Fairphone is working on Oreo update for four year old Fairphone 2

The Fairphone 2 from 2015 may receive an update to Android 8.0 (Oreo). That’s what the manufacturer says in an interview with Android. An Oreo update would be special because the processor in the smartphone is no longer supported.

Fairphone 2 Android Oreo update in the making

The four-year-old Fairphone 2 runs on a Snapdragon 801 chip from Qualcomm. The chipmaker made the technical tools available years ago so that smartphone manufacturers could update their devices from Android 5.0 (Lollipop) to version 6.0 (Marshmallow). Then Qualcomm stopped supporting the Snapdragon 801.

When Android 7.0 (Nougat) came out in the autumn of 2016, manufacturers had to announce that devices with a Snapdragon 801 chip were not updated. This decision touched, among other things, the OnePlus X, Motorola Moto X (2014) and the Sony Xperia Z3 series.

Fairphone 2 already received Android Nougat

Fairphone did not accept Qualcomm’s decision and decided to develop an Android 7.0 update. Fabian Hühne, the spokesman for the Dutch device maker, says in a conversation with Golobal Tech: ‘Developing the update without support from the chip manufacturer is complicated and without a guarantee that it will work.

But it worked. In November 2018, more than two years later, the company released the update for the Fairphone 2. A first: it is the only smartphone with an 801 chip that has officially been updated to Nougat.

Oreo update is on the planning

Meanwhile, versions 8.0 and 8.1 (Oreo) and 9.0 (Pie) are out. When asked if the Fairphone 2 gets any more updates, Hühne replies: ‘We are currently investigating whether it is possible to update the Fairphone 2 to Oreo.’ He continues: ‘We are technically involved, but we do it again alone and therefore can not guarantee that we will succeed.’ The manufacturer chooses an Oreo update because that software is directly based on Nougat. The new Pie is something else made and therefore even more difficult to develop for the smartphone.

Read more about the Fairphone ‘3’

Hühne also lets you know that the company strives to give the Fairphone 2 a security update every month. Releasing Android updates and security updates for as long as possible fits the Fairphone philosophy. The manufacturer wants users to use their (modular) telephone for as long as possible and therefore wants to provide up-to-date software for years. A noble goal, even though the Amsterdam maker is behind two Android versions.

In an interview with Golobal Tech, the manufacturer, who is celebrating his sixth birthday this month, tells about his vision for the future, the fierce competition, and the new Fairphone smartphone. Keep an eye on our site or the Android Planet app and to read the comprehensive story first.