Fairphone made a very smart smartphone

Their first phone scored a solid 7/10 on our repairability scale—with just a few points taken away for flaws inherited from their licensed design. But Fairphone was not satisfied. They wanted to make their second, in-house designed phone even better. They even asked us for help to get the Fairphone 2 up to a 10/10 for repair. Spoiler alert: they nailed it! Their phone doesn't just top our repairability scale, it also has all the trappings of a modern smartphone: large touchscreen display, standardized ports, expandable storage, and a lighter, slim design.

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The Fairphone 2 uses an innovative modular architecture, enabling consumers to easily fix their phones. It’s so easy, in fact, that you can swap a screen or replace your battery without any tools in just 10 seconds. In the time it takes you to tie your shoes, Fairphone users can replace a shattered display. Now that’s a future we want to be a part of. Fairphone 2 teardown highlights:

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The back of the phone features five extra spring contacts, an unpopulated USB 2.0 device interface, with power input—ready for future expansions and fancier cases. The Fairphone 2 sports a user-replaceable 3.8 V lithium ion cell rated at 2420 mAh with an energy rating of 9.2 Wh. For comparison: the LG G4 weighs in with a 3.85 V pack rated for a minimum of 11.2 Wh while the iPhone 6 has a 3.82 V battery with 6.91 Wh. Well, this is nifty! Fairphone modularized off-the-shelf components using breakout boards and spring contacts to foster compatibility. ----- For the entire teardown, visit © iFixit