shiftphone
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{{short description|Modular easy-to-repair fair-trade smartphone series.}}
Shiftphone is a modular, easy-to-repair smartphone brand created by the company SHIFT in Germany. The company emphasizes fair trade and ecology, similar to Fairphone.{{Cite web |last=Galan |first=Ana |date=24 October 2017 |title=Shiftphone: an Ethical Smartphone That's Made in Germany – Responsibility |url=https://en.reset.org/blog/shiftphone-ethical-smartphone-thats-made-germany-10242017 |access-date=7 September 2018 |website=RESET.to}}{{Cite web |last=Schröder |first=Horst |date=4 April 2016 |title=So gut ist das erste Fairphone aus Deutschland |url=https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/shiftphone-fairphone-deutschland-test |access-date=5 September 2018 |website=www.gruenderszene.de}}{{Cite news |last=Knödl |first=Karsten |date=August 2017 |title=Mehr als fair |page=5 |work=Heimatnachrichten Fritzlar/Homberg}}{{Cite journal |last=Peters |first=Rolf-Herbert |date=November 2015 |title=Handy mit Moral |journal=Stern |pages=134}} Instead of tantalum capacitors made from coltan, ceramic capacitors are used for their manufacturing. So far, eleven model series have been released. The most recent release was the SHIFT6mq (successor of the Shift6m) in June 2020. The upcoming device will be the SHIFTphone 8, scheduled for release in 2024.{{Cite web |last=Maurus |first=Tess |date=2021-06-02 |title=SHIFTphone 8 Status |url=https://www.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8-status/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=SHIFTPHONES - |language=de-DE}}
Names
= Model names =
The names of models start with the string "SHIFT" in upper case letters.
Except for the SHIFTphone 8 this is followed by the length of the display diagonal rounded to full inches. After that
- the name ends - for the oldest models
- a dot follows, in turn followed by a number - some newer models until around 2017
- an m follows - this is for the new modular line
= OS name =
The OS is named either SHIFT-OS or ShiftOS.{{cite web |url=https://www.shiftphones.com/ |title=Home |website=shiftphones.com}}
Devices
Operating system
There are two different operating systems. The SafetyNet based SHIFT-OS-G/ShiftOS-G with Google services or the AOSP-based ShiftOS or ShiftOS-L without Google services. Furthermore, flashing the device with a custom ROM is allowed;{{cite web |url=https://www.shiftphones.com/ |title=Home |website=shiftphones.com}}{{Cite web |title=Modding |url=https://forum.shiftphones.com/forums/modding/ |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=SHIFTPHONES |date=19 January 2023 |language=de-DE}} ShiftOS developers are also partly involved in the development of certain custom ROMs.{{Cite web |title=SHIFT6mq - Anleitung / Guide - Feedback - (SHIFT6mq) LineageOS 20 (Android 13) |url=https://forum.shiftphones.com/threads/shift6mq-lineageos-20-android-13.4852/ |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=SHIFTPHONES |date=19 January 2023 |language=de-DE}}
Characteristics
= Sustainability =
{{See also|Right to repair}}
Shiftphones are built modularly to allow customers to change parts and repair the device without voiding the warranty. Videos support the user in repairing their device, explaining [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaD_l_ZDJsw how to open it and how to change certain modules].{{Cite journal|last=Wiebke|first=Wiebke|date=March 2018|title=Wegweiser in Sachen Fairness|journal=Guter Rat|pages=55}}
= Circular economy =
Customers have the option, to upgrade their device to a different model.{{Cite journal|date=January 2018|title=Nachhaltigkeit von Geschäftsmodellen in der Informations- und Kommunikationstechnik|url=https://www.duh.de/fileadmin/user_upload/download/Projektinformation/Kreislaufwirtschaft/Elektroger%C3%A4te/180115_DUH-Studie_Nachhaltigkeit-IKT-Industrie.pdf|journal=Deutsche Umwelthilfe|pages=8, 18}}
Shiftphone partners with Closing the Loop.{{cite web | url=http://www.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8-status/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230729072129/http://www.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8-status/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=2023-07-29 | title=SHIFTphone 8 Status | SHIFT - }}
= Privacy aspects =
The operating system can be replaced with a custom ROM based on Linux (Mobian{{cite web | url=https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=install-android | title=Mobian - Debian Wiki }}) or a de-googled Android.
Different from the competitors PinePhone and Librem, the motherboard and peripherals are not open-source hardware. This makes hardware backdoors still possible.
The SHIFTphone 8 does include hardware kill switches, for example for the microphone and camera.{{cite web|url=https://www.shiftphones.com/shiftphone-8-status/|title=SHIFTphone 8 status}}
= Workers' care =
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbK6Hgp_O8 Shift employees in China] do not work more than 50 hours a week, while it is common for people to work up to 90. Compared to the average Chinese worker in the manufacturing business, the staff is provided with insurances.{{Cite journal|last=Holtkemper|first=Lennart|date=March 2017|title=Fairphone und Shiftphone: Nachhaltig produzierte Smartphones|journal=Connect}}
Criticism and controversies about conflict minerals
In 2016 c't described the Shift5 as a typical cheap smartphone. Besides, the journal argued that there was no evidence that coltan is not used in Shiftphones and thus criticized the transparency of SHIFT. SHIFT and further secondary sources claim that coltan is not in use for their manufacturing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologieland-hessen.de/mm/TLH_Ausgabe_01.pdf|title=Faire Handys aus Hessen|last=Neubauer|first=Dr. Uta|date=December 2017|website=Technologieland Hessen|page=47}} However, according to c't, the SHIFT partner company "Vstar and Weihuaxin" did not provide information about conflict-free material used in Shiftphone. Unlike Shiftphone, Fairphone provides detailed audit reports about component suppliers through a Chinese agency, and also facilitates detailed information on problems and compromises in the supply chain.{{cite journal|url=https://www.heise.de/ct/ausgabe/2016-9-Das-angeblich-faire-Android-Smartphone-Shift-5-1-3170040.html|title=Das angeblich faire Android-Smartphone Shift 5.1|last=Wölbert|first=Christian|date=September 2016|journal=C't|volume=2016 |issue=9 |pages=64, 65}}
Coltan is used to make components for mobile phones and other electronic devices. A huge part of the ore is from mines in the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). "Much mining has been done in small artisanal mining operations, sometimes known as Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM). These small-scale mines are unregulated, with high levels of child labor and workplace injury." Some 50,000 children, some just seven years old, work in Congo's coltan mines. Workers often have little or no protection and often work underground in self-made shafts.{{Cite web|url=https://www.verbraucherzentrale.nrw/wissen/umwelt-haushalt/nachhaltigkeit/rohstoffabbau-schadet-umwelt-und-menschen-11537|title=Rohstoffabbau schadet Umwelt und Menschen|last=Behnke|first=Andrea|date=September 2016|website=Verbraucherzentrale NRW|access-date=31 July 2018}}
Recent reports paint a clear picture: articles by many magazines were able to capture the statements of Carsten Waldeck and prove their credibility accordingly.
For example, golem.de reported in detail on the company and its efforts in terms of sustainability and fairness in June 2018.{{Citation|url=https://www.golem.de/news/shift6m-angeschaut-nachhaltigkeit-muss-nicht-zu-teuer-oder-unansehnlich-sein-1806-134923.html|title=Sustainability does not have to be too expensive or ugly|language=de|access-date=2019-12-05}}
The ProSieben magazine Galileo tested the newly released smartphone Shift6m and illuminated, in the form of video recordings, the production conditions of the in-house manufactory located in China in June 2018.{{Citation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbK6Hgp_O8 |title=The first German Smartphone (German)|access-date=2019-12-05}}
N-tv described the initial efforts for fairness and sustainability as well as the history of the Shiftphone, in September 2018.{{Citation|url=https://www.n-tv.de/technik/Ein-Smartphone-das-die-Welt-veraendern-soll-article20647199.html |title=Fair high technology from Hessen - A smartphone that is supposed to change the world|language=de|access-date=2019-12-05}}
In August 2018, the ecology portal {{Interlanguage link|Utopia.de|de}} no longer reported any lack of transparency regarding Shift's Chinese hardware manufacturing process.{{Citation|url=https://utopia.de/ratgeber/test-shift6m-von-shiftphones-die-deutsche-fairphone-alternative/ |title=Test: Shift6m of Shiftphones - the German Fairphone alternative|language=de|date=11 August 2018|access-date=2019-05-12}}
In the issue 15/2018, the computer magazine c't showed a more positive approach on the topic of German smartphone manufacturer Shift, although the report itself was rather short in comparison to other European hardware providers.{{Citation|url=https://www.heise.de/select/ct/2018/15/1531632319250273 |title= Market Overview - Smartphones from Europe|language=de|journal= C't|date= 6 July 2018|volume= 2018|issue= 15|page= 168|access-date=2019-12-05|last1= Link|first1= Michael}}
See also
- Fairphone
- Ethical consumerism
- Fair trade
- Green IT
- Open-source hardware
- Phonebloks
- Framework Computer
{{portalbar|Companies|Telephones|Telecommunication|Germany}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.shiftphones.com/en/ Official site] of SHIFT GmbH
Category:Mobile phone manufacturers
Category:Mobile phone companies of Germany
Category:Electronics companies established in 2014
Category:German companies established in 2014
Category:Android (operating system) devices