Android 6.0 Marshmallow / 7 Nougat for FP2?

you have forgot their focus on the “marketing”. In my view marketing is the only point which is already working really good at fairphone.

Phone OS: Old-“stable” Version, still with bugs, Still no official Google-Free Version. Sailfish :pensive: Firefox :sob:
Hardware: proximity sensor Problems problems all around. Spots on the Display, when the view is white.
Marketing: Everything fine.

I’m afraid that this way of “Old-Software” will kill the Fairphone Idea. :confused: In my local Hackerspace at the beginning everyone was extremely interested in a FP2, now everyone sees how bug-fixing und developing work at Fairphone and they buy Samsung,Wileyfox or Asus. More Money for older Hardware is not a Probleme, no Customroms, still no FFOS-Version, slow bugfixes is one. Hope they see this Problem and they get off the ground.

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10 posts were merged into an existing topic: FP2: License for binary blobs

Thanks @jom, this is my belief, too.
I am a software developer and for me it’s more important to get faster updates on my phone than newsletter :slight_smile:

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Sony and Google announced and released this week a Android N Developer preview build for Sony Xperia Z3 which incidentally has a very similar SoC to Fairphone 2 (PDF link). That shows that it might be feasible to also port Android N to FP2. Of course, this might entail that we have to wait even longer for an upgrade (if one ever happens at all) because Android N is not yet released yet.

I’m wondering whether people would be willing to wait somewhat longer and skip Android 6 entirely. What are your opinions?

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I’m totally willing to wait for Android 7 and skipping Android 6. :slight_smile:

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I’m waiting for Android 6 and don’t want to skip it.

Is there any kind of update for this available? I’m a little bit reluctant to buy a new phone if it is already clear that it will never receive an update to Android 6 (which imho includes quite important features compared to android 5)

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My natural pessimism and experience of the FP1 tells me that we might be skipping all new android versions until the FP3 is out…

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How or why is that clear?
I think the discussion above was just about skipping it, and to develop Android 7 immediately, without having v6 in between.

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Manufacturers probably want average users to believe that they need to buy a new phone to have a new OS. Basically because they SPEND money on developping an OS, and GET money on sending new devices.

With usual mainstream manufacturers, I’m used to have to rely on communities for updates.
For my Desire HD, HTC provided versions up to Froyo (2.2). Today it’s running KitKat (4.4), but only thanks to an alternative ROM found on XDA.

I would really love if FP could be different, but is that likely ?..
What makes me more optimistic is ourselves as a strong community.

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My kid’s 2011 Samsung Galaxy SII is happily running Android Lollipop thanks to CyanogenMod, and I know there exists a Marshmallow version for it as well. However I believe that OS upgradeability should be firmly integrated in FP’s ambition for longevity and sustainability.
I think of it that way - and forgive me if you don’t find the comparison suitable - A 2007 Windows Vista laptop can usually run Windows 7, 8 and 10.

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It’s just what I was seeing in the forums so far. There is discussion about an open source version of fairphone os coming but nothing about android 6 at all. Coming from a software development background I know that maintenance is the most important part of costs so I can image that fairphone doesn’t have the resources to work a lot of keeping up to date with Android versions so I’m pessimistic for now.

Maybe it would be an option to charge for a separate maintenace contract that includes android updates? That could cover at least part of the development costs on the fairphone side - the only question is if enough users would be ready to pay for sth. like that.

Let´s face it: we´re paying a premium for a phone with no discernable software update roadmap. We decided to bet on the commitment of Fairphone not only towards a fair and sustainable supply chain but also towards a sustainable approach with regards to software and security updates. Currently the latter looks like it isn´t forthcoming any time soon. Which I regret very much. So much in fact that I have been thinking very hard about purchasing a Nexus phone - which at least has a reliable software update path ahead of it. What a shame - I thought I could have it both when purchasing my Fairphone 2.

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I also wish there would be a clear road map for future OS, and that Android 6 would come rather sooner than later. But I couldn’t complain about security updates. After all, v.1.2.8 included Android security fixes until March 2016, so in that regard the FP OS is quite up to date and Fairphone is doing a good job.

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Well, it’s only four months ago, that the first FP2 were delivered. We just had an update of the OS. Don’t you think that it’s a bit too early to start complaining about the lack of updates?

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I sold my Fairphone and i’m a really happy with my Wileyfox Swift now. Fast and latest stable Android (Cyanogenmod).

Fairphone is a good idea, but i’m not willing to support this (in my pinion) Marketing-Company.

CyanogenMod or CyanogenOS?

Mod, i know the difference ;).

I am mainly stating that I am very worried about the lack of a roadmap with regards to software updates. I do understand that software development resources may be constrained compared to other vendors.

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Yes, I agree precisely to this very point. A roadmap would also be in line with the transparency goal of Fairphone as a company and could be an important element for building up trust into the real-life sustainability of the FP2 product

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