Deals: Repairable phones, Moto Edge 50 Pro and Poco F6/F6 Pro

The HMD Skyline is still on pre-order in Germany, even though it has already launched in other European countries. But isn’t €550 too much for just 2 OS updates and 3 years of security patches?

The Fairphone 5 aims for 7 years (both OS updates and patches), though it’s also more expensive than the Skyline. Its Qualcomm chipset is only slightly faster than the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 inside the HMD phone, and the 90Hz refresh rate for the 6.46″ display feels slow next to HMD’s 144Hz 6.55″ panel (but it has a higher pixel density).

The Skyline probably has better cameras with a 108MP main, 50MP 2x portrait and 13MP ultra wide. The Fairphone has a 50MP main and a better 50MP ultra wide, but no optical zoom. Both phones have 50MP selfie cameras and the Fairphone can also record 4K @ 30fps video (the HMD tops out at 1080p @ 30fps). The Fairphone has better IP55 dust and water resistance compared to IP54 on the Skyline, even though it has more user-replaceable components.

This also includes the battery, which is easy to replace, but the 4,200mAh capacity is 400mAh less than the Skyline. And it only supports 30W wired charging, while the Skyline is the first Android to offer Qi2 wireless charging (15W, with magnets). Also, while the HMD phone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, the Fairphone does not (and some people suspect the next item on the list is the reason).

Fairphone also makes repairable headphones. The over-ear model is called the Fairbuds XL and they promise up to 30 hours of battery life, offer ANC and multi-point connectivity. They have 11 different parts that can be replaced if needed: from the earcups and battery to the speaker and USB-C port.

It’s not particularly repairable, but the Motorola Edge 50 Pro is cheaper than the two phones above and with a faster Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset to boot (though UFS 2.2 storage is less than ideal). Motorola is promising 3 OS updates and 4 years of patches, which is slightly better than HMD (though Moto has a bad reputation when it comes to updates).

The Edge 50 Pro has a curved 6.7” 144Hz OLED display with a 1,220 x 2,712px resolution. The 50MP main camera has OIS, as does the 10MP 67mm (3x) tele camera. There’s also a 13MP ultra-wide and, y’know, a 50MP selfie camera (4K @ 30fps video). The 4,500mAh battery supports both 125W wired and 50W wireless fast charging (no magnets though).

The Poco F6 Pro costs a similar amount (the 12/512GB model costs €530) and features a proper flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and a QHD+ 12-bit 120Hz display – a flat 6.67″ panel. The 50MP main camera is joined by a mere 8MP ultra-wide (no tele here) and a 16MP selfie module. While it lacks wireless charging, the 5,000mAh battery offers more capacity and equally fast 120W wired charging.

There is also the vanilla Poco F6 which is cheaper and yet it comes equipped with the Snapdragon 8S Gen 3. This would have been a better option for the Fairphone, Skyline, and even Motorola.

Anyway, it has a 6.67” 12-bit 120Hz display (1.5K resolution) and more or less the same camera as the F6 Pro. The 5,000mAh battery comes in at 90W charging, but that’s still fast enough to fully charge in 35 minutes (versus 19 minutes on the Pro).

As an alternative to the F6, the Motorola Edge 50 Fusion is available for €50 less. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 lags a bit in performance, but it doesn’t feel as bad as the €550 Skyline. Anyway, the Fusion has a curved 6.7” 144Hz FHD+ OLED panel, 50+13MP cameras, and a 5,000mAh battery with 68W charging (which takes just over an hour to charge up to 100%).