What you need to know
- Fairphone 4 will no longer receive the Android 14 update, which was initially expected to be coming early this year.
- It will be upgraded to Android 15, and the decision was made due to significant delays and limited capacity in delivering a stable Android 14 update.
- Fairphone also promises more transparent communication and is actively working on bringing Android 15 to Fairphone 4 users, though a specific timeline is not yet available.
Android 15 is on the latest Android phones as well as older models. Meanwhile, Fairphone 4 users are still anticipating the Android 14 update; however, the company seems to have other plans as the device would be upgraded to Android 15.
The company has earlier promised that Fairphone 4, released back in 2023 in Europe, should be getting the Android 14 update early this year. While it didn’t happen, the company released a blog post apologizing to its consumers, explaining the current scenario and the reasons for the delay.
“We know this one has been especially frustrating, and we’re sorry for the long wait times many of you have faced. The truth is, we have been dealing with very limited capacity, which had slowed our response times.”
The company, however, isn’t justifying the cause and is again working on expanding the team with the help of outsiders and aims to bring an even more stable support team and is ensuring real improvements. It starts with Fairphone 4, as the firm assures that it hasn’t abandoned it. With the Android 14 update significantly delayed, the company now wants to shift its focus directly onto the next iteration, Android 15.
“After thoroughly evaluating what it would take to deliver a stable Android 14 update, we’ve made the difficult decision to shift our focus directly to Android 15.”
Fairphone notes that it is “actively working on bringing Android 15” to the Fairphone 4 and will be keeping its users posted on a regular basis. While it is a notable step in the right direction, the company isn’t giving users a fixed timeline on when to expect the Android 15 update on the handset as certain things aren’t yet under its control. For now, true Fairphone enthusiasts should keep their hopes intact as they can expect the company is now dedicated to bringing in the next iteration update as early as possible.
Till then, users are further recommended to get on the forum for all the latest developments from the company, as the team promises to be more present, and users can expect prompt responses and updates.
“Even if it’s just a small check-in or an update that says “still working on it,” we’ll share it. We get it now: silence doesn’t help. We can do better. So that’s what we’re committing to.”
Fairphone 5, on the other hand, released with Android 13 back in 2023 and was promised at least five OS updates and a whopping eight years of software and security updates. It means the device is expected to be running smoothly until 2031.
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