‘Like comparing a $5 Walmart steak to a steak from a local ranch’: the Fairphone Gen 6 Plus's perceived high price is dividing fans — and I know where I stand

The Fairphone Gen 6 Plus has landed, and it's available in the US too However, at $649.99 / £569, some tech fans are questioning its price The specs aren't special, but it's modular and sustainably produced The Fairphone Gen 6 Plus has just launched, and the big news with this model is that, for the first time, a Fairphone is available in the US with Android fully intact (previously, Fairphones sold outside of Europe were only available in de-Googled configurations).

But with this wider availability comes some increased scrutiny about the phone's price.

You see, Fairphones cost a lot for what you’re getting on paper, with the Fairphone Gen 6 Plus retailing for $649.99 / £569 (that's around AU$920, though it's not currently available in Australia).

For that price, you get a 6.31-inch 120Hz OLED display, a mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, a microSD card slot, and a 4,415mAh battery with 30W wired charging, and no wireless charging.

The phone also has a 50MP main camera, a 13MP ultra-wide, and a 32MP selfie camera on the front.

All of these specs are... fine, but mid-range at best, and rather worse than what you'll find on most other comparably priced phones.

But this isn’t most phones.

The Fairphone Gen 6 Plus stands out in two main ways.

First, it’s built to last, with a modular design that lets you swap out 12 parts yourself; it’s easy to repair or replace a worn-out battery, for instance.

That, coupled with software updates until 2033, means, in theory, you won’t need to buy another phone for a long time.

The other notable element of Fairphone’s products is that they’re designed to be fair to the environment and the people making them, meaning things like higher wages , safer factories, and net-zero emissions targets.

Of course, these sustainable practices come at a cost.

A fairer world isn't cheap (Image credit: Future) As for whether this cost is worth it, smartphone fans are divided on the matter.

On our recent TikTok about the Fairphone 6 Gen Plus, one user argued that “comparing this phone to others by price is like comparing a $5 Walmart steak to a steak from a local ranch,” clarifying that, in this analogy, the other phones are the Walmart steak, as they’re “only this cheap because of the blood and the exploitation of the workers.” @techradar ♬ original sound - TechRadar This individual, then, is clearly in favor of paying what they see as a price that’s fair for the workers.