In August they said that production of core module and case started and that everything else was ordered, packaging was in production and Google certification in progress. Several Beta devices are out for some time. I think the IP cerification was ongoing. I have seen a video from IFA where they dropped it in water to demonstrate impermeability.
So overall the progress was quite good and I’m a bit optimistic first devices will reach customer soon
I was at the IFA and held the Shiftphone 8 in my own hands. So i can say it exists. I asked for some frequencies which are necessary in Germany, and it seems one important is missing (5G NSA combination B20(800)-n28(700)). They said, they would try to implement this before main production and i got contact to a member of staff. At the moment i’m satisfied with my FP5, but maybe in a few years Shiftphone will have a good chance to get me as a customer 
. Surprinsingly i have to say that the FP5 is a real low band wonder in rural areas it’s faster than a IPhone 15. For example IPhone 15 30mbit/s, FP5 70mbit/s at the same place and the same operator (DTAG). The reason is the 5G NSA combination B20-n28 which is not supported by IPhones.
yea they still have to update their shop with the final frequencies and carrier compatibility.
There are people interested from all over the world in sustainable phones and if vendors adjust to more countries than their home region, they will benefit.
maybe wrong thread but there is a new early (experimental, first iteration) player in town especially when its about a privacy phone, self assembly, standard components
mikroPhone
https://mikrophone.net/about.html
https://mikrophone.net/index.html
does it run on Linux as the operating system?
if you respect the work of others and do your own research on the links posted, they directly answer your question.