Example for others: Fairphone 2 support ends 7 years later

Seven years ago, during the MWC 2016 exhibition, the small Dutch company Fairphone announced the start of sales of its second

generation of their smartphones - Fairphone 2.The device's path to the market was quite long, so it came with not the latest hardware (Snapdragon 801 two years ago) and not the latest software in the form of Android 5.1 (the current version was Android 6). However, the company promised technical support unprecedented at that time: at least three years of software updates. And, to put it mildly, I didn’t deceive. In the spring of 2017, the smartphone was updated to Android 6, which became the latest software version for most smartphones running Snapdragon 801. But for Fairphone 2 this was just the beginning.

A year and a half later Fairphone 2 received Android7, and jumped straight to Android 9 a year and a half later. Finally, last spring, Fairphone released Android 10 for this model. In addition to major updates, the company released minor updates that fixed bugs and security issues. In just seven years, 45 updates were released. And just the other day, the company announced that the history of the smartphone is coming to an end: the last update for Fairphone 2 will be released in March 2023, after which the company will stop any improvements to its software. So the Fairphone 2 got five years of Android updates and seven years of security updates, a level of support no Android manufacturer promises (and Apple isn't far ahead either: the iPhone 6S stopped after six years of major updates).

Despite the amazing lengthsupport, Fairphone believes that even now it should not leave customers "in trouble" and offers several options for behavior. You can continue to use your smartphone further, being aware of the security risks; you can put it into airplane mode and continue to use it as an offline device; can be flashed to a custom firmware that continues to receive updates (for example, / e / OS); well, or you can return the Fairphone 2 for recycling and get a $50 discount on the Fairphone 4. Those who wish to continue to use the "deuce" will still be able to buy spare parts for them in the official online store until the company runs out of their stocks (part spare parts are not sold to cover warranty repairs - some Fairphone 2s are still under warranty).


Fairphone 2 announcement

    © Ilya Nerybov.

    According to Fairphone