Of course were looking into other markets: Fairphone CEO on expansion plans and the unique challenges of the US market

Date:
Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:28:07 +0000

Description:
We spoke with Fairphone CEO Raymond van Eck to discuss the possibility of Fairphone's expansion into other markets.

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The US is the runaway leader when it comes to AI development, but there is still plenty of smartphone innovation happening outside of Silicon Valley.

Some of the most advanced phones in the world the Xiaomi 15 Ultra , Oppo
Find X8 Pro , and Honor Magic 7 Pro , for instance arent officially sold in the US, while the worlds most sustainable phone, the Fairphone 6 , is currently only available in European markets.

Scratch that: you can buy the Fairphone 6 in the US, but only in a de-Googled /e/OS configuration, as exclusively sold by Murena for an eye-watering $899. For reference, the Android-powered European version of the device costs 499 / 599, so its perhaps no surprise that Fairphones arent flying off the shelves across the pond right now.

Might that situation change in the future? I put the question to Fairphones CEO, Raymond van Eck, who explained the unique challenges of the US market
and the likelihood of Fairphone expanding its operations outside of Western Europe.

Im not saying that were not looking into other geographies, van Eck told me
at the Exertis tech conference in London, where he also spoke about the myth behind the cost of sustainability . Of course, if you look outside of Europe, in countries like India, the US, or every other big country that has a few [mobile] operators, they can be of interest to us. In fact, if you look at
our socials, we have a lot of followers from India and the US. So, those are things that, in due time, we can look into but there is still a lot of potential for us to grab in Europe. The Fairphone 6 alongside the Fairbuds (Image credit: Fairphone)

Our resources are scarce as well, van Eck continued, so we want to put them towards doubling down in the markets where we are very successful right now those are the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and France, and we supply 14
other European countries.

And yes, of course, we are also looking into other markets, but as you know, if you go to the US, there's a little side [situation] where you have to look into antenna systems that are suitable for the bandwidth. You can roam perfectly well with the Fairphone 6 [in the US]. That's no problem. And we also see Murena selling the [de-Googled] Gen 6 in the US as well. But in
order to be certified on the networks, you have to create a different antenna system, and our phones are modular. So that means we have to puzzle it all
in, and [doing so] takes resources and time.

In order to be certified on the networks, you have to create a different antenna system, and our phones are modular.

Raymond van Eck, Fairphone CEO

Those are all aspects that we weigh in on if we want to enter another market. [...] To sell in the US, there have to be aspects of the phone that are different from the European ones, or you have to design a phone for both markets.

Its clear, then, that Fairphone is for now focused on growing its core European markets, and were not likely to see an Android-powered Fairphone in the US any time soon. (Image credit: Fairphone)

I asked van Eck whether the ongoing tariff situation in the US might have delayed Fairphones plans to expand overseas, to which the CEO replied: The
way I see it, strategy-wise, the tariff situation is just like the weather:
it can change over time. You have to make the [business] strategy based on
the geopolitical climate. If I look specifically at the tariff situation, well, first of all, we're not selling into the US. So for us, for now, that's not a big influencer.

But we have quite a close and intimate relationship with our suppliers, because they need to comply with all the sustainability frameworks and measures that we have. So were in [a good position of] contact with them if, for instance, resources like memory chips become scarce. And that's, of course, the thing that is being influenced by tariffs, right? If other suppliers are all of a sudden buying extra chips to make sure that they have enough stock, we know that in advance as well, because we have tight relationships with our suppliers. And that helps us a lot in this situation.

The Fairphone 6 is now available in the UK for 499 , while an open-source (i.e., de-Googled) version is available in the US for $899 / 549 . For our full verdict on the phones quality, check out our Fairphone 6 review .

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/of-course-were-looking-into-other-markets-fai rphone-ceo-on-expansion-plans-and-the-unique-challenges-of-the-us-market


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