If you’re looking for a device with a difference, Fairphone may have just the thing for you. The Dutch company puts its emphasis on consumer electronics products that are designed to be easy to repair and that are produced with sustainability in mind.
It’ll be making a new push in the US with an Android version of its Fairphone 6, along with over-the-ear headphones called the Fairbuds XL. Both feature a modular construction, as well as the incorporation of recycled materials and components that are e-waste neutral.
First up will be the headphones, which feature 30 hours of listening, active noise canceling and joystick control. Fairphone says they’ll be available in stores by late November or early December, and are currently available online.
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The Android phone doesn’t have a formal launch date yet. That’s because of the «complicated process» of launching a new Android phone in the US, Fairphone’s chief commercial officer, Rutger Sneep, tells CNET. «We’re working hard towards being ready for that in the very near future,» Sneep said.
In a twist, an Android-less version of the Fairphone 6 is already available in the US through French startup Murena, under the branding Murena Fairphone (Gen. 6). That model uses an operating system called /e/OS and is «de-Googled,» meaning it doesn’t have Google apps and services preloaded as do most other Android-based smartphones.
When Fairphone itself begins selling the phone in the US, it will run on the Android system with Google apps and services preloaded.
But it is repairability and sustainability that Sneep points to as the core of its appeal to US consumers, «who are increasingly interested in their right to repair and having longer-lasting devices.»
There has been a notable push to empower DIY fixes for phones and other gear. Right-to-repair laws have been introduced in all 50 states, and some are already in force (check out this handy map from iFixit). Whether it’s for tech devices or farm machinery, such laws say that manufacturers must make available parts, tools, diagnostic software and repair documentation. It’s an effort to give consumers more control over their purchases and make them last instead of going the throw-it-away-and-buy-a-new-one route.
CNET senior editor Mike Sorrentino says Fairphone’s message of sustainability aligns well with a US consumer base that could be skittish about economic uncertainties over tariffs.
«Fairphone’s longstanding pitch has been about making a phone that lasts longer by being easy to repair, making this US push timed quite well for tariff-conscious phone buyers,» Sorrentino said. «It may even be novel to see a phone available at US stores whose battery can actually be replaced without needing to make an appointment at a repair store.»
Fairphone says its latest phone should last eight years or more. Need to replace the battery? The cameras? The speakers? Check, check and check. All the parts are listed here.
iFixit gives the Fairphone 6 a repairability score of 10 out of 10.
The business model appears to be succeeding in Europe. The company said revenue grew 61% year over year in the third quarter of 2025. Sales of spare parts went up 41% during the same period.