Fairphone 2, the operating system designed with "nothing to hide," was officially released by Fairphone on April 28. The phone manufacturer, which specializes in creating products that are composed of conflict-free materials, bases the Fairphone OS on the Android operating system.
Fairphone launched code.fairphone.com in the beginning of 2016 to allow developers across the Web to help develop the OS. Google Mobile Services are not included in Fairphone 2, meaning users will have to find alternatives for maps and email. However, Fairphone claims that people will be "surprised" by the number of alternatives on the market.
"Going forward, the Fairphone Open Source OS will get the same support, regular updates and security fixes as the 'normal' Fairphone OS with Google services, but please be aware that there may be a short timespan between releasing an update for each version in a given cycle," wrote Software Developer Kees Jongenburger on the Fairphone blog.
With the release of Fairphone 2, the company continued to press its ever-present mission of providing transparency. Fairphone highlighted the benefits of open source upon the launch of the OS, such as knowing exactly went into making it. Through software like Google Mobile Services, Fairphone claims that users may not always know what makes up the OS and apps fueling their phones.
"These apps and services are very popular and definitely useful, but we believe that to have true ownership of your phone, you should be able to make a conscious decision about what software you'd like to run," Jongenburger stated.
Fairphone claims that Fairphone 2 was created with DIY repair in mind. It will sell spare parts and provide repair guides to users. Over time, the company is also going to focus on providing patches for any security holes that are discovered.
"We're taking responsibility for keeping the default Fairphone 2 software running smoothly, but with this open source release, we're also making it possible for external parties and developers to contribute to keeping the software up to date," says Jongenburger.
Fairphone initially began as a campaign back in 2010, and it registered as an enterprise in 2013. The Amsterdam-based company is now 100 percent independently financed.
