Six-year-old Fairphone 2 still continues to receive Android updates

Released in 2015, Fairphone 2 claims to be the longest supported Android smartphone ever. Despite the fact that the device was released more than six years ago, the company of the same name, Fairphone, continues to release software updates for it.

Fairphone announced that Android 10 beta testing has already started for Fairphone 2, with a stable release scheduled for early next year. It is worth noting that the smartphone originally came with Android 5, so this will be the fifth official major update for it. No other Android smartphone, including those from Google itself, can boast such long-term support.

The closest analogue of such “longevity” can be considered only the iPhone 6S, released in 2015 and recently updated to iOS 15. In addition, for the Fairphone 3 and 2020 released in 2019, the Fairphone 3+ will start testing Android 11 this week. but the timing of the release of the stable version of the firmware has not yet been announced.

Importantly, Qualcomm offers three years of support for its processors for Android updates and four years for security patches. Further updates are entirely up to the manufacturer of the device. Fairphone noted that the development of Android 10 for Fairphone 2 was carried out in conjunction with the user community.