- Although the FP2 has quite “old” hardware and software, it is still perfectly usable for everyday use. The user interface is smooth and not stuttering, and you can still use your favourite apps as most app developers did not abandon Android 6 yet.
- Many people use even less powerful hardware and older software. My mother still uses her Android 4.2 phone with 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory (which is painful today). Old Samsungs are a common sight, too.
- Porting the new Android versions to the FP2 hardware is hard work as the SoC vendor (Qualcomm) abandoned the hardware. Fairphone decided not to skip Android 7 as they found that porting Android 8 is much harder and more time-consuming than porting Android 7. After they successfully released and stabilized Android 7, they will look whether and how they can port Android 8.
- If you are anxious for Android 8, you can install a preliminary version of LineageOS 15.1.
- Updating the hardware is hard work, too. You have to look for a SoC which is not abandonded after a short time and which you can use with the auxiliary modules of the FP2, you have to develop the new main module around the SoC and have to test if all works fine.
- Updating the SoC means that you have to maintain software for two platforms, so it is advised to update the hardware as seldom as possible.
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