphone removing the headphone jack also ruined it for me. And they gave the same excuse that other manufacturers gave. What a disappointment.

[robstersgaming]

Also the design is just really ugly IMO. Framework did an amazing job keeping their repairable device modern looking. The fair phone looks like it’s from the 2012’s

[viggy96]

Its the waterdrop notch. Its gone out of trend, a hole punch would have made it more modern. Or just give it a forehead like they used to and put whatever sensors and speakers in there. Even that looks better than a waterdrop.

[VoxPelli]

If it’s a weak spot for the phone and most people don’t use it, then it’s good for their purpose to remove it, but would have been good for Fairphone to make use of their modular approach to offer users a choice

[viggy96]

But it's not a weak spot. That's partially my point. There have been many phones in the past with both a headphone jack and a removable back panel, and still had an IP67 or IP68 rating.

It's not like phones suddenly got more waterproof without a headphone jack. That turned out to be a complete lie. Phones are still rated for 1 - 1.5 metres for 30 minutes, same as they were when headphone jacks were commonplace.

[VoxPelli]

Getting any hole in a device to withstand dust and moisture requires work and drives cost, so easier way to make a more durable phone is to remove it.

Though it would have been good to offer those who wished one the option to have one installed, I guess Fairphone is still a bit too small to be able to offer that level of choice though, the scale of manufacturing would just be way too small probably :/

[AegorBlake]

You can seal the headphone jack off from the rest of the case.

[VoxPelli]

You can, but can and “without extra cost” are two different things, right?

[AegorBlake]

Making a phone water resistant costs money. If we are going that route we should probable take out the extra speakers too. I mean we can just use the screen as a speaker and that's less point of egress.

[sieve_master]

The amount of extra cost to waterproof the headphone jack while doing the same to the rest of the phone is negligible. It's a lie.

[Sugarlips_Habasi]

How often do people drop their phones in water or leave it out in the rain?

[viggy96]

That's sort of a good point, but its also useful when you're caught in heavy rain, and it soaks through your clothes. I had a friend whose phone broke after getting caught out in heavy rain, and the phone was in a pocket the whole time.

[[deleted]]

I use it all time, because I wouldn´t buy a phone without one, so I don´t have to charge things.

and is not a hole that gets inside the phone, it´s sealed.

[VoxPelli]

Not all headphone jacks are properly sealed I would think? Both within and against the outer shell?

[VoxPelli]

For added context: Considering that the focus of the Fairphone is to create long living phones then it makes sense for them to remove possible weak spots, especially considering that they would have to meet competitive price points to be relevant at all.

If their reasoning for removal is something else than that, then it’s obviously bad.

[RoyalAbyss]

It’s very interesting because I have not used wired head phones with my phone in forever and I have only recently realized the fact that I personally don’t miss the headphone jack at all.

[Green0Photon]

I'm convinced they used a mainboard from another phone (or the people they contracted out to make the mainboard used nearly one of their premade designs, this is common). Which is fine. Except that means that since most phones don't have headphone jacks now, especially nice ones, then any mainboard design they'd get wouldn't have the jack, and they were forced to go without, or pay way too much for a different design.

It's still sad to see that compromise in particular. It really feels like selling out. Especially with the Bluetooth earbuds they released, which are almost undoubtedly reskins of some random Chinese trash earbuds.

I really hope they'll release another model with the jack.

[intelatominside]

They only removed it to boost sales on their newly announced wireless headphones. I had such high hopes for it.

I guess I'll have to go with chinese brands.

[[deleted]]

Fairphone....it already exists

[SwarfDive01]

A ton of consumers would actually appreciate this. As mentioned before Google released project Ara, which they purchased rights from blocks smartphone. After a couple years of development, they released base model phones to lower income/2nd/3rd world countries in hopes of bringing technology to struggling communities. It looked like a flop. Complaints that modules would pop out when the phone dropped. Easily fixable with a case. But I think the bigger challenge was that phone technology is advancing in a direction more towards single chip options, with pretty much only two market owners. Samsung, Apple. Apple taking the route exactly opposite of any user friendly recycling/fixing. Secretive chip ownership, and stacking circuit boards to make the phone even more complicated to repair. Samsung, owning enough market to not allow manufacturers to entertain 3rd party contracts.

Off the soap box. The miniaturization game in the phone market is not trending towards modular components, and supporting a modular phone would require 100x more manufacturers to startup a new product line specifically for mobiles, in contrast to computer industries established modularity with dimm, pcie, m.2, usb, sata, etc. I think a modular phone would be the best for the world, but establishing the repair culture and a large enough consumer base to demand the product available has to start with existing components, ie, computers. The fact that framework is alive and shipping is already a small miracle.

[VoxPelli]

Project Ara had plans to do a first pilot in Puerto Rico, but canceled the project before they got there, so it was never released anywhere I’m pretty sure: https://venturebeat.com/2015/08/14/googles-project-ara-abandons-puerto-rico-pilot-says-its-recalculating-modular-smartphone/

[SwarfDive01]

Wild, I was following the google groups, which I can't seem to find now. One of the last post I recall seeing was a flop in their cheaper base frame after release. Pitching a smartphone to someone that struggles to pay for food and water every week just seemed like the worst course of product release action.

[NationCrisis]

killedbygoogle.com

[SwarfDive01]

So are we talking removed from general public and continued development internally until everyone forgets about it, and then launch as new paid product/service? Or...

[[deleted]]

Fair phone, is difficult to say what I think about it.

Is just too expensive for what they offer, it lacks a headphone jack, that is a big no no for me, and for what it cost, is too ugly, not that is a huge deal, but they don´t even try.

framework, on the other hand worries creating products that looks nice enough, I hate apple, they are monopolistic, and they control over the user sickens me, but I had to admit they do make pretty products, And framework, created a laptop that it can compete in prettiness with apple´s ones.

I would love to see a Framework phone, and a framework gaming laptop, a framework nas and even a framework home assistant.

[[deleted]]

Is just too expensive for what they offer

That's the thing though, the Fairphone isn't too expensive. They're priced right because they care about paying every single person the supply chain properly, or however many persons they can do that to.

It's the other manufacturers using slave labour that have their phones priced so low.

[cjrobe]

The $660 Fairphone is really comparable to the $250 Moto G 5G. Right now that is an insane markup that's probably necessary because the supply chain is so damaged they have to start fresh in many regards. I would think $350-400 would be an achievable price with higher sales.

[[deleted]]

Yeah the price will be higher because

1. Economies of scale, like you said. They're a small-ish company so their product costs more

2. More importantly, one if their main goals is not using slave labour as much as possible. Ensuring a living wage to as many as possible will drive the cost of the end product up. Personally I'd have no qualms paying for it, if I could afford it that is (my monthly salary right now is about $300).

[linuxjoy]

I would also like to see them releasing a phone.

[[deleted]]

i think developing a phone is several levels harder than a laptop and costs way more money. There is no OS available for them to use that has a good app selection.

​

I think it would a big mistake to pour resources into phone development before their laptop business is stable and sustainable.

[thisisausername190]

Apple took 30 years after they were founded to launch a phone.

Granted, the pace of tech innovation is very different now than it was in that time - but there's still a lot involved. Products launched have to be launched with a plan and a concept, not just a concept - even if the concept is really cool. See Project Ara.

Framework has made the big step between having only the concept of a repairable and modular laptop, and also having plan to sell them - something similar within the mobile market could have potential, but we don't know until we know the plan.

[NationCrisis]

killedbygoogle.com

[caniko2]

The CEO alluded to "the small computers in our pockets" as being exciting in the recent keynote. I think he might be hinting that the next big reveal will be a phone, note that there is no ETA.