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Dutch social enterprise Fairphone<\/a> has announced its first 5G smartphone, the Fairphone 4.<\/p>\n The \u201cgreentech\u201d mobile maker differentiates from almost the entire smartphone industry through a promise of sustainability via repairable modularity<\/a>.<\/p>\n It combines this with a big push around social responsibility and ethical electronics \u2014 touting fairly sourced materials and better conditions for workers (through a living wage program) across a supply chain that spans the dirty business of mining rare earth minerals and all the other components used in making mobile devices, as well as the handset manufacture itself.<\/p>\n The Fairphone 4 comes with a five-year warranty and a guarantee of software support until the end of 2025 \u2014 including upgrades to at least Android 12 and 13. (It runs Android 11 out of the box.)<\/p>\n The startup also hopes to be able to extend the phone\u2019s lifespan even further \u2014 saying its goal is software support until 2027 and upgrades to Android 14 and 15 too.<\/p>\n The new flagship follows the launch of the Fairphone 3+ last year<\/a> \u2014 which enabled owners of its prior top-of-the-range handset to upgrade to for as little as \u20ac70 just by swapping out a few modules.<\/p>\n\n