The Best Cellphone With A Removable Battery Still On The Market

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An EU law might force Apple to make iPhone batteries easier to replace. The same goes for other phones sold in the EU in the next few years. Until then, there’s not a lot of choice when shopping for a phone with a replaceable battery. The idea of a phone with a replaceable battery, while once popular, has steadily faded over the years in favor of slimmer batteries that help reduce the size of the phone. Additionally, making the battery harder to access without the use of specialty tools allows manufacturers to make phones with higher water and dust resistance ratings. Yet, there is one manufacturer that bucks the trend, making a modern phone with easily replaceable parts. That phone is the Fairphone (Gen. 6). 

The Fairphone (Gen. 6) can run on Android (which is getting a huge redesign) or Murena /e/OS, and it features modern specs like a 6.31-inch P-OLED display with a 240 Hz refresh rate and up to 1400 nits of brightness, and a 50 MP camera sensor that can shoot video up to 4K at 30 FPS. That’s all great, but the standout feature is the ability to easily replace parts. Instead of getting a new phone when the battery begins to underperform or fail, you can simply pop another one in, saving you money and reducing e-waste. 

The Fairphone (Gen. 6) battery costs roughly $45 — although the price is in euros, so it may fluctuate. Fairphone claims you can get up to two days of battery life on the Fairphone (Gen. 6), with the ability to charge up to 50% within 20 minutes. To replace the battery on this phone, you only need a Torx T5 screwdriver and a few minutes. Here’s how you can replace the battery:

1. Using the Torx T5 screwdriver, remove the two screws on the back of the phone. 
2. Remove the back cover of the phone. 
3. Again with the screwdriver, remove the screws holding the battery in place, and then take out the battery. 
4. Place the new battery in the phone, and screw it on. 
5. Screw on the rear cover to finish up. 

The process should take around 5 minutes to complete. While it is not as quick as replacing the battery on an old flip phone, which could be done in a few seconds, it’s a lot faster than using a heat gun and prying tools to open it up. 

Making the switch to a different smartphone is not easy, even if you know everything to consider when buying a new phone. It’s harder if you’ve invested in the ecosystem by purchasing smart speakers, headphones, laptops, or tablets that are all made to work seamlessly with each other. But if you value the right to repair your device, and you want a phone that makes it easy to buy and replace parts, the Fairphone (Gen. 6) is one to consider.

The Fairphone (Gen. 6) is sold in the U.S. through Murena, and there’s one major caveat you need to know about before making the switch. Murena’s version of the Fairphone (Gen. 6) is only available with Murena’s /e/OS operating system. This operating system prioritizes security and privacy, and it doesn’t share your information with Google. However, the saving grace is that the phone does work with most Android apps, which makes the switch from Google’s OS more palatable. 

The Murena Fairphone (Gen.6) is available to purchase for $899. The spare battery is currently not available to purchase from Murena’s store. The battery is available on Fairphone’s website, though it’s out of stock for now.