cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/45810243
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Fairphones are issued to employees by the Information & Library Services (ILS) division. In addition to new Fairphones, the university can also reissue used Samsung devices where possible. These are Samsung devices that have already been returned and still meet the technical and age requirements. As long as these devices are still available, not every employee will receive a Fairphone immediately. Employees who have an iPhone from Radboud University can continue to use it as long as the device is still functioning. However, returned iPhones will no longer be reissued.
Employees who prefer to use their private phone for work can request an RU SIM card for this purpose. The costs for using your own device will not be reimbursed. Naturally, smartphone models that have already been issued will continue to be supported by ILS colleagues, as will privately purchased smartphone models used for work.
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Due to its longer lifespan, the total cost of a Fairphone is lower than that of comparable devices. In addition, Radboud University only needs to purchase, manage and support one standard model … Fairphone offers a five-year warranty and long-term software support for up to eight years. This means that devices need to be replaced less quickly. This fits in with Radboud University’s circularity strategy, which focuses on the longest possible use and reuse of ICT hardware.
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Some phones used to have decent DAC (for a phone). Those cables don’t. And USB-C isn’t so robust as the jack.
It’s not a crucial feature for me, but I would have preferred to have more phones with jack and SD cards.
And they still have a DAC because they drive physical speakers.
If it’s about water proofing, the same solution that makes the charge port water-tight would work for a headphone jack.
And I have a combined charger/audio jack adapter for my car. It’s cold now, and the adapter doesn’t connect very well until it warms up. And since the audio is now being accessed via USB, the phone needs to unlock before it will start sending a signal. And every time it loses that connection, audio stops and the phone needs to be unlocked to start it again (lock screen play button will only play through the phone speakers until it’s unlocked).
Not to mention just getting a decent adapter isn’t straightforward either, especially in this day of so many fly by night “businesses” that just stick around long enough that the real negative reviews start to cancel out the fake ones they purchased as a cost of being in the fraud business, not to mention the “legit” businesses so often embracing enshitification and misleading marketing.
Oh also sometimes my car’s RPM can be heard through the speakers because that’s how it generates the current to power the adapter and it isn’t sufficiently isolated like it was on the phone.