fairphone

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-3 release adds support for PinePhone and PineTab devices

Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-3 release adds support for PinePhone and PineTab devices

Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA 3 PinePhone Pro

UBPorts has just released Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-3 based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with the latest security updates and beta support for PinePhone, PinePhone Pro, PineTab, and PineTab 2, adding to the smartphones already supported by Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-2. As a reminder, Ubuntu Touch was initially handled by Canonical for desktop/mobile convergence, but it was dropped when the company decided to refocus its efforts on cloud and IoT, and the UBPorts community took over and eventually outed the first stable Ubuntu Touch release in June 2017. The developers kept on improving the OS since then with new releases from time to time, but note that it should still be considered experimental only for most devices, and will not be suitable as a daily driver for the majority of people. The PinePhone and PineTab have been supported by Ubuntu Touch for a few years, but they had their own branch […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Fairphone 5 smartphone comes with 8 years of software updates thanks to Qualcomm QCM6490 industrial IoT processor

Fairphone 5 smartphone comes with 8 years of software updates thanks to Qualcomm QCM6490 industrial IoT processor

Fairphone 5

The Fairphone 5 is the latest version of the ethical, repairable, and sustainable smartphone with the company promising 8 years of software updates thanks to the use of a Qualcomm QCM6490 industrial IoT processor that benefits from a longer life cycle than consumer-grade processors typically found in phones. The phone comes with 8GB RAM, a 256GB flash, a replaceable 6.46-inch display, 50 MP front-facing and read cameras both of which are replaceable, 5G, WiFi 6, BlueTooth 5.2, GNSS, and NFC connectivity, as well as a replaceable battery. Fairphone 5 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm QCM6490 CPU – Octa-core Kryo 670 with 1x Gold Plus core (Cortex-A78) @ 2.7 GHz, 3x Gold cores (Cortex-A78) @ 2.4 GHz, 4x Silver cores (Cortex-A55) @ up to 1.9 GHz GPU – Adreno 642L GPU @ 812MHz DSP – Hexagon DSP for AI workloads up to 12 TOPS Build-in 5G Modem System Memory – 8GB RAM […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment on Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-2 adds support for Fairphone 3, Volla Phone X23, F(x)tec Pro1 X smartphones

Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-2 adds support for Fairphone 3, Volla Phone X23, F(x)tec Pro1 X smartphones

Ubuntu Smartphone with physical keyboard

UBPorts has just released Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-2 based on Ubuntu 20.04 with three new phones supported namely the Fairphone 3, the Volla Phone X23, and F(x)tec Pro1 X with the latter being introduced in 2020 in a crowdfunding campaign claiming Ubuntu Touch support. Ubuntu Touch was initially an initiative by Canonical for desktop/mobile convergence, but when the company decided to refocus its efforts on cloud and IoT, the UBPorts community took over and eventually outed the first stable Ubuntu Touch release in June 2017. Work has continued since then and with the Ubuntu Touch 20.04 OTA-2 release, the community-supported distribution now supports 15 smartphones with the Fairphone 4, Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL, Oneplus 5 and 5T, OnePlus 6 and 6T, Vollaphone and Vollaphone X, Vollaphone 22, Xiaomi Mi A2, Xiaomi Poco M3, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 and 7 Pro, besides the three new mobile devices added to […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 12 Comments on Fairphone 4 repairable Android smartphone comes with a 5-year warranty

Fairphone 4 repairable Android smartphone comes with a 5-year warranty

Fairphone 4

The Fairphone is a socially responsible repairable, modular Android smartphone that aims to last longer than most other phones. The latest iteration is the Fairphone 4, which follows the Fairphone 3 released in August 2019. The Fairphone 4 runs Android 11 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G octa-core processor coupled with up to 8GB RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display. The smartphone comes with a 5-year warranty by default, and software updates are guaranteed until at least 2025. Fairphone 4 specifications: SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G (SM7225) octa-core Kryo 570 processor with 2x Cortex-A77 cores @ 2.2GHz, 6x Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8GHz, Adreno 619 GPU System Memory & Storage options 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storeage, MicroSD card socket up to 2TB 8GB RAM, 256GB internal storage, MicroSD card socket up to 2TB Display – 6.3-inch Full HD+ (2340×1080) IPS touchscreen display with Gorilla Glass 5 Cameras Primary […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 15 Comments on Fairphone 3 Gets a Perfect 10 in iFixit Repairability Score

Fairphone 3 Gets a Perfect 10 in iFixit Repairability Score

Fairphone 3 Teardown

Launched just a few weeks ago, Fairphone 3 is a socially responsible phone that aims to be modular, easy to repair, and manufactured in a way that’s kind to mother nature and worker as much as possible. In terms of ease of repair, there’s very little competition, as most phones manufacturers don’t design their phone with that goal in mind, and iFixit, a wiki-based site that teaches people how to fix almost anything, often ranks phones from mediocre (iPhone X: 6/10) to really poor (Samsung Galaxy 10 Note+ 5G: 3/10) in their repairability score. Fairphone 3 is supposed to be very easy to repair, but it’s always good to have a third party verify such claims, and iFixit got hold a sample to tear it down. They only have to use four tools to completely disassemble the phone as shown in the photo above: T5 Torx and Philips screwdrivers, their […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 7 Comments on Fairphone 3 Socially Responsible Android Smartphone Launched for 450 Euros

Fairphone 3 Socially Responsible Android Smartphone Launched for 450 Euros

Fairphone 3

Most phones today are disposable items, and if yours stops working for whatever reason it’s hard to repair it yourself work, and repairing it at the shop may prove to be too expensive. They are not really expandable either,  so if you want a new feature, you may have to buy a completely new phone instead of simply adding a module with the functionality. The difficulty in repairing the phone and the lack of modularity leading to electronics waste. Finally, consumer products are cost-optimized, and that’s great for your wallet, but it may come at the cost of being made by slave labor either directly at the factory, or indirectly through the mining of materials. Aren’t you already feeling bad being complicit in destroying the planet and sponsoring human suffering while reading this on your device? Good! But luckily there’s a solution with Fairphone that aims to be an ethical […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 2 Comments on UBPorts Ubuntu Touch Firmware to Add Android App Support using Anbox

UBPorts Ubuntu Touch Firmware to Add Android App Support using Anbox

Last spring, Canonical stopped working on mobile and convergence, and dropped any work on Unity, which explains why Ubuntu 17.10 is now running Gnome desktop environment by default. The company had to take this decision because there was little interest from manufacturers for such solution, and instead they refocused on the more profitable IoT and cloud markets. However, some members of the community still wanted to run Ubuntu on their phone, and that’s why UBPorts community decided to carry on development on their own and released their first stable Ubuntu Touch image for supported smartphones last summer. A phone running Ubuntu Touch is great, but you’d have a very limited set of app to play with, so the developers are now working on adding support for Android apps support. There are various ways to implement such features, but they went with Anbox, as it executes Android apps natively in a […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on UBPorts Project Announces its First Stable Ubuntu Touch Release for Supported Smartphones

UBPorts Project Announces its First Stable Ubuntu Touch Release for Supported Smartphones

Canonical may have stopped working on Unity, Mobile & Convergence for Ubuntu last April, but since then, at least two teams have worked on Unity and mobile convergence alive with respectively yunit and UBPorts projects. There has not been much activity on the former, but UBPorts has recently announced the first OTA-1 stable release for supported devices, minus Nexus 4 and 5 for now. This release brings bug fixes, experimental AGPS support, he UBports Welcome app, the OpenStore, and the Terminal and File Browser are preinstalled.  It should work on OnePlus One, FairPhone 2, Optimus L90, BQ Aquaris M10 HD / FHD, and possibly some other models. They also mentioned work on Halium – a project aiming to standardize the Android hardware compatibility layer between many Linux distributions – has been progressing nicely, and it can now boot both Ubuntu Touch and Plasma Mobile. Convergence still needs some work, but […]