Fairphone Arrives in US, WhatsApp Hits Apple Watch
▼ Summary
– Fairphone is expanding to the US with its repairable Fairbuds XL headphones, available on Amazon later this month, rather than starting with its smartphones.
– Fairphone reported 61% revenue growth in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024, selling over 100,000 units in 2024, including phones and audio products.
– Fairphone smartphones are the easiest to repair, featuring tools, spare parts, long-term software support, and sustainable practices like fair mining and wages.
– Meta has launched a WhatsApp app for Apple Watch, enabling users to read full messages, send voice messages and emoji reactions, and see callers, syncing with the iPhone.
– Motorola released the Moto G 2026 and Moto G Play 2026 budget phones, with the Play model offering 5G at $170, both featuring 6.7-inch screens, large batteries, and headphone jacks.
The highly anticipated arrival of Fairphone in the United States marks a significant step for the consumer electronics industry, though the initial product launch focuses on audio rather than smartphones. The Netherlands-based company, celebrated for its commitment to sustainability and repairability, is introducing the Fairbuds XL, a set of fully repairable over-ear headphones, available on Amazon later this month. This strategic move precedes the more complex process of bringing its smartphones to the US market, which requires navigating carrier certifications. The company is reportedly in advanced discussions with select retailers and carriers to make this a reality.
Fairphone’s impressive 61 percent revenue growth in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, underscores the growing consumer demand for its ethical and long-lasting products. This surge is largely credited to the successful launch of the Fairphone (Gen 6), a device the company does not release annually. In 2024, Fairphone sold over 100,000 units across its phone and audio product lines. The company provides a screwdriver, sells spare parts for years, and offers long-term software support, making its devices, particularly its smartphones which have a perfect 10/10 iFixit repairability score, the easiest to repair on the market. While they may not boast the most powerful specifications, they represent a more sustainable choice, ensuring fair mining practices and equitable wages throughout the supply chain.
In other tech news, WhatsApp has officially arrived on the Apple Watch, offering a more robust experience than simple notification mirroring. Users can now read entire message threads, record and send voice messages, see who is calling, send emoji reactions, and view more of their chat history directly on their wrist. The app syncs seamlessly with the user’s iPhone, eliminating the need for a separate setup. However, the functionality has some limitations; calls cannot be taken or answered on the watch itself, only viewed and declined, and the app cannot be added as a watch face complication.
Shifting to the mobile market, Motorola has unveiled its latest budget-friendly options, the Moto G 2026 and Moto G Play 2026. The most notable development is that the Moto G Play will have 5G support, positioning it as one of the most affordable 5G-capable handsets available at just $170. Both phones feature a 6.7-inch 120-Hz LCD screen, a substantial 5,200-mAh battery, and an IP52 rating for water resistance. They are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor with 4 GB of RAM, but differ in storage and camera capabilities. The standard Moto G offers 128 GB of internal storage and a 50-MP main camera, while the Play model comes with 64 GB of storage and a 32-MP main sensor. Both retain the increasingly rare headphone jack. The Moto G Play will be available first on November 13, followed by the $200 Moto G on December 11.
Finally, Canon has announced the EOS R6 Mark III, its latest professional-grade full-frame mirrorless camera. The R6 III is equipped with a new 32.5-megapixel sensor, the same sensor found in the company’s EOS C50 cinema camera, and is powered by the latest Digic X processor, promising significant improvements in image quality and performance for serious photographers and videographers.
(Source: Wired)
