The Fairphone 2 is getting its very last update – a “bittersweet” moment for the manufacturer

After more than seven years and 43 software updates, the second generation Fairphone has officially come to the end of software support: on Tuesday, the Dutch start-up will release the latest update for the Android device – based on Android 10, as it is called.

Launched in 2015, the Fairphone 2 originally launched with Android 5 and was later updated to Android 6, Android 7.1, Android 9 and most recently Android 10, the manufacturer writes in a recent release. It is “one of the few devices from 2015 to be upgraded to Android 9 and 10”.

The Verge states that seven years is a longer support period than any other Android manufacturer promises. Google, Samsung and most recently OnePlus will provide security updates for their mobile devices for up to five years, while Apple’s iOS 16 will be available from 2022 for devices dating back to 2017’s iPhone 8.

Volunteers helped

Thanks to the commitment of the open source community, Fairphone has managed to keep the device alive much longer than originally planned. Today, operating systems such as LineageOS or “/e/OS”, which are available with Android 11, can be installed on it.

Fairphone relies on a modular smartphone concept to ensure that the devices can be easily repaired. More than 115,000 Fairphones 2 have been sold, of which about 150,000 are still in use today.

Sources

(dsc)