Fairphone is known for its mission to create repairable phones made from ethically sourced parts. The company has been largely successful with this mission, with one exception: Fairphone’s devices were previously only available in Europe. These include the Fairphone 4, which received a perfect 10/10 for repairability from iFixIt. However, the company markets the Fairphone 4 in the USA behind the data protection-oriented operating system /e/OS.
Murena, which develops /e/OS, now sells the Murena Fairphone 4 in the United States. Murena has partnered with Fairphone in the past and sold a version of the Fairphone 3 with /e/OS preinstalled.
Murena’s Android version, /e/OS, removes Google services (known as “de-googled” Android) to better protect user privacy. This is done by removing Google services or by preventing the services from transmitting user data to Google. For apps and tasks that require Google services, /e/OS uses a compatibility layer. An app store is also preinstalled, offering open source and free (FOSS) apps.
The Fairphone 4 is a fairly modest smartphone. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G SoC and comes with either 6GB RAM/128GB storage or 8GB RAM/256GB storage. The phone sports a 6.3-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display, a 25 MP selfie camera in a teardrop notch and a dual camera (48 MP main, 48 MP wide-angle) with a time-of-flight sensor on the back.
Although these specifications are relatively low for a smartphone in 2023, the main features of the Fairphone 4 are its ease of repair and its modularity. The rear case can be removed without tools and each component resides on a daughter board that can be swapped out in the event of a failure.
In our test, we praised the phone’s easy repair, fast USB-C connection, and good camera quality, while also pointing out the 5-year warranty (which the Murena Fairphone 4 also supports). However, we also found the phone to be bulky and expensive for what it offers.
This last point also applies to the Murena Fairphone 4. Pricing starts at $629.90 for a model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Increasing the RAM and storage to 8GB and 256GB respectively brings the price up to $699.90. This price, while not overly expensive, is certainly too high for the specs; Consumers will likely buy the Fairphone 4 for its fairly sourced parts and repairability.
Although the Fairphone 4 has had its day, it’s nice to see Murena launching the device in the US. Americans interested in smartphone privacy and the Right to Repair movement have had to settle for hard-to-repair devices; Murena’s Fairphone 4 could be a godsend for them.
The Murena Fairphone 4 is currently available on the Murena webshop but is currently out of stock.
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