Most average phone users don't give a shit about bezels, weight and stuff, they just buy whatever is put in front of them. If Apple came out with a new iPhone that was heavier, thicker bezelled, slower, people would still buy it because the truth is, they don't compare anything or look into it besides "this is the latest".

Speed is such a none issue, all mid-range phones are plenty fast enough for the very large majority of people. Buying flagship phones with the fastest SoCs is pointless to them, they will never get value from it - they just buy them because they are the latest "best shit you need" and they cost a lot more than a Fairphone.

Now the value of replacing a battery on the fly (whether broken or just for more juice) would actually be a lot higher, people used to do that in the past. The ability to repair the phone yourself wouldn't really matter to most, as they usually just take their phones to a repair shop anyway, but the cost of the repair would be lower.

The Fairphone has a great mission, one that all phones should be going after. They are expensive for what you are getting in terms of specifications, yes, but the company isn't large enough to make them any cheaper without sacrificing the point of them in the first place. It's fine to not want one, but comparing them to flagship phones, the same way you would compare an S24 to an iPhone 15, is actually unfair. Not to say you can't critise it, I think the software is the weak point and some issues were clearly highlighted, not unfixable though.

If price wasn't a factor and you just handed them to average people to use, then they would most likely be satisfied and would find value in it.