Wanted:
- large screen
- good battery life
- great camera
- long device lifetime, i.e. repairability, software and security updates, swappable battery, …
- enough RAM (8GB) and built-in storage (256GB)
- SD card slot and 3.5mm won’t hurt (but we use wireless headphones all the time)
The competition are (from my POV):
- Samsung S23+ (or similar)
- Motorola Edge 40 Pro (or similar)
- Google Pixel 8 Pro
I ruled out all other vendors due to disappointing update promises. Motorola with 4 years security updates promised (out of which the first year has already passed if the model is not brand new) is the minimum.
All phones are stretching the budget; must be really good to justify the expense. Benchmark for “great” is better than the previous generation (S10).
In my book the only comparable device is the Pixel. It’s got a 7-year support life, it’s got parts via iFixit for the same period, it can be used with alternative OSes and the software support lifespan transfers to those too since they use the same AOSP base and hardware binary blobs. It’s harder and more expensive to repair than the Fairphone so from repairability it’s definitely behind it. For example a screen replacement for a Pixel 8 seems to be in the $300 territory.