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Comment by blackeyeblitzar | Hacker News Reader

Repairability is good and will reduce waste, but I am not sure this is going to actually attract customers unless they’re already fans of Fairphone for other reasons (like ethics or sustainability or privacy or independence from big companies or whatever). To attract new customers, they need something else to stand out from a very crowded space, where there are many good choices as far as sound quality, mic quality, noise cancellation, etc. I am skeptical that these will be any better than the competition on those facets. And keep in mind, 150 Euros means it is competing with everything from budget sub-50 products on Amazon to AirPods.

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Assuming there is a maintainability premium, €150 seems too little for great earbuds.

I got attached to my AirPods Max. They allow me to have meetings next to people who are also in meetings. Even if they are in the same meeting.

> have meetings next to people who are also in meetings. Even if they are in the same meeting.

I know what you mean, but still had to laugh :)

I'm interested to hear how the AirPods solved the problem of everyone around me hearing me speak to my computer, definitely causing them annoyance and possibly violating my NDA, depending on where I am for that meeting.

Do they need new customers?

All they need are existing customers buy in these new product lines

> I am not sure this is going to actually attract customers

What's worse is that if/when the market demands replaceable batteries, it's an easy feature for everyone else to clone.

Sure, it's possible to make the battery removable, but why would they do that? It was the manufacturers (e.g. Apple) who decided to make the battery non-removeable in the first place, as it allows for a more compact design and more revenue.

Also the batteries would have to be ordered as a spare part years after the product launched, and most cheap manufacturers are horrible with sustained support.

> but why would they do that

Because the market demands it

Then mission fucking accomplished, I guess.

(Well, their investors might see it a little differently, but Fairphone is never going to be a unicorn company no matter what.)

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