With its consistent approach to protecting personal data, the Murena 2 aims to stand out in the saturated smartphone landscape.
Murena 2
The smartphone market is saturated with devices that run Android but rely heavily on Google services. Some people want to be able to integrate Google services, others assume that they can do without it.
Launched by the e Foundation more than a year after the Murena One, the Murena 2 stands out for offering an Android experience stripped of everything Google.
A privacy-focused alternative
The main concern of Murena 2 is protecting the user’s privacy. This smartphone has a dedicated button to disable cameras and microphones to protect against malicious eavesdropping or surveillance. A second switch, red, activates airplane mode and mutes all notifications.
The Murena 2 works with it /e/ OS, an operating system based on Android but independent of Google services. This feature offers the user the ability to hide their IP address and route all their traffic through a VPN. In addition, it is possible to monitor application tracking and install Android applications without having to use the Play Store.
The Murena Cloud rounds out this offering with 1GB of free storage as well as secure messaging and calendar applications.
Technical characteristics of the Murena 2
On the hardware side, the Murena 2 has an octa-core processor clocked at up to 2.1 GHz, which is supported by 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, expandable via microSD. The AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1080p+ on a diagonal of 6.43 inches. On the photography side we find a 64 MP main sensor, a 13 MP ultra wide angle, a 5 MP module and a 25 MP front sensor. Finally, the 4,000 mAh battery is charged via USB-C, with a maximum output of 18 watts.
Murena 2
The Murena 2 is offered on Kickstarter for 399 euros. We recommend that you wait for the official release of the smartphone to purchase it at a slightly higher price but with the certainty of a successful and reliable product.
In addition, it is a smartphone aimed at an informed audience. In fact, the lack of Google services can lead to the installation of APK files obtained from the Internet, which is a risky practice from a security perspective.
What is /e/?
/e/ is an open source operating system based on Android
with its own services, created by the French software developer and founder of the Linux distribution Mandrake (which was later renamed Mandriva): Gaël Duval. This operating system has been available for several years. You can install /e/ on smartphones as alternative ROMs, most popular smartphone models are mostly compatible.
For most of the services typically offered by Google, there are alternatives on the /e/ operating system. For example, the mapping application is a branch of Magic Earth 13 that uses map data from the OpenStreetMap project. The mail client is also a fork of K-9 Mail, a well-known email client. There is also an app store and many other native applications.