Fairphone 2 steps out in glad rags

Hold on, I thought the whole point of the Fairphone was…

… that it was upgraded, not replaced? Don’t worry, that hasn’t changed. This isn’t a new model, just a choice of new coloured backs for the existing hardware. With rather stylish contrasting buttons. And, double bonus, the case makes the phone slightly slimmer than the original.

And more expensive, I expect?

Aye, your cynicism is well-placed. The original Fairphone 2 is €523. The Fairphone 2 Slim is €529 – a whopping €6 premium. Though, if you can’t stretch to it, we actually really like the original translucent grey case, that shows off the modular and replaceable gizzards inside. Which are, if you recall: a 5in, 1080p screen, a quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor running Android and 32GB of memory with SD card expansion. All sourced as ethically as possible, don’t forget.

Can I buy several case colours and swap them about?

Well, that wouldn’t be very eco-friendly now, would it? But, yes, from mid-December you’ll be able to get the coral red, indigo, turquoise and white cases, from Fairphone. For the whole phone you’ll have to join the pre-order queue – they’re expected in early January.

Or, maybe you could buy all the spare parts from the store and try to build one yourself.