Initial Linux Kernel Patches Posted For The Fairphone 4

Announced this week was the Fairphone 4 as the latest iteration of this smartphone focused on being "sustainable and ethical" and now the initial patches have been sent out for providing mainline Linux kernel support.

The Fairphone 4 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G and depending upon model has 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. There is a 6.3-inch full HD+ display, dual SIM with 5G support, and the device is backed by a five year warranty. Fairphone 4 pricing starts out at €579 for the 6GB RAM / 128GB storage option or €649 for the upgraded version. More details on the Fairphone 4 are available from fairphone.com.

By default the Fairphone 4 is using Android 11 but the mainline Linux kernel support is on the way to allow this smartphone to be used with alternative Linux smartphone platforms. Sent out this Sunday morning were the initial 11 patches around bringing up the Fairphone 4. Various Qualcomm driver changes were needed, the Fairphone 4 DeviceTree is added, and related DT work to get this ethical-focused smartphone booting the mainline Linux kernel.

If all goes well this initial Fairphone 4 support could be here as soon as Linux 5.16.