About Murena
Murena is a corporation that designs and sells Murena smartphones with /e/OS, a pro-privacy mobile operating system, and the Murena Cloud, an online workspace that provides media and office document management, email, and calendar services. Murena phones are available for sale at https://murena.com in the USA, Canada, European Union, UK, and Switzerland.
/e/OS is an open source mobile operating system that is committed to providing better data privacy and security for individuals and corporations. It provides advanced privacy features, such as tracker management, while offering a user-friendly experience, and full compatibility with all mobile applications.
- OLED screen with 90hz refresh rate
- Even more repairable than previous gen Murena Fairphone 4
- Improved water and dust proof rating of IP55
- New modern design, including transparent model
- Bigger, replaceable battery – 4200mAh capacity
- Eight years of software and security support
- Five year hardware warranty
- Users still enjoy data privacy by design – the phone is free from trackers and surveillance thanks to the /e/OS operating system instead of Google – no technical expertise required.
Murena, the data privacy-focused company which sells Android phones with enhanced data privacy operating and Fairphone, the Dutch social enterprise building a market for ethical phones, have today announced the launch of the Murena Fairphone 5 device which is now available to pre-order in the UK.
Featuring a unique combination of Fairphone’s sustainable, repairable hardware and Murena’s /e/OS privacy-by-design Android operating system, the Murena Fairphone 5 is the ultimate ethical mid-range smartphone.
Driving positive change in the smartphone market, the hardware is made from more than 70% fair focus or recycled materials, and Murena’s /e/OS operating system, which runs on Android 13, is free from trackers by default (unlike Google’s Android) meaning users can enjoy their smartphone without surveillance.
As an open-source, non-profit project, /e/OS does not collect or utilise via the operating system level. With the Murena device, users also get a Murena Cloud account, which offers cloud storage and a full suite of apps including email, office suite, calendar, contacts and more without any tracking.
Furthermore, users download apps from The App Lounge; granting access to all the apps found in Google Play, all open source applications from F-droid, plus some Progressive Web Apps. Users can even create an anonymous Google account to purchase Google Play Store apps, but without it being linked into their browsing history, email content, location etc. Offering users freedom of choice without prohibiting usage of essential or preferred apps.
In terms of hardware, Murena Fairphone 5 offers enhanced repairability compared to its predecessor, with 10 repairable modules – the individual rear cameras and the module containing the SIM and SD Card slots being new additions, along with the battery, which has a higher capacity. The new model also has a higher water and dust resistance rating of IP55, an improvement from Murena Fairphone 4’s IP54.
The specs have also undergone significant improvement; users can enjoy 30w fast charging, crystal clear OLED screen with 90hz refresh rate, 8GB RAM and 256GB expandable storage.
Fairphone and Murena have also committed to eight years of software support for the device – offering users significantly more longevity over other manufacturers and reduce the amount of phones ending up at landfill.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Fairphone again to offer a privacy-focused version of their new device from launch,” says Gaël Duval, Murena CEO and /e/OS founder, “working with electronics manufacturers that share our values of striving for a more ethical, transparent market is incredibly important to us. We are proud to offer consumers devices that are designed to last longer than a couple of years and don’t rely on intrusive data collection. Consumers should have choice in a market, and that is what we try to offer.”
The Murena Fairphone 5 is available to pre-order now for £670, with UK VAT and customs included (NB – prices are shown in EUR rather than GBP) exclusively from Murena.com, with orders shipping at the end of September.
Hopefully we will get one in for a full review pretty soon.