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Dutch brand focused on repairability and modularity and fair trade/ethical manufacturing (hence the name, they know their supply chain right up to the rare earths). All models since their 2nd generation in 2015 have an iFixit score of 10/10. Here's the latest model's teardown, for example the screen is held by screws instead of glued: https://www.ifixit.com/News/111613/fairphone-6-teardown-proo…
Seems to be the cheapest price worldwide when checking current exchange rates. Other colours are $400 more. Check Fairphone website for full specs and any reasons why you should buy one or not. This model starts at Android 15 and updates are provided till 2033.
This is a niche phone from a brand that doesn't sell outside of the EU (still after all these years! bummer), so shipped and sold by Amazon is very unusual. It's a deal specifically because you can't normally get Fairphones in Australia without a 20-30% margin on top, but here it's cheaper than RRP which is 599€ (lowest I think was 549€, slightly above the price on Amazon here). Is it worth buying for you? Only you can tell.
Important:
- Likely won't work with Telstra, but should work fine with Optus (based on all their previous models). Not sure if Vodafone will work, I'd say unlikely.
- Manufacturer warranty is 5 years but I'm not sure they'll honour that from Australia. Issues requiring warranty do happen (as seen with the FP2 below), so my recommendation for getting this phone is only if you visit Europe regularly or have relatives or friends there so you can easily send it back in case anything happens.
Some genuine background information on reliability (both positive and negative) of the brand from consumer perspective: me!
- 1st gen: Bought Fairphone 1 in 2013 after the Dutch company was originally founded. Had issues with USB charging, all in all too expensive for what it was.
- 2nd gen: Upgraded to Fairphone 2 in 2015, sold the FP1. FP2 had issues with bumper case delamination (known problem), and the screen suffered from random ghost touch, so they sent a new screen under warranty. Replaced USB port (~$30 module) out of warranty, simple due to modularity. The device worked for 4 years in total until the mainboard died. Surprisingly, I used it on Aldimobile, which is Telstra. No issues on Optus either. All in all still too expensive for its specs and problems, but the ability to replace the screen without any tools whatsoever was very interesting and unique.
- 3rd gen: Upgraded to Fairphone 3 in 2019, which is still my current phone until ordering the FP6 today. It received updates up until Android 13 and still has no issues. The battery died once after 3 years so I swapped it. 2nd battery still going strong after another 3 years. Mostly on Optus over the years, no issues. Worked on Vodafone up until 3G was killed. Didn't work on Telstra. In the end the price for this one was worth it.
- I never owned the FP4 or FP5, but heard they're similarly reliable. I expect latest model Fairphones to last 6 years. And that's with me (ab)using each phone heavily for work, including QA.
Close to 1K for a phone doesn't seem very fair.