Investing in long-lasting design: Android 7 for the Fairphone 2

Earlier this year we announced that we were working towards getting Android 7 into the hands of Fairphone 2 owners. It’s been a long wait, but we’re happy to say that, after months of hard work on development, Android 7.1.2 ‘Nougat’ will officially be available for the Fairphone 2. The upgrade will be rolled out over the coming weeks, so Fairphone 2 owners should keep an eye on their Fairphone Updater app! This is the second major Android upgrade for the Fairphone 2. In fact, our ethical, modular device is the only phone on the market with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset to make this upgrade.

Over the past year, our own software team and external partners have been actively developing Android 7 for the Fairphone 2. It has been a challenging process. For a small company like Fairphone, this was a big investment (in terms of hours worked, external development and certification costs) — but a crucial one in acknowledging the role software plays in smartphone longevity.

Why should you update?

While Android 7 isn’t too different from the Android 6 experience Fairphone 2 users are already familiar with, this upgrade offers a variety of benefits, including some new features to look forward to:

• Help out your battery with Doze Mode 2.0: The Doze feature, introduced in Marshmallow (Android 6) and further refined in Nougat, keeps battery use low when you’re not using your phone.
• Make the most of your data plan by keeping background apps in check with Data Saver: Android 7 keeps an eye on those apps quietly running in the background and eating up your data plan. Data Saver lets you keep those apps from running unless on WiFi.
• No more lists cluttering up your pull-down window, thanks to bundled notifications: Android 7 bundles your notifications for clean, easy access. You can even respond to most notifications directly in a pop-up window without fully opening the relevant app.
• Work in two apps simultaneously with the new split-screen mode: use more than one app in a single screen without having to flip back and forth.

We’ve also put together some handy info to help Fairphone 2 owners prepare for the upgrade. Visit our Android 7 Support Hub for a step-by-step guide and everything you need to know before updating (features, changes, known bugs and suggested workarounds included).

Aiming for longer-lasting over latest

As useful as such new features are, the primary motivation behind Android 7 is our goal to produce and support longer-lasting phones. This upgrade will make it possible for us to keep offering security updates for the Fairphone 2, protecting users and ensuring they can enjoy their devices for longer.

Keep an eye on the Fairphone updater over the coming weeks to see when Android 7 is available for your phone! Current Fairphone 2 owners will be encouraged to upgrade their software. The upgrade will be available in two different versions: standard and Fairphone Open. The open version is built on publicly available source code, and comes without pre-installed Google Mobile Services (GMS). And of course, any Fairphone 2 you order from us will also offer an update to Android 7.