🇺🇸 Murena Fairphone 4 now available in the US

AnotherElk · July 5, 2023, 2:01pm

See also: Fairphone press release (PDF)

Good to know:

Pre-installed /e/OS will be based on Android 12.

Hardware is the same as in the other markets it gets sold in.
Which means (citing Murena’s announcement): “The device is recommended for use with T-Mobile and MVNOs based on the T-Mobile network in the US.”.

The Fairphone 4 has no headphone jack, wired audio is provided via USB-C adapter (optional, not included). Official reasoning is here … https://support.fairphone.com/hc/en-us/articles/9836188988049.

Where to buy:

https://murena.com/america/products/smartphones/

Spare parts and accessories:

https://murena.com/america/products/spare-parts/
https://murena.com/america/products/accessories/

This is a Wiki post.
Feel free to edit it to keep it up-to-date and correct.

urs_lesse · July 3, 2023, 4:56pm

Unlikely, far-fetched … but anyway: The two (volume) buttons on the right side (and a tiny hint of a slimming down right below them, where the power button probably is) seem to vaguely match? From Murena announcement for this wednesday (5 July): murena: "This Wednesday MURENA ____ is coming to the USA, …" - Mastodon

This Wednesday MURENA ____ is coming to the USA, the most sustainable phone that will free you from the Big Techs!

3Fon · July 3, 2023, 6:47pm

Wow! Now that is good news Was showing my FP3 to my relatives overseas once and when they asked where to get one, I realized this just a european thing… Well, no more

AnotherElk · July 3, 2023, 7:08pm

Now that is no news at all. Perhaps on July 5 it is news. Now it is speculation, but well spotted.

3Fon · July 3, 2023, 7:22pm

Could you practice your pedantic PMSiness elsewhere, fella?

AnotherElk · July 3, 2023, 8:48pm

Let’s not test out the bounds of the FAQ too much and just be happy together if the wanted outcome occurs on July 5.

urs_lesse · July 3, 2023, 9:14pm

While I absolutely support @AnotherElk’s hesitation* (I’m not sure how “unique” those buttons are, see the FP4 silhouette), this would turn the FP4 → FP5 upgrade from incremental (what it seemed like so far based on just the pictures) to quite a big step in my eyes: USA – a *tad* bit bigger than Taiwan.

I have now added the actual introductory line from Murena’s post in my reply above because I think it’s also some sort of mini-hint that I based my speculation on. After all, “the most sustainable phone” … admittedly, I’m not exactly observing the smartphone market as a whole very closely, but I think Fairphone has a good case to claim that title for them (apart from the “Theoneyoualreadyown” brand, of course ).

* Let’s not argue too heatedly … all three of us are on the same team

P.S.: Fairphones CFO has retweeted the Murena tweet. Probability seems to increase significantly. I’m mainly unsure just about the number behind “Fairphone” now.

urs_lesse · July 5, 2023, 11:31am

I guess the Murena announcement won’t come as long as Californians are still asleep, so just my final guess – I suspect it will be a Murena Fairphone 4. Two reasons: I am not sure if Fairphone would allow some sort of advance release of their own new product through a partner company. And then, the time of the year – again, I’m not following the market overly closely, but all the FP3, FP3+ and FP4 were launched between (very) late August and October. Plus (#3) I vaguely remember Murena looking for FP4 /e/OS beta testers in the USA some months ago.

While now some might regard this as a disappointment, I still think it’s a great step to have a recent Fairphone officially available in the USA.

anarcat · July 5, 2023, 1:45pm

That is indeed the case, it seems like.

AnotherElk · July 5, 2023, 2:07pm

I moved some posts from the Fairphone 5 discussion over here, since the Murena announcement wasn’t about the FP5 afterall … again for continuity:

Ingo · July 5, 2023, 2:17pm

Fairphone 4—the repairable, sustainable smartphone—is coming to the US | Ars Technica speaks of a press release. I guess that will show up here at some point: Press - Get to know the Fairphone story

peci1 · July 5, 2023, 3:43pm

Okay. Now the question is whether US people can actually “revert” to FPOS from /e/

yvmuell · July 5, 2023, 3:46pm

Why should they do this? And why should it not be possible (with known obstacles)?

peci1 · July 5, 2023, 4:03pm

Not everyone want a de-Googled phone. Many people actually like the google services.

Why shouldn’t it be possible? What if e/OS/ had to do some hacks in order to get it working that did not get “upstreamed” to FPOS? What if the US version has hardware that is unsupported by FPOS?

urs_lesse · July 5, 2023, 4:10pm

Press release

Full press release up now (PDF) at Ingo’s link:

"Murena Fairphone 4 with /e/OS software now available in the United States"

Murena Fairphone 4 with /e/OS software now available in the United States

Fairphone and Murena announce pilot of Murena Fairphone 4 with /e/OS in the US

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 5 July 2023 - Fairphone, the Dutch social enterprise
building a market for ethical phones and motivating the industry to act more
responsibly and Murena, the main contributor to the privacy by design operating system
/e/OS that focuses on protecting user data, have announced the pilot of Murena
Fairphone 4 with /e/OS in the United States. This is the first time Fairphones will be for
sale in the United States.

Since 2020 with Fairphone 3, /e/OS and Fairphone have teamed up to provide
Fairphone users with a privacy by design operating system. Fairphone has always
valued open source software as a way of reaching its goal of bringing more fairness to
software. The first of its kind, the collaboration between Fairphone and /e/OS provides
users with the first privacy conscious and sustainable smartphone. With /e/OS,
Fairphone gives its users options, letting them choose from the standard Android OS
(available in Europe only) and /e/OS, for those who value an extra layer of protection for
their personal data.

Eva Gouwens, Fairphone’s CEO comments: “We know based on feedback we have
received that there are many people interested in Fairphone in the US. However,
currently our main focus is on the European market. This collaboration with e/OS/ is a
great opportunity for us to pilot selling devices in the US market with a long-standing
partner and learn more about the American market.”

Gaël Duval, Murena CEO and /e/OS founder states: “We are excited to bring highquality sustainable phones with advanced privacy features to the USA. With the
inclusion of our pro-privacy operating system /e/OS, we are proud to offer users a
device that not only lasts longer but also protects people’s personal data. At Murena, we
are convinced that this is the perfect combination for a more ethical phone."

Fairphone 4 is a more sustainable choice that is made to be fair to people and planet.
Thanks to its unique modular design, Fairphone 4 is built to last, anyone can make
repairs with a standard screwdriver. The device has the highest iFixit score on the
market - 10/10 - and has received a 9.3 in the French Repairability Index. Fairphone 4 is
also the first modular phone with an IP rating. It has a rating of IP54, meaning that the
device is protected from dust-ingress and protected from rain. The device is also the first
smartphone certified according to TCO Certified, a third-party sustainability
certification for IT products.

Fairphone 4 offers a step up in tech specifications. It has up-to-date specs such as three
high-quality cameras, a future-proof 5G with dual SIM, a powerful processor, and a fastcharging battery. The camera comes with a pair of premium lenses — a 48MP main
camera for all the details and a 48MP ultrawide camera for the bigger picture — and to
top it off, a 25MP selfie camera.

Fairphone 4 is available to purchase on the Murena online shop for RRP $599 for the
6GB/128GB and $679 for the 8GB/256GB across the United States. The device is
recommended for use with T-Mobile and MVNOs based on the T-Mobile network in the
United States. Using Fairphone 4 with other US carriers is not recommended.

About Fairphone

Fairphone is building a market for ethical phones, motivating the industry to act more
responsibly and pioneering more sustainable ways to make smartphones. Our latest
device, Fairphone 4, is described with the tagline ‘Sustainable. Long-lasting. Fair.
Fairphone 4 offers an unprecedented 5-year warranty*, is a unique electronic wasteneutral handset, contains fairly sourced and recycled materials and pays workers in the
supply chain a living wage, challenging the electronics industry to take a more
responsible approach. It is the only smartphone on the market certified with the German
eco-label Blue Angel and TCO Certified (for sustainable IT products).

● 5G and dual SIM
● Modular design for easy repair
● 5-year warranty* for maximum longevity
● 48MP dual rear cameras with supporting sensor and 25MP selfie camera

The smartphone was launched in 2021 at a suggested retail price of €579 (6GB RAM,
128GB internal memory) or €649 (8GB RAM, 256GB internal memory). The two variants
of the device are available in Europe from a wide distribution network of (online) retailers
and network operators and Fairphone’s website. To learn more about Fairphone 4 click
here.

*if bought before 31/08/2023, and warranty activated within 90 days on Fairphone.com/warranty

About /e/OS and Murena

Founded by Gaël Duval, /e/OS builds mobile operating systems with pre-installed apps
and online services that help users regain control of their personal data on their
phones. /e/OS is committed to providing better data privacy and security for
individuals and corporations, along with a state-of-the-art user-friendly experience.

/e/OS is a global project, supported by an international core team of experienced
entrepreneurs, developers and designers, and a vibrant growing community of
contributors. Its mission is to make technology that makes user privacy accessible to
everyone.

Murena is the new brand name for /e/OS smartphones and premium online services,
including “Murena Cloud”. Murena smartphones are phones with preinstalled /e/OS
ready to buy, shipping in Europe and North America.

https://e.foundation
https://murena.com

For additional information and interview requests, please contact:
Veronika Pozdniakova (Murena)
Email: media@murena.com

b3nsn0w · July 5, 2023, 4:21pm

As someone who currently lives in Europe, but is planning to move to the US basically as soon as I can manage: if I order a Fairphone now, which component will I have to replace for it to work well in the US? I assume there’s a hardware upgrade to work well with US-based carriers.

This is literally the one thing holding me back from buying the phone. I just don’t wanna buy it twice, would be quite wasteful.

Ingo · July 5, 2023, 4:28pm

I doubt anyone here in the Fairphone community knows the answer. Personally I wouldn’t have expected any h/w difference, but I could be wrong. But I’ve just asked that question in their announcement topic (which needs approval first). Let’s see what the response is.

urs_lesse · July 5, 2023, 4:28pm

Welcome to our community forum.

So far I cannot find any tiny hint that the Murena Fairphone 4 includes any different hardware than the standard version. However (from the press release I just posted):

b3nsn0w · July 5, 2023, 4:30pm

oh, i see! so it’s basically just the same phone you’d get if you imported a european model to the us?

and yeah, hi there!

urs_lesse · July 5, 2023, 4:34pm

Technically, yes. Cost-wise, the Murena offer might save you lots of added taxes, import charges, customs etc. though. If you want to do a proper cost-comparison, ask the folks over at Fairphone owners in the USA (FP2 FP3 FP4).

Last but not least, the Murena offer must give you the same Support that Fairphone only gives you in Europe – this does not really apply to self-imported phones, or is much more complicated. Again, ask the other US FP4 users for details.