Murena is not really a known name in the mobile industry, so unless you own a modular Fairphone 4 bought from the United States, chances are that you’ve never heard of this company.
Back in July, Fairphone 4 was launched in the US in partnership with Murena, a company that specializes in “de-Googling” Android smartphones. This particular version of Murena’s Fairphone 4 skips all the Google apps in favor of the company’s Cloud apps such as email, calendar, and cloud storage.
Most likely unrelated to the possible success of the Fairphone 4 in the US, Murena launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for “the first smartphone for everyone with a privacy switch to prevent any snooping.”
The amount of money the company asked is ridiculously low compared with the budgets big handset manufacturers allocated for even their cheapest products: around $27,000.
Murena 2's privacy switch
With about 9 days to go, the so-called Murena 2 project managed to raise over $160,000, thus making the campaign an extremely successful one. Nearly 350 people decided to fund the project by purchasing at least one phone in advance.
According to Murena, their upcoming handset is “the world’s first privacy-focused smartphone,” specifically built for the masses. The device has two physical switching:
a privacy switch to disconnect the cameras and microphones
a disconnection switch to disable connectivity
The disconnection switch activates airplane mode and mutes your phone. It’s also important to mention that the Murena 2 smartphone comes with a “very private operating system” called /e/OS, which is the same that comes pre-installed on the Fairphone 4 (sold by Murena).
This open-source operating system is touted as “the most privacy friendly operating system.” It stands out from other mobile operating system thanks to its advanced privacy and anti-tracking features like the ability to fake your location with VPN, hide your real IP address, and monitor app trackers.
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More importantly, /e/OS is compatible with Android’s app ecosystem, which means you can install any Android apps you’d like on your Murena 2 phone. You can even check the apps’ privacy scores before installing them.
Check an app's privacy score before installing it
Along with the phone, customers who buy it will also receive access to Murena Cloud, a private online vault where they can sync their pictures, videos, music, notes and documents with their personal cloud from anywhere.
However, Murena Cloud offers just 1GB of free online storage, so if you need more, you’ll have to pay for it. Murena has several options available with storage capacities up to 2TB and plans starting at $2 per month.
Moving on to the hardware specs of the Murena 2, this is far from being a flagship, but that’s why the price isn’t that high. For starters, the device is equipped with 2.1GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio P70 chipset, coupled with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage (up to 512GB via microSD).
Also, Murena 2 sports a 6.43-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, a triple camera setup (64MP + 13MP + 5MP), and a 25-megapixel front-facing selfie snapper. The phone is powered by a 4,000 mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
According to Murena, their phone is only compatible with T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Simple Mobile, Speedtalk Mobile, Ultra Mobile, Red Pocket Mobile, and Ting in the United States. The company only recommends using the phone on T-Mobile and its MVNOs, so no Verizon.
As far as the price goes, the “Super Early Bird” and “Duo Early Bird” tiers that allowed fans to purchase the Murena 2 for just $320 are no longer available, so you can either pay $960 for three phones or $430 for one. Check out the Kickstarter page for more price options if you want to support the campaign and get additional perks.
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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brings a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.
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