Arriving with delays, the update to Android 12 was made available for the Fairphone 4 last Wednesday (1). The update was scheduled to hit the devices in December last year, but due to some obstacles, it ended up being postponed.
Launching with Android 11 in the third quarter of 2021, the Fairphone 4 is part of its creator’s promise to build highly repairable smartphones with ethically sourced materials. The company has invested in the production of modular phones in order to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
With almost 3 years since it was released, Android 12 is far from being new – even more so with the imminent arrival of version 14 over the next few months. However, the update for the device represents a lot, as it demonstrates the brand’s commitment to its promise to update the software.
In the case of the Fairphone 4, the company promises a 5-year hardware warranty and six years of software updates.
Scheduled for December, the update was delayed due to critical issues related to making emergency calls in some countries. Also, it may take a little longer to arrive in some territories.
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Users in France and Switzerland – plus a few other countries, should only rely on a security update at first. This is because Fairphone itself has declared that the upgrade to the new version of the system does not meet its quality standards in these markets.
Despite the company’s promise that the Fairphone 4 will receive future Android 13, 14 and 15, it is very likely that device users will have to change the chipset originally shipped on the device for this to happen. That’s because Qualcomm itself promises only 3 years of Android updates for its entire line of processors.
