Herd (2023)

This is a little low-budget zombie-thriller which comes across mostly as a made-for-TV project. I guess it might be. It stretches itself in every which way to take in all sorts of sub-stories and historic elements relating to the characters, via flashbacks, that it really would have done much better to leave out and just focus on the thrills.

We have two city-dwelling women at the centre of the story who are in a relationship, Jamie and Alex. Jamie has suffered some previous trauma which is coming between them and threatening their life together. So they go on a canoeing camping trip to try and patch things up. Whilst they are out there, squabbling, unhappy, Alex overturns the canoe, they end up in the drink and Alex breaks her leg.

They're in the middle of nowhere so start hobbling together along a road towards civilisation. As they, do it becomes obvious that the 'virus' which they thought they had left behind in the city, turning people into zombies, is much more rampant out in the sticks. They stumble into some aggressive hillbilly men, who look willing to shoot Alex on sight, assuming she has the virus. They wriggle out of it, explaining about the broken leg and end up being welcomed to the makeshift home/centre these folk have thrown together.

They are heavily guarding their centre as there's another bunch of militia types who seem to be wanting to invoke martial law and are equally threatening, wanting a share of the goods that our hillbilly types have lifted from various local outlets. Plenty of standoffs, then, and aggressive, threatening posturing between groups. Turns out that the ex-leader of this group (who is now dead as he got infected and shot himself) was Jamie's dad - who abused her as a child, so she wanted revenge. Bit late, really! Oh, then there's the fact that the girls don't dare tell the hillbilly types that they are 'together' because what's liberal in the city, isn't out here. (I told you there were far too many plot-threads!)

Anyway, during a skirmish with some fairly unconvincing zombies - who seem to leave you alone if you don't threaten them and stay still, Alex gets 'infected' and, only known to Jamie, starts to show signs of 'turning' into a zombie. They both try to keep it hidden, which becomes more difficult the more it progresses. In the end they try to make a run for it which brings even more chaos and posturing between the groups, as we head towards the feeble finale and laughable story outcomes.

It's not a bad little film, I guess - and passes and hour and a half nicely enough - though you'll forget all about it ten minutes after the credits roll! It'll certainly not win any awards for anything, though the two girls in the leads do a decent-enough job. I guess. I don't know any of the people involved in this from director Steven Pierce down to any of the actors - though depending on what kind of American TV shows and middling films you watch, you might. It's available on a few streaming services but I wouldn't suggest paying anything - wait 'til it's 'included' somewhere if you fancy a go!

Fairphone 5 (in 2025)

The Fairphone 5 has been a long time coming to Phones Show Chat Towers following my previous reviews of the Fairphone 4 in January 2022, Fairphone 3 in February 2020 and Fairphone 3+ in October 2020. Click through for links to those and further content also from Steve Litchfield in the shape of YouTube reviews as well (see below). The reason for it coming now, having dalied with the idea for some time, was the release of Fairphone's 6th Generation unit and general discontent with the stuff that had been removed since the 5. Let's kick off and get stuck straight into that, then, to give an immediate flavour of why I think that the 5th generation remains a better buy.

1. It don't look like an iPhone, mostly!

Yes, sadly, almost all phone manufacturers are following Apple's design trend of flat edges and flat screens now and I'm finding myself looking out more for those which don't. The Honor 400 Pro, for example (though not the 400), gaming phones and various Motorola models, still with their own design and distinctive look rather than just a copy of what everyone else is doing. Don't get me wrong, it's not just an opportunity to Apple Bash  - many of their ideas I think are nifty and worth copying (like Dynamic Island, Liquid Glass, Stacking Widgets) - but some are just not. This is one of them. And now, sure enough, the 6th Gen of the Fairphone is similarly blocky-similar. The 5 retains its own rounded frame (though I will admit that the camera island on the back is very last-gen Apple)!

2. There's no HDMI-Out

That's right - it's been stripped out of the 6th Gen unit and cabling content out from the phone is no longer possible. Following the trend, I guess, everyone getting more and more used to being online the whole time with a good connection, conducting connections wirelessly and via the cloud, but just now and again, some of us appreciate a cabled hook-up. Especially those of us with an older NexDock Touch, for example - or for those times when a person does indeed have a crappy connection (or none at all). Or if you need a latency-free experience sending media to another device (though I do admit that the more time goes on, this does get much better, wirelessly, too).

3. There's a Quick-Replace Battery in the 5

Most things you need to do with the 6th Gen phone requires a screwdriver at the very least whereas with the 5, a fingernail will suffice for true hot-swapping for the essentials. The 6 seems to have a greater emphasis on CMF-style modularity rather than hot-swapping internals as they sell their Finger Loop back, Card Holder back and Lanyards - which all feels a bit gimmicky, frankly.

Intermission!

Here's Steve's YouTube Shorts (short'n'sweet when YouTube Shorts were limited to 60-seconds) on the Fairphone 5 from 2024.

Part 1: Hardware USPs

Part 2: Imaging

Part 3: Verdict

Setting Up

I'm using a cable from my Pixel 9, which is on Android 16 QPR2 Beta2, so maybe a bit of a gamble! So far so good - except that Fairphone have supplied the phone in the box with only about 30% charge in it and the cable route insists on the new phone charging the old one! I'm ongoingly foxed by this, so I asked Gemini who tells me that no, it's supposed to work the other way around - the new phone is charged by the old one. Clearly not here! I think it's a complicated issue relating to cables and USB protocols etc. but I've yet to find out an authoritative view. Here, it's a screw-up and takes us back to the days when the first thing you do when taking a phone out the box is charge it up, pacing the floor. And sure enough, the Fairphone has shut down mid-flow! No warning not to do it until the battery is charged enough. D'oh! So perhaps we'll try wireless, then - and not a cable. Or just wait (highly unlikely). Not a good start.

Setting Up 2

I've attached my 100W Charger and it reports that it's charging the phone at 23W instead of the 30W I might have expected from the specs given that the battery is flat - this is where you'd expect the full whack. But, OK. So it now thinks that the setup was complete, which it wasn't. No text messages, no phone call logs and so on. I guess the only way to reboot that (wirelessly or wait for the battery to charge) is to factory reset it and try from the start again. Still, that's OK - I can now complete it manually, which, perhaps I should have done anyway. Oh, hang on, some of the data must have got through as it's now installing 96 apps from the Pixel. I should have started again really, though it does feel a bit like stepping back in time including with 3-button Navigation on by default rather than the near-ubiquitous Gesture option which most phones seem to now start up with. Easily switched, of course.

System

It arrived with Android 14 onboard, March 2025 Google Security patching and August 2023 Play System update. Android 15 was waiting, now downloaded and installed, along with June 2025 Google Security (see update, below) and January 2025 Play System update. I downloaded another of those awaiting and it's now on the September 2025 Play System update, as we'd expect. And that's now, like most Android phones, up to January 2026.

System 2

In amongst all this I have been reading on the Fairphone forums about fingerprint scanners not working properly (which, apparently, I shouldn't get because mine is a 'later batch') but also Quickstep problems with it crashing for no reason. I did experience some bugs too, one of which was that the operator name was in the status bar top-left, even though the setting was toggled off. I toggled it on and off again and it went away - but maybe an example of what was to come with bugs. Then, an update pops up, claiming to fix the buggy launcher. So I installed it. With September 2025 Google Security Patch. As I'd not long set up I decided to do a factory reset to get a clean start after this - especially after the hike from Android 14 to 15 earlier too. So fingers crossed as I now start again!

Update - with the latest updates and (yet another) factory reset, it's starting to feel a little less buggy at last. One that remains is the operator name top-left, to the left of the clock. The toggle in Display Settings is off, as above, but it's there. Turn the toggle off/on and it goes away, as I say, but then in a few minutes (presumably when the device and network talk to each other again) back it comes. But it's not a deal-breaker.

Still Buggy

Straight away - for example, long-press the ever-present Google Search Bar at the top of the Home Screen for a 'Preferences' pop-up, tap it, nothing happens except that the pop-up goes away! Add the Google At a Glance widget (not that you can get rid of the ever-present one) and it will only render 5x2 taking up almost half the screen! I've tested this and it will only shrink down if the 'display size' in Settings is mark-2 (of 5) or smaller. Anything bigger and it's back to a 5x2 widget taking up half the screen. Maybe that's less of a bug, more of a design screw-up. The App Grid can't be made any smaller than 5x5, so that's not a workaround either. The default Quickstep Launcher is the supplied one and it feels generally OK now. An alternative would be Nova Prime - except that at time of writing, it seems to be no longer developed, but I prefer Octopi Launcher anyway - so I can live with this. In actual fact, I got fed up with that sooner than I thought and have launched(!) into my alternative launcher already!

Update - one of the updates added the option to remove the Google Search Bar completely from the top of the screen, and that now works. Hurrah!

Second Start

This time I used my Samsung Galaxy S24+ instead of the Pixel 9 on Beta (as above) so anything carried over from that could be ruled out in terms of clashing functions. Of course, I forgot that this would introduce all the apps that were force-fed on a Samsung phone like LinkedIn, Smart Switch, SmartThings and so on. Oh well - easily uninstalled. So now back the square-one and I'll have another go! No, still buggy and apparently confused by Samsung's data infiltrating the process. Try again!

Third Start!

Maybe we need to go back to basics - don't trust any kind of cable-or-wireless Restore of any description, just set it up from scratch like used to have to 15 years ago! Here we go again, then! Factory reset 3 (or is it 4?!). Aha - and now another update on first boot - VT2E.C.059 fixing something to enable the phone to be updated to Android 15 - even though it's already on Android 15! Google Security has gone back to August 25 and Play System, back to January 25. So, we're all updated again now and actually, the UI feels very smooth. The much-complained about fingerprint scanner seems to work perfectly for me (but, as I say, I might have a 'later batch' phone here) and the general bugginess of Android 15, largely not present. It's fast around the UI and I've now uninstalled Octopi again in order to get the Fairphone UX (at least for now). I think that finally, I've got there and can now expect a better experience going forward.

Dutch Delivery

By the way, the delivery was all-but next-day from Holland. UPS were the courier and from the time of ordering, about 12noon on 1st October, it was in my hands at 11.10am on 3rd with full tracking etc. I was quite impressed with that.

Speakers

When I first turned it on I was actually quite impressed, expecting it to be dreadful. It's slightly tinny at full volume, but down at 80% it's much better. And then, as always in these situations, we have the Wavelet app. This adds some body, depth - and makes it better (if the user needs to push it to 100% volume). It's not going to top very many phone-speaker lists, but rather it's in the general area of comparisons with devices, maybe, 2-years back. There's much worse out there, however, I assure you, and I do think that we have reached a point now where phone speakers generally are good-enough for 95% of listeners. And of course, with a Fairphone, you can replace it when it wears out! There's no 3.5mm audio-out socket, like the Fairphone 4, but unlike the 3. Bit of a shame, but with Bluetooth being so amazingly good these days (on any device paired with decent ear/headphones), one could shrug. As it seems they did! The soundstage from the speakers is pretty good, too - with clarity of the stereo at over 18" away from the face. Starts to diminish at about 2ft, but good enough for personal viewing/listening, I contend.

Unboxing

So, at last, back where I should have been starting all this! The box is, of course, made from all recyclable materials. Removing the colourful outside sleeve, which reminds us that it's made plastic-free and that they are not providing a cable because they reckon buyers will already have one and it saves the planet. The same principle is true for not including a charger. Inside the cardboard-looking inner box we get all sorts of reminders about Fairphones goals, long software support, extended warranty, how easy it is to repair, that they use fair and recycled materials, look after workers and are climate-conscious. There's no SIM Tool of course because the back comes off and no need! There's a Getting Started leaflet and encouragement to use the box to "send us your own phone" which they then dispose of responsibly/recycle and which goes towards upholding their goals about reducing electronic waste. All very laudable - but the phone has to be fit for purpose and keep up with what we've become used to, in 2025, our pocket computers do. So we shall see.

Physical

As I was indicating earlier, the chunkily 9.6mm fat shape of the surrounding aluminium frame is very nicely rounded and in my case, black. It's 212g so feels like it has some heft compared with others. On the left we have a microphone and antenna cut-outs, on the left, separate firm and solidly-performing volume up and down buttons above a power button/capacitive fingerprint scanner button, slightly recessed. At the top is a microphone and the bottom, another cut-out for signal, a USB-C port and bottom-firing speaker. I chose the transparent back, which is nice, but the green one was second choice. I actually like the speckled green one of the Fairphone 4 most of all, but not available for the 5. The back is plastic and can be torn off via the fingernail cutout on the bottom-left of it. There's a camera island looking suspiciously Apple-like, as I said earlier but taking the back off is where the fun begins! Fairphone have certified the device as IP5/5 and MIL-STD-810H and say that it has been drop tested to ICE 60058-2-31.

Inside

So yes, the back 'peels' off and inside the user is faced with mainly the battery, also clear access to the other components many of which can be removed, repaired, replaced with a simple cross-head screwdriver (which they'll sell you for £4.50 if you don't have one small enough). A new display (which we'll come to) for £90, battery £36, Top unit £36, main camera £62, wide-angle camera £40, Selfie camera £31, a back cover (green, black, white, grey, transparent) £22, USB-C port £18, loudspeaker £22 and an earpiece for £18. That looks like the available list at time of writing. They claim that they will continue to stock these parts for the duration of the software support, which I'll come to, but at least 2031. Check out Steve's videos linked above (and others on YouTube) to see how easy that is - and it is - no engineering or Physics degree needed! The battery has to be removed to get to the microSD Card and nanoSIM Card slots which sit under the top lip of where it sits. So yes, armed with a tiny screwdriver you can expect to be able to repair the phone for a long time to come. Kudos.

OLED Panel

The one you can replace if you break it, though it is protected by the standards of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has an Oleophobic coating. It's also got a screen protector out of the factory fitted and so well-fitting it is that I didn't notice it for ages! I started to question it when I did suspect that some screen-swipes were not registering as well as I thought they could, had a closer look and sure enough, there it was. I don't like these things, so I removed it. I'd personally rather run the risk of having to cough £90 somewhere down the line for a new one if it gets scratched up. Previous users of Fairphones had complained about the use of LCD panels, so I'm pleased to see that they did, from the FP4 onwards, make use of an OLED. It's a very nice screen, 1224 x 2700 pixels, 459ppi, 20:9 ratio, bright at 880nits peak and colourful too. The refresh rate can be set to 90 (everyone else) or 60Hz (me) and it's a really nice size at 6.46". It feels a bit bigger than that however, as there are substantial bezels around all four edges. I'm OK with this though if it means less accidental touches, but yes, the 161.6mm x 75.8mm frame, I guess, could have been smaller. I wonder if there's any chance that a newly developed screen might take the bezels away, for those who don't like them. Some hope! The second of the pair of stereo speakers is at the top of the screen, doubling up for call audio.

Support Promise

Fairphone offer a 5-year warranty for purchasers of the phone and as they are still selling them new, that, for me, goes to October 2030. So that, already, is something special. They are also offering long support windows for software. The phone arrived on release with Android 13 and they promise that it will get 5 Android OS updates, so to Android 18, and security patching until 2031 but have a goal of trying to stretch that to 10 years instead of 8 - so to 2033 if that happens. Part of the reason that they are confident going forward is the choice of chipset in the mix - and an odd one it is too.

Chipset

The chipset that Fairphone have chosen to use is an 'industrial grade' one, Qualcomm QCM6490, which has been developed by the firm for longer-term use than other phones. It's primarily designed to be used in tech devices other than phones, like industrial tablets and handhelds, cameras, medical and smart devices that typically commerce and industry expect to go on for longer and not have to replace hardware. Apparently it's based on the same 6nm architecture as the SnapDragon 778G+ (same as, for example, the first Nothing Phone) and are good at sipping power but performing more than adequately for conservatively employed other hardware and software demands. Especially not AI, which this phone has none of, at least built-in! The phone, like a rugged device, is designed as more of a workhorse rather than high-end performer expected by some gaming enthusiasts, for example. It's a bold choice and will be interesting to how the special arrangement between Fairphone and Qualcomm holds up over time - and whether Fairphone can stick to their promises. I have a Fairphone 3+ here (released in 2000 - though the 3 was 2019) and it is, in my view, now unusable with Android on it. So slow in everything it does - so much so that I wiped it and now it's used with Ubuntu Touch OS. The 3+ chipset was a SnapDragon 632. So hopefully this shift will make the Fairphone 5 last longer. In addition to all this, apparently the Fairphone 5's screen can benefit from a dedicated visual co-processor, Pixelworks, taking some of the work away from the main chip and producing better colour and tone based on ambient lighting. This can work in video playback particularly and 'upmapping' standard visuals to HDR. Not really sure if that's special - or every phone has it! Not my area, but thought I'd mention it!

Clean Software

One of the ways in which the phone doesn't get bogged-down like some others (especially using this challenging chipset) is that the software experience is clean and clear. There was no bloatware installed and yes, it's fairly bare-boned like AOSP or the AndroidOne programme. As we know, Google have raced on from these 'standards' in order to embrace and supply lots of smart/AI stuff on lots of Android phones - their own Pixel devices now looking unrecognisable from what they, and Nexus, used to be when, for example, the Nokia XR20 (still going strong here!) were released, 4 years back. But this 'clean' look/feel is now refreshing, arguably. Nothing much getting in the way of the core experience and making it easier and quicker, in theory, for the Fairphone staff to work to keep the device up to date and usable for a long time.

User Interface

As I was saying earlier, the Quickstep Launcher, since the software updates came along, is more than usable for anyone not wanting to try a 3rd party option. The Google Discover Feed is off to the left for those who want it and the drop-down Notification Shade is clean Android 15. Swipe down from anywhere for that, swipe up from anywhere for the App Drawer. Long-press for Widget assignment, various Home Pages settings (very basic) and the Wallpaper and Style options (which was so troublesome - see above!) with Themed Icons option, Grid change and so on. Very clean. Very baseline Android. Nothing complicated! And a lot of that is the advantage here. While other OEMs go headlong into all sorts of AI functions, overlays, apps - or making their UI look like an Apple one - Fairphone here are keeping it simple and easy. Kudos again - though I wonder what might have to shift when Android 16 arrives as Google have made significant core UI changes. Having said that, I note that Motorola have largely ignored them! We'll leave that stress for another day!

Battery

The 4,200mAh removable Li-ion battery performs well enough, I suppose, for most. The standby time with screen off is very good - into multiple days. With my average use, it gets me to bedtime no problem with about 30% left, but I wouldn't like to start Day 2 without it topped up. But never fear as you can buy another! I did and so have two at the ready. It's a bit of a shame that there's no way of charging the batteries except inside the phone as that would be very handy. 30W charging by cable is supported and I have been getting a full charge from flat in well under 90 minutes, so not blazingly fast - but it's that last bit that takes the time as I can get more than half of it charged in a half hour. As for my 10% Reading Test, it's not great - just about 2 hours, which these days is well behind the leading pack. As for the screen, above, me musing again, maybe there's a way that a replacement battery could be developed as a Silicon-Carbon unit. A perfect opportunity to simply add it to their Spare Parts shop list. But I'm guessing that will be against the company's sustainability ethos.

RAM and Storage

The unit that I bought has 256GB of internal storage and 8GB RAM. You can get a 128GB/6GB version too for a bit less money. Both of them, though, have that microSD Card slot with support up to 2TB. I have a 1TB card in mine and it's playing very nicely with read/write times and zero judder on, for example, video playback even on quite large sample files. I'm not convinced that personally I need anything more than 256GB storage on my phone these days with connectivity, cloud storage and services so solid/cheap, but you never know. And if we're into a belt'n'braces situation here of ensuring that you can keep going if the balloon goes up(!) then of course, this is a vital addition. Pocket computers, otherwise known as phones, will certainly be more flexible with more physical options if indeed the shit does hit the fan! In the meantime, yes, a bonus. As for RAM, any devices with more than 8GB (or even 6 really) are really gearing up for AI stuff and OTT use which 95% of people will never need/do. We still have baseline Android phones running happily with 4GB. So, for this phone, no fear!

AI

There's none! Part of the very purpose here is to get away from built-in AI and reliance on services developed for so-called smart, but intrusive systems for most Fairphone buyers, I'd argue. But fear not, if not - as you can just install what you like as an app. Good example is Gemini, available in the Play Store and works perfectly well. I think that Google's own services are generally optimised well enough to run on even the most meagre of hardware in the Android world. If you start dipping into image/video processing/developing AI services then I guess your mileage may vary. For me, the Gemini queries and conversations I conduct work as perfectly and quickly on this phone as any other. But that's about my limit, personally. There's much talk currently about the AI-bubble bursting any minute and suddenly, perhaps, these OEMs that have invested heavily in their own systems might just come a cropper! Especially going forward, for their new hardware, if they can't get hold of enough RAM - as I write, there is news flying around about a world shortage - so next year's phones might be very different!

Security and Connectivity

The phone's capacitive, side-mounted fingerprint scanner is, as you might expect, perfect in operation - first time, every time. It's quick to register and ably supported by a well-performing face-unlock too. This is also reliable and quick to register in my testing here. In fact, by the time you get your finger on the scanner, the Selfie camera has done the job most of the time in decent-enough light. WiFi (6e) I have tested with 3 networks and it finds/locks well and cellular for voice and data has been tested here on EE's 4G and 5G service and again, no complaints. There's a physical nanoSIM slot as I said earlier and capacity for an eSIM connection too, both 5G. The GPS has been tested with various apps and services including Mapping and appears to work well, finding/holding on, the range of Bluetooth (5.2 LE) seems good in my tests, holding on and transmitting, and NFC seems good in terms of hooking up to other gear and paying at Tesco!

USB-C 3.0

As I mentioned at the outset, this is one of the clear advantages over the newer Fairphone 6, which has had the OTG, DisplayPort, cabled connectivity option removed and returned to a 2.0 version. Perhaps Fairphone concluded that not many people, unlike me, were using or valuing it. Again, one could argue that with wireless connectivity options being so good these days, who needs it. And maybe they are right. But there will no doubt be one situation lurking where it's needed. Network down, no way to connect to a service to stream, mouse and keyboard not playing ball and so on. In which case it could be important and desirable to just cable-up and roll it. We'll also be able to play with Google's evolving Desktop Mode while Fairphone 6 users look on, drooling! Now having said all that, there has been an issue with the Fairphone 5, much reported in their forums and experienced here - where, when plugging a cable into the USB-C port flags up not connectivity but a warning saying that there is a blockage/moisture in the port and it can't connect - try later. Now to be fair, I've not seen it pop up since the last round of updates itemised above, so hopefully that has been fixed. But yes - options are always welcome (as would have been the 3.5mm audio socket).

Off-Grid

You can choose to have the phone supplied with /e/OS by Murena (for a 'de-Googled' experience) rather than Android (or put it on yourself later if you fancy the challenge) if top priority is privacy over convenience. I haven't done this nor particularly looked into it, but as the bootloader is unlocked on the phone, the world is your oyster! This is a whole different world and for those interested, they can read all about it at their website.

Cameras

The main camera in that Apple-like triangle is a 26mm (ffe) f1.88, 50MP with OIS, the wide-angle one is 13mm (ffe) f2.2, 50MP with AF and 2.5cm Super Macro and the Selfie is 22mm (ffe) f2.45, 50MP. All three cameras bin to 12.5MP by default. The third circle on the camera island is a 3D ToF unit for depth. You can force 'full pixel' on the main camera to shoot at 50MP, with the resulting bigger file sizes, but not the others. The 'super macro' via the wide-angle lens is decent-enough, but others, using the wide option with AF do a better/closer job. You can do just as well really, for casual shooting, using the main lens and zooming in a bit. There's no optical zoom here. The supplied camera app/software is pretty basic with the stuff you'd expect - Photo, Video, Portrait, Pro, Panorama - in a sideways text-scroll. Then there's Stop Motion, Super Night (creating virtual daylight from almost pitch darkness at the expense of sharpening etc.) and Slo-Mo. Video tops out at 4K@30fps or 1080@60. I'm sure that there are much, much better cameras-in-phones out there (and worse) but as this really isn't my area I'm going to hand you our friends at GSMArena for their deeper dive which starts here. They generally think that in some ways the photography from the phone is surprisingly good with nice results, but in others, could be better. Please do support them in whatever way you can as they do provide a great service and reference point.

Colours and Availability

You can buy the Fairphone 5 in Matte Black, Sky Blue, Transparent or Green. However, the 'transparent' one looks very much like a 'matt black' one to me (with the transparent back on it)! The sky blue and green actually do give you that colour on the a aluminium surround. Or at least, they would. I just went to the Fairphone website and it seems that they are now only offering the Fairphone 5 as a 'refurbished' option, not new, pushing everyone towards the 6th gen unit for new. I guess that's good for the planet. But I'm glad I got in in time to get a new one! The refurbished ones are similarly given a 5-year warranty and the same software support window as the new ones (from first release-date of course, so the later you buy one, the less of a support window you get). At time of writing, a refurbished unit with 256GB/8GB is being offered for £379 (under the £465 I paid in October for my new one).

Fairphone 6th Generation

So what do you get by 'upgrading' to the latest Fairphone unit then? There must be some lure! Well, there's a different chipset which apparently improves performance and efficiency - the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 (4nm) over this experimental idea of the QCM6490 (6nm) - but they still seem to say that the support window is as long. So presumably another special deal done with Qualcomm. You get an LTPO display, which means the return of the AoD and variable refresh rate, up to 120Hz, which is good for battery too, yes. The screen is slightly smaller and has a higher 'nits' rating (1,400) for brightness, particularly outside in the sun. The GG7i affords, technically, more durable glass protection, but neither seem to great to me, especially for micro-scratching. The base storage is more at 256GB across all units, so the 128GB/6GB version is gone - and all the FP6 units have 8GB RAM - and the storage is UFS 3.1 instead of 2.2, so there's that for faster read/writes. With the main camera the FP6 uses a newer, slightly larger sensor with a slightly wider aperture, generally meaning better low-light performance, though in real-world use I'd question the difference. The wide-angle camera has actually dropped from the FP5's 50MP to a 13MP unit but the Selfie adds AF, even if dropped from 50MP to 32. So there's that, too. In terms of repairability though and hot-swapping, the main thing here is that even to change the battery (which is slightly larger), or even to get the back off, you need a screwdriver, unlike the real hot-swap of the FP5. There's the addition of that quick-function side switch, leading to the Fairphone Moments thing, for what it is worth! From what I've seen in reviews, it's not really! Still, at least you can assign it to something else and more useful. Then there's all that modular stuff I highlighted, above, CMF-style. Oh, and did I mention no DisplayPort support with USB-C 2.0?!

So that's about it really - more of a voyage of discovery perhaps than review or comparison, but hopefully some will appreciate the path and log of findings, fighting with the process to get the device up and running. Which it is now, to be fair - very nicely. And at the end of all that - yes, I still say that I made the right choice and am much happier with the 5 than I would be with the Gen. 6. Happy 2026 to you all!

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

What a lovely little animated film this is from Studio Ghibli now streaming on various services. It was one I hadn't seen yet and it was a little charmer. Apart from all the gorgeous animation, there's a cute little tale here too.

Think Land of the Giants (1968-70) and you'll not be far off! Arrietty is a 13 year old girl living in a family of similarly-sized kinda 4" people, "Borrowers", trying to avoid the full-sized humans who, when they get wind of them, historically, stamp them out.

So there's mum, dad and her living under the house of a bunch of full-sizers which is the home of a lady who has taken in her nephew for a while as he's waiting for a heart operation and needs rest. His mother is too busy to care for him. So auntie is a very nice lady who believes in the historic sightings of the Borrowers (they seem to be called this because they 'borrow' food and stuff from full-size humans - kinda "Stealers" really then - when they're sleeping) and nephew is well up for the contact, befriending Arrietty.

It's when they go on raiding parties into the house for supplies that it really reminds me of Land of the Giants with beautifully-imagined use of cotton reels, pins, hooks and nails in order to navigate around the giant (to them) terrain! It really is charming and with a nasty housekeeper character in the mix trying to exterminate them as 'pests' and spunky Arrietty raising to the challenge of survival at every turn, the makings are here for a lovely adventure.

It's so refreshing to see an animation that's not mainstream and out of America (ducks for cover) but rather a gentle, masterfully-created piece of art with such amazing attention to detail, the Ghibli way. A charming treat, 90-minutes well-spent.

Nuremberg (2025)

The story of the Nuremberg trials following WWII has been told many times in film, TV series and books but this film focusses very squarely on the role played by the American Army psychiatrist whisked in to evaluate and try to get under the skin of the accused Nazi leaders. Particularly though his growing obsession with understanding how human beings could have taken part in such acts of evil, via a bond with Hermann Göring, with which those around him grow increasingly concerned.

The story of the Nuremberg trials following WWII has been told many times in film, TV series and books but this film focusses very squarely on the role played by the American Army psychiatrist whisked in to evaluate and try to get under the skin of the accused Nazi leaders. Particularly though his growing obsession with understanding how human beings could have taken part in such acts of evil, via a bond with Hermann Göring, with which those around him grow increasingly concerned.

Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) knocks it out of the park as he plays said psychiatrist Douglas Kelley, supported very impressively by Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) as Göring. The allies seek to bring justice to the German high command for the atrocities of the Holocaust, trying hard to secure admissions of guilt and responsibility for the laws passed and orders given to those below them.

Much of the first three-quarters of the 2 hour 28 minute film are spent alongside Kelley and Göring as we see how the battle of wits develops between them, their relationship grows closer and the psychiatrist starts to warm to the man and his family, who are staying nearby and with whom he regularly visits during the process. Director/producer/writer (though it is based on Jack El-Hai's book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist) James Vanderbilt (Truth, The Amazing Spider-Man) keeps things tight as we get up close and personal with the two leads heading towards the gripping courtroom drama at the end.

When we do get there, Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Knives Out) is similarly terrific as chief prosecutor Justice Robert H. Jackson, supported by, in the end, another great performance by Richard E. Grant (Withnail and I, Gosford Park) as fixer Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe. I'm no historian, so not sure how much of the nitty-gritty behind closed doors is true or accurate but it's certainly been made here into a gripping and harrowing tale. There's time spent in the courtroom where film footage of what the allies found in the concentration camps was screened for all to see, which I assume is actual images from the time and not generated by Hollywood.

Apparently, laying aside not really having evidence of what went on behind closed doors, the film is pretty factual which, if you took away the psychological battle between the two leads, would make it less of a drama and more shocking/upsetting. What makes it powerful, in a different sense though, is getting close to Göring (and his huge ego), pompously believing that he, his country and their leadership had done was right and proper to give the German people back what was theirs. It brings chills watching Crowe doing this very convincingly.

It's beautifully shot depicting the time and places involved and highlights also the difficult dilemma for the Americans, having to conduct the trials in Germany, where German laws had been implemented, even if by the Nazi party, rather than in America - which they had to realise would be inappropriate given that none of WWII actually happened there. War crimes trials had never been conducted like this before and these events were forming the way forward from a near blank sheet of paper, towards the likes of The Hague now in-situ.

So yes, it's all a little of a history lesson, but the drama is certainly lifted by the drama of the struggle between these two men. We get some captions at the end to tell us what happened during the following years to the main people involved, which, again, seem factual. All very sad - entertainment at a stretch, but more an opportunity for reflection of the events of the last century. Quite brilliantly made and highly recommended.

Pluribus (2025) - A Masterclass in Surrealist Tension

With the final episode recently dropping on Apple TV, the verdict on Pluribus is finally in: the hype is real. If you’ve been following the buzz - including the glowing praise from voices like our Allan Gildea on the Projector Room Podcast - you might be wondering if this high-concept drama actually delivers. After finishing the finale last night, I can confidently say that it doesn’t just deliver; it haunts.

At its core, Pluribus poses a premise that feels both absurd and deeply existential: What if the world’s most miserable person was tasked with saving humanity from total happiness? The series serves as a long-awaited reunion between Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn, whose chemistry in Better Call Saul redefined television excellence. Here, they take that pedigree into even weirder territory. The world has been quietly conquered by an alien force, but there are no laser beams or scorched cities. Instead, the invaders have turned almost every human on Earth into a peaceful, accommodating, and perpetually happy-hippie! There are only thirteen outliers left - the 'unconverted' - and Seehorn’s character, Carol, is the most aggressively active of the bunch. While the rest of the world has joined a collective "We," Carol remains stubbornly, wonderfully individualistic.

If you are looking for a high-octane thriller, you might need to adjust your expectations. This is Gilligan in his most meditative form. There are stretches that echo the famous "Fly" episode of Breaking Bad - deliberate, slow-burn sequences that prioritise atmosphere and character internalities over plot progression. However, for those who appreciate the craft, this pacing is essential. It builds a sense of unease that a faster show would miss. The writing is incredibly smart, using the 'slow' moments to let the mind-bending nature of the premise truly sink in.

The horror of Pluribus isn't in violence, but in the Sword of Damocles hanging over the thirteen outliers. The "We" are not villains in the traditional sense; they are passive and eager to please, doing anything the outliers ask to keep them comfortable. Yet, behind this smiling facade, they are working relentlessly to "fix" the glitch that allowed these thirteen to slip through the net. The tension of being hunted by kindness is a stroke of narrative genius.

Visually, the show is a triumph. It is beautifully produced, with gorgeous, saturated visuals that mirror the eerie 'perfection' of this new world. You can see Gilligan’s meticulous stamp on every frame. But beyond the sci-fi hook, there is a sad love story buried in the static - a thread I won't spoil, but one that provides the show's emotional anchor.

Pluribus is a rare breed of television: a smart, surreal drama that respects the viewer’s intelligence. It is a fabulous achievement that demands a second viewing to catch all the nuances. If you haven't started it yet, consider this your highest possible recommendation.

Carry-On (2024) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

Carry-On is an excellent airport-based thriller that's available to watch on Netflix. Taron Egerton plays a brilliant lead as stuck-in-a-rut LAX junior security team member, Ethan Kopek, who after just finding out that his girlfriend, Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson), who also works at the airport as a Customer Service Manager, is pregnant, decides he's finally going to ask for that promotion from his hard-nosed boss, Phil Sarkowski (Dean Joseph Norris). However, soon after he starts his shift at one of the carry-on baggage check X-Ray machine posts, his day takes a frightening turn.

A random passenger in the queue says she's found a single earbud and just as he is about to place in the nearby lost property drawer, his mobile starts receiving texts from an unknown number. It starts by telling him to place the bud in his ear or his girlfriend with be in danger. He complies and then a calm male voice starts giving him verbal instructions. He is to allow a specific black wheely case with a red ribbon through the system without further scrutiny and that passenger to freely clear through his check point. "What the hell is in that case?"

Now, the main kicker here is that the voice over the earbuds comes from Jason Bateman, who from my memory, rarely plays a baddie, but does it well here as the no-name antagonist. He's convincingly chilling when giving Kopek multiple warnings for unsuccessfully trying to notify his team as to what's going on. An accomplice in a conveniently positioned van in the airport carpark opposite the terminal building is his 'eyes' as they've hacked into the airport's CCTV. They also seem to know what is going on at L.A. Police H.Q. quite easily too, so seem to have all bases covered.

The run time of 2 hours flies by as the tension cranks up deliciously. Seemingly completely trapped in this impossible situation, Kopek has to draw upon every ounce of his wit to try and get out of it, as well as saving his girlfriend. There's a sterlingly good supporting performance from Danielle Deadwyler as L.A. Detective Elena Cole, slowly piecing together what's going down from random incidents cropping up over the city, but mostly the supporting cast were actors I'd not seen before. No doubt with this tense thriller set on Christmas Eve there will definitely be some serious Die Hard comparisons, but I felt that it stands out well enough and is a gripping watch!

The Great Flood (2025)

This is on Netflix now and as previewed in Coming Soon on our Projector Room Podcast, I was looking forward to this Korean disaster movie centred around a, yes, flood. The trailer looked good and I was up for it. However, all is not as it seems and this turns out not to simply be a straight-forward disaster movie in which a meteor hits Antarctica, melts all the snow, send loads of water north, which it does, but something much more and different - and I'm afraid, confusing!

I'm sure that as I get older I get thicker (no wonder my old dad gets confused with these stories) but once again I had to turn to YouTube to get some spotty oik to tell me what the feck was going on in this film! And once I'd digested that, yes, it kinda made sense. But it's still very confusing!

The flood is about to bring the end of humanity but some stuff had happened 5+ years before which tried to ensure that if this happened, humanity could bounce back. I won't say any more as anything would be spoiler stuff I think.

The special effects I thought were very good - the water (mostly) convincing and often scary. Underwater scenes were shot well as survival instinct kicked in for our characters, who you do start to care about and provide many thrilling moments. The actors involved generally did a good job and it was quite well produced and directed. But... well... the confusing bits in the story are presented, well, confusingly... and although the smart people around me here will no doubt get it first time, I needed help, as I say. Why not give it a go and see what you think. It's just under 2 hours long.

Osiris (2025) - A Guest Mini-Review by Adrian Brain

The big draw for this recent sci-fi actioner is Linda “Terminator” Hamilton, but sadly her on-screen time is less than ten minutes. What’s worse, she didn’t “phone-in” the performance as much as send in a fax of Sarah Connor with the note “I’ll add a silly Russian accent in the overdub”.  Oh well,  I expect she has bills to pay too.

The actual lead to the film is called, I kid you not, Max Martini! The square-jawed action hero’s square-jaw. He plays the commander of a special forces unit that is abducted mid-mission into the bowels of an alien spaceship. After the usual probing by the rubbery-looking aliens, they are sealed up in jelly (complete with their arsenal of weapons, most conveniently). They are museum exhibits, presenting the best warriors Earth has to offer. However, the jelly melts and our heroes are free to try to prevent the aliens from eating the population of Earth. So a high-stakes mission then.

If you watch the trailer you’ve essentially seen the film; lots of running around alien spaceship corridors which look remarkably samey (I guess Linda Hamilton ate most of the budget) and the expected death-by-numbers. Sadly, key points, such as the final battle between uber-Alien and Earth’s squarest jaw, are fluffed badly.

However, I did enjoy this despite it being rubbish! Max Martini, often shaken but not stirred, carries the film with a certain bravado and it is always good to see Linda Hamilton with a big gun, no matter how briefly! Currently streaming on various platforms in the UK.

Die Alone (2024)

This 90-minute thriller is a kind of twist on the whole Zombie genre which has benefited from some intelligent writing, storytelling and plot development. Far from the usual often-comic approach to the walking, living dead director/writer Lowell Dean has given us something a bit smarter, more of a puzzle, which the viewer needs to unpick.

Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Jessica Jones, Humans) plays the lead and is, as always, convincing in her role. She is supported by Douglas Smith (The Alienist, Clarice), similarly competent as a lost soul searching for his girlfriend in amongst a new world where for humans who are not careful, Mother Nature is taking them back. All sorts of messages going on of course about what our species is doing to the planet and how we'd better watch out if we don't mend our ways.

Some of the make-up has been created interestingly for the humans who have been reclaimed, as various bits of greenery are growing out of various bits of their body, nature keeping them alive-to-thrive. Smith's character has got an extra problem to deal with, apart from avoiding being nabbed, in that he has amnesia. This pops up throughout as we're served up clues as to what the past has been for him and what he can remember about his girlfriend and where she might be.

He quickly gets trusted and invited into Carrie-Anne Moss' character's home as she sees an opportunity to have a physically healthy man around the place to help with the harder work, including taking a turn on the exercise bike which charges the batteries, assisting the solar panels, to bring her purposefully booby-trapped home some electricity. So they get along nicely until having to deal with passers-by and run the risks involved regarding who to trust and who to not. Throughout this, we're flashing back to what he (Ethan) remembers from time to time about his girlfriend and what happened to her, but he also really can't piece much of it together beyond the fact that they were in a car crash.

Carrie-Anne Moss is super in the lead and all those popping in for a quick turn do a great job including Frank Grillo (The Grey, Tulsa King, Kingdom), Kimberly-Sue Murray and Jonathan Cherry. They all contribute well to this post-apocalypse kind-of-survival story as the thrills and surprises roll. I really liked The Last of Us (2023) and this certainly had some nods to the atmosphere of that, though less of the scare moments - as much of this is more laid back - no jump-scares to contend with, which gets my vote!

It's nicely produced with some interesting photography, particularly with some of the interior sets, and yes, there is some body-horror gore here and there - but certainly nothing to hide behind the sofa from! As I said earlier, more to admire from the physical effects rather than blatant CGI. I do think that it's well worth a watch but don't read too much about it or watch give-away trailers. Go in blind and enjoy the ride. It's on a number of streaming services in the UK as I write.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

This is the third in what Director James Cameron says will be five feature films set in the mid 22nd Century on the alien moon of Pandora. This outing follows on directly from the dramatic events of Avatar: The Way of Water, which was released in 2022 and again concentrates on the Na'vi family of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) along with their three free-spirited children and adopted human son, Spider.

Still dealing with profound grief after the death of their eldest son Neteyam, their ongoing relationship with Spider (Jack Champion) is getting quite strained, especially as Neytiri feels that as he is the biological son of (hard to kill) Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), he is the reason that the human forces are relentless in going after all of them and generally trying to destroy the Na'vi way of life in their greedy plans to get hold of the rare natural mineral resources on Pandora.

Against the wishes of their children, they decide to take Spider back to the friendly human scientist's base for everyone's future safety. As a compromise, the entire family hitch a ride with a balloon-travelling trader-tribe for the journey but en route, encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, led by their fierce female chieftain, Varang (Oona Chaplin). During the dramatic air battle, their balloon crashes in the jungle and as they try to escape on foot, Jake's metal automatic rifle falls into the hands of Verang who immediately feels it's a weapon that her and tribe must get a lot more of.

At 3 hours and 17 minutes, this film would definitely be considered on the long side but the story keeps moving at a nice pace so I certainly didn't feel bored. Empathy was flowing in all the right places as the script was much more engaging than the last film's. I'm not sure if motion capture technology used has improved since 2022 but I think that the expressiveness of the all the Na'vi faces are much more emotion-filled this time.

That point is illustrated best by Chaplin, who steals every scene that her character is in, with the most expressive performances - and with the unexpected relationship she develops with Lang, now permanently transposed into a Na'vi avatar body himself, the intensity is ramped up to eleven! His motivation involves ever more maverick attempts to try to capture the "traitor", Jake, and re-engage with his estranged son, Spider. I also have to mention the stunning topographical visuals of the multiple locations we are taken to, with all their amazing alien flora and fauna, which again are a critical part of the landscape of this franchise.

Of course, the ongoing war between the human colonists and the indigenous Na'vi is what this franchise is mostly known for and although they feel a bit relentless after, now, three films, the choreography of these particular battles have escalated to a believable level and happily, took up just about the right amount of screen time. The character development of the core family and their other Na'vi friends was what mostly I'll remember this time as it reminded me much more of the experience I felt after seeing the first film in 2009. I'll point out now that unlike that time, I didn't go to see the 3D version, which is widely available - but it was still very entertaining and much better than I was expecting!

The Long Walk (2025)

This is now starting to creep into streaming services now in the UK and I thought I'd give it a go. I haven't read Stephen King's book but it seems that from those who have, this film adaptation meanders someway off the writing and many are not pleased.

The backdrop is a USA now under a military regime - a repressive police state, where the government exerts strict control. Civil liberties are severely curtailed. People can be executed for expressing outspoken political opinions against the government and the country is suffering from a severe economic depression. The Long Walk contest organised by the government is a way to inspire patriotism and a strong work ethic in the public.

One hundred teenage boys are selected via a lottery to compete. They must walk continuously along a pre-arranged route. They must maintain a pace over 3mph. If anyone drops below the speed for a specified time, they receive a verbal warning from the armed soldiers escorting them. After three warnings, the next one results in the boy being shot dead. The single boy who lasts the longest wins a large cash prize and the fulfillment of any one wish he desires for the rest of his life. The event is highly publicised and watched by spectators who line the route, turning the state-sponsored murder into a major source of entertainment and betting. This is one of the aspects apparently in the book and not the film, which is almost all set along country roads away from spectators.

King began writing it in the late 1960s, and it was widely considered an allegory for the Vietnam War and the military draft - reflecting anxieties about young men being arbitrarily chosen and sent off to a brutal, often fatal, experience by an unquestionable authority.

So yes, that's about it really. During the walk we get to know the characters and the reasons why they have volunteered to be a part of this - often not just about money. There are one or two flashbacks but the cameras stay mainly with the walkers and a huge part of the film is dialogue driven - interspersed with brutal killings of, yes, you guessed it, 99 of the young men. Much of it is about regret and loss, opportunity and revenge but mostly friendship and the meaning of that - so entrenched, that at times it starts to feel a little like a soap opera!

But it's not - it's more like a thriller in a sense, except that we pretty much know what is going to happen - because it has to. That's the point. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are engaging in the main two leads, surrounded by quirky characters, often annoying, sometimes sweet and moreover experiencing changes of priorities and life/death outlook as they face their end against the 100:1 odds. The pace is pushed along by the pace of the walking and it never feels, unlike the walkers, tired or laboured.

The photography and direction (Francis Lawrence) are well thought through as we have various interesting well-shot close-ups of the killings and out of focus long-shots too - as we trundle along the road with the guys. It's an odd film really. I guess one can look deeply into it, given the above regarding who wrote it, when it was written and what the drive for the story was - but it can also be taken at face value of some futuristic game-to-the-death like Squid Game or the like. Quite entertaining, therefore - and thought-provoking for those who wish to muse.

The Dam (2025)

This Ukrainian horror/thriller/zombie film comes across as pure anti-Russia, anti-Soviet propaganda! At every turn, opportunity is taken to poke, prod and belittle the country, this shot during the continuing latter's occupation of the former. I'll leave debate regarding that situation for other commentators. Apparently this film was made for only half a million dollars, quickly, in the war zone - so kudos for that.

Cold-hearted and stoney faced Mara, Maryna Koshkina (Oxana, The Forgotten), leads a crack Ukrainian military team into underground spaces which have been uncovered as a result of Russian forces blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam (apparently a true event from 2023).

There, in secret Soviet bunkers under the dam, she is trying to find her long-lost brother. Made tricky (as we head into fantasy, not fact) by the place being full of zombies, created by Russian projects to create physically super-human and psychically capable soldiers - male and female!

The idea being that the super strong males can crush enemies like a Godzilla and the females can 'think' dreadful things to happen to them with it coming true! We do see much of this all happening later in the film as it goes into bonkers territory! Given that small budget, the zombie creatures actually look pretty good and well-imagined. I wouldn't say particularly scary, but quite well-done - as our crack team discover that a bullet through the head kills them once and for all. Trouble is that there are more of them than they have bullets for, so cunning strategy is needed too!

In the middle of this they find a nerdy and somewhat comic Russian scientist who has been responsible for the experiments, so they give him a hard time (as you'd imagine) but keep him alive as hostage to be their guide through the maze of bunker corridors and levels. He takes the opportunity, whilst not gagged, to explain what he was up to and how great Russia is/was and how what they have been doing is right and justified. The team soon get fed up with that!

It all sounds a bit bonkers - and to large degree it is - macho-men with huge guns, zombies being taken out left, right and centre (and later on 'exploded' by thought, which is fun) and all set to in-your-face rock music! But actually, I really quite enjoyed it. You'd have to be in the right mood of course, few beers, but the 1 hour and 40 minutes flew by as director Alexey Taranenko keeps viewers on their toes, edge of the seat, wondering what on earth is likely to be around the next corner!

Built to a budget, so don't expect spankingly good special effects, but what they have done here with the money and under difficult circumstances is really very impressive. The pacing of the action is good, the script is alright, the storyline bozo (of course) and actors (none of whom I know) seem to certainly do a decent-enough job. All good fun, but yes, there certainly is a hard-line message behind it which it pulls no punches in putting out there.