The United States is the running leader when it comes to AI development, but there is still plenty of smartphone innovation happening outside Silicon Valley.
Some of the most advanced phones in the world – Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Oppo finds the X8 Pro and Honor Magic 7 Pro, for example, have not been officially sold in the US, while the world’s most sustainable phone, Fairphone 6, is currently only available in European markets.
Scrape it: you can Buy Fairphone 6 in the US, but only in an DE-Googled /E /OS configuration, which is sold exclusively by Murena for a conspicuous $ 899. As a reference, the Android-powered European version of the device costs £ 499 /€ 599, so it might be no surprise that fairphones do not fly from the shelves over the pond right now.
Can this situation change in the future? I asked the Fairphone CEO, Raymond van Eck, who explained the unique challenges in the US market and the likelihood of Fairphone expanding its operations outside Western Europe.
“I’m not saying we don’t look at other geographies,” Van Eck told me at the Exertis Tech conference in London, where he also talked about the “myth” behind the cost of sustainability. “Of course, if you see outside Europe, in countries like India, USA or any other large country that has a few [mobile] Operators, they may be of interest to us. In fact, if you look at our social, we have a lot of supporters from India and the US. So these are things that we can explore in a timely manner – but there is still great potential for us to seize in Europe. “
“Our resources are also scarce,” Van Eck continued, “so we will set them towards doubling in the markets where we are very successful right now – it is the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and France, and we deliver 14 other European countries.
“And yes, of course we also look in other markets, but as you know if you go to the US, there is a small page [situation] Where you need to examine antenna systems suitable for bandwidth. You can roam well with Fairphone 6 [in the US]. It’s no problem. And we also see Murena selling [de-Googled] Gen 6 in the US as well. But to be certified on the networks, you need to create another antenna system and our phones are modular. So that means we have to puzzle it all in and [doing so] takes resources and time.
To be certified on the networks, you need to create another antenna system and our phones are modular.
Raymond van Eck, Fairphone CEO
“These are all aspects that we weigh on if we want to enter another market. […] To sell in the United States, there must be aspects of the phone that are different from the European or you have to design a phone for both markets. “
It is so clear that Fairphone-for now focuses on growing its core European markets, and it is probably not that we are seeing an Android-driven Fairphone in the US.
I asked Van Eck if the ongoing customs situation in the United States could have delayed Fairphone’s plans to expand abroad, as CEO replied: “The way I see it strategy, the customs situation is like the weather: It may change over time. You have to do it [business] Strategy based on the geopolitical climate. If I look specifically at the customs situation, yes, first and foremost we do not sell into the US. So for us, for now, it’s not a big influencer.
“But we have quite a close and intimate relationship with our suppliers because they have to comply with all the sustainability frames and measures we have. So we are in [a good position of] Contact with them if, for example, resources such as memory chips become scarce. And of course that’s the thing that is affected by customs, right? If other suppliers suddenly buy extra chips to make sure they have enough stock, we also know in advance because we have tight relationships with our suppliers. And it helps us a lot in this situation. “
Fairphone 6 is Now available in the UK for £ 499While an open source (ie de-googled) version is Available in the US for $ 899 / £ 549. For our full judgment on the quality of the phone, see our Fairphone 6 Review.
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