Fairphone adds support for Google-less /e/OS to Fairphone 4

The Fairphone 4 is now also available with the Google-less operating system /e/OS. Users can flash a beta of the OS on their Fairphone 4, and the Fairphone 4 is also available with /e/OS preinstalled from the website of the foundation behind /e/OS.

The /e/OS operating system is aimed at users who want an Android experience on their smartphone, but do not want to use services from Google. The operating system also limits data flows from the phone to servers from Google, among others, protecting privacy. In addition, no data is scanned or location tracked in the operating system by the foundation behind the OS.

The Fairphone 4 with /e/OS is available from 635 euros on the /e/ website, which is an additional cost of 56 euros compared to the regular Fairphone 4. It is a completely new phone. /e/ also offers refurbished Samsung phones on the website. Previously, /e/OS was also available on the Fairphone 3, for an additional cost of 30 euros. Support for the Fairphone 4 took a while.

The operating system can also be downloaded for free as a custom rom for the Fairphone 4 on the /e/ website. This is a stable beta of the OS, according to the site. Flashing it works via fastboot and according to /e/ is only suitable for users who know what they are doing and accept the risk of flashing a custom rom.