What you need to know
- Fairphone Easy is a one-of-a-kind subscription service.
- It motivates users to hold onto smartphones for longer periods by offering discounts.
- Customers can get Fairphone 4 at as low as €21.00 per month with the service.
Fairphone, the Netherlands-based Android manufacturer that introduced Fairphone 4 last year, has just introduced a new smartphone subscription service called Fairphone Easy.
Fairphone Easy is a new business model introduced by the company aiming at a cleaner future. The new service aims to reduce the e-waste produced by the electronics industry through products like smartphones.
Consumers can opt for the new service in the company's home country. They can get a green 8GB/256GB Fairphone 4 for a fixed monthly fee rather than buying the device altogether. The plans start at as low as €21.00 per month (for 60 months) and include a case and screen protector.
In addition to the low monthly fee, Fairphone rewards users who tend to take care of the device over an extended period. For instance, if a user sticks with the Fairphone 4 for more than 12 months, they will get extra monthly discounts, like €2 off for the first year, €4 off for the second year, and so on. However, during the course, users must take care of their devices, as the rewards only apply to devices without damage.
Unlike the bigger OEM makers, Fairphone is a company that makes "modular" phones that are easily repairable and customizable by the user, making the device last longer and reducing carbon emissions.
In a blog post, Fairphone notes that given the current usage scenario of using a smartphone, it usually lasts from two to three years. Yet, only 15% of them are properly discarded out of the 1.4 billion smartphones sold globally, contributing to CO2 emissions and the ongoing e-waste problem. This is where the Fairphone Easy program aims to come into play by making users stick to a phone longer with the benefit of modularity and monthly discounts.
If you're wondering what happens if the subscription ends, Fairphone has an answer for it too. The company suggests that based on the condition, the phone can get refurbished. If that's not the case, alternatively, usable parts of it can be reused for another Fairphone — thanks to the modularity.
The company's goal is evident, which is to reduce e-waste production. However, it remains to be seen how big of an impact this move will have, given that many users may not choose its devices against the plethora of smartphones out there. The Fairphone 4, for example, is easily one of the best sustainable and repairable smartphones you can purchase. It's a decent 5G phone, with a five-year warranty and extended technical support, although it suffers from a low-end design and a mediocre camera.
Its availability is also limited to Europe. That means many smartphone users out there will likely opt for other smartphones that offer much more value regardless of how sustainable it is.
