It is not a conspiracy theory; it is a reality. Tech big companies are spying on us via our devices, especially our smartphones. They know what they should not, tracking us like we are fugitives! That being said and known, privacy-focused hardware and software are no longer a choice; they are a must.
Many ambitious privacy-focused companies see this gap and decide to invest in such tech, even if the customer base is currently small. Maybe we no longer care about our privacy, but one of those companies is NovaCustom. Known for its coreboot Linux laptops, NovaCustom announced last week the availability of SHIFTphone 8.1, a modular, privacy-friendly smartphone featuring the open source iodéOS.
After this slightly lengthy introduction, let’s highlight the phone specs and how NovaCustom makes it even better.
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🛠️ Premium Flagship-Lite Hardware With a Sustainable Design
Often, to protect our privacy, we find ourselves forced to use devices with older hardware because they are better supported by open source privacy projects. However, this is not the case here because the SHIFTphone 8.1 comes with truly upper mid-range hardware.
On the surface, you get a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 1080 × 2400 Pixels (Full HD+), which means an aspect ratio of 20:9. The display supports Always-On Display (AOD) and it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass (the specific version is unpublic, but we hope to get details soon). What is public is that the display is on an interchangeable A-frame with no glue for easy repair. Do you miss the old notification LED? This modular smartphone offers one with 3 colors.
The pleasure offered by the display will not be complete without good speakers. Here we are talking about a stereo speaker system that, by the way, supports the ASHA protocol, which lets compatible hearing aids stream audio from the phone with low latency and lower battery use.
Under the hood, this smartphone features the 6nm Qualcomm QCM6490 SoC (based on the Snapdragon 778G architecture). It comes with eight cores, featuring a main clock speed of 2.4 GHz (with the high-performance core boosting up to 2.71 GHz), and the Adreno 643L iGPU (more than decent for graphic-intense tasks). Also it comes with a 12 GB LPDDR of RAM (4X or 5, they do not mention and I cannot presume), and a fast UFS 3.1 storage with options for 256 GB or 512 GB, expandable with Micro-SDXC up to 2 TB.
The phone is powered by a 3820 mAh battery with the following technology: Quick Charge 4+ and Power Delivery 3.0 (a universal fast-charging standard), supporting a maximum wired input of up to 100W from a compatible charger. It also features inductive charging (Qi-Standard), which supports wireless charging up to an estimated 15W. And guess what? The battery is removable! A very unique feature today!
Talking cameras, this smartphone has a 50 MP dual-rear camera system (a 50 MP main camera and a 50 MP ultra-wide-angle camera) both featuring the Sony IMX 766 sensor, offering an aperture of f/1.8, auto focus, and Digital Image Stabilization (EIS)—which, while not as effective as OIS, is a significant benefit for video quality. They support a video resolution of up to 4k 30fps, and Slow Motion Mode with up to 240 frames per second. The dual flash light may even make the camera experience better. The front (selfie) camera is built on the Sony IMX616 sensor, which has a resolution of 32 MP.
The modularity extends to the rear cameras as they can be exchanged separately, an extra point for repairability.
And since it is labeled as a privacy-oriented phone, a camera hardware kill switch exists under the back cover (a stealth switch for a stealth life!), which by the way is made of recyclable polycarbonate (for eco-friendly durability and shock resistance). Noticeably, a priceless wisdom is printed at the cover bottom: ”Smartphones can be timekillers. There is no greater gift for you today, than the next 24 hours. Use them wisely, people are more important than machines.”
Connectivity-wise, the SHIFTphone 8.1 provides a dual nano-SIM card slot, with 5G support. It also supports eSIM, Wi-Fi 6E 6 GHz, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, and NFC. A USB-C version 3.1 is also there with OTG support. For your precious health, the phone is labeled as a low SAR value design (meaning it is engineered to minimize radiation absorption by your body). And for your precious privacy too, a microphone hardware kill switch is there under the back cover as well (the neighbor of the camera one).
Shifting to sensors, the SHIFTphone has ample, namely for Proximity, Ambient Light, Gravity, Motion, Magneto, Barometer, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, and a Fingerprint scanner under the screen. A vibration motor is there too, of course.
For buttons, four are present: the power key, the two volume keys, and a programmable custom key (which can be programmed to do a certain function to fit your workflow).
Even with the high modularity and the no-glue design, the SHIFTphone 8.1 is IP66 certified, meaning it is water splash proof and dust resistant.
IP66 is not enough? If you need extreme ruggedness over modularity, check out the Blackview Rugged Phones Collection!
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To conclude this part, the phone is 164.2 mm in height, 78.7 mm in width, and 9.8 mm thick, and weighs 209g without the bumper (goes up to 250g with the rugged bumper protection), making it quite large and heavy—a small price paid for the high modularity, repairability, and sustainability. In addition, the SHIFTphone is designed and maintained in Germany, and fairly manufactured in China (almost all the world’s phones come from there!).
🛡️ Open Source Software with Privacy-First Personalization
Chosen for its full modularity, NovaCustom replaces the original SHIFTphone software with iodéOS, an open source operating system (currently based on Android 15) without Google services, yet with optional microG services (the open source implementation of the evil Google one). Using iodéOS, NovaCustom also blocks big tech tracking in this modified version of the SHIFTphone 8.1 so the users get maximum control over their data, and implements two FOSS-friendly App Stores by default instead of the Google Play Store: F-droid Store1 and Aurora Store2.
Given the software is intensively tested by NovaCustom, it is still not 100% mature, as both the programmable custom key, the fingerprint scanner support, and eSIM functionality are not available yet. However, given NovaCustom’s investment in that open source project, I assume their availability is coming very soon. I know you may ask yourself how a smartphone with such useful features not working yet is available to buy. Consider it a strategy of financing the projects by customers who want to live the project’s maturation and invest in its growth. Tell me your opinion.
Since it is about software control, using the pre-buy configurator, you can get additional privacy-orientated software to be pre-installed, such as Proton apps (Mail, VPN, Drive, etc.) and Tor Browser. Not only that, you can even configure the system apps by selecting/deselecting any app—who imagined that such a simple task would become a big, wanted feature?
In addition to the normal screen protector glass, an option for a privacy screen protector that blocks side-viewing (so only you can read the screen) is also available on the configuration page.
Going even more extreme in the privacy approach, NovaCustom offers hardware removal options in their configurator. This includes cameras, fingerprint scanners, microphones, and speakers. Even more, you can get an air-gapped smartphone where all antennas are permanently damaged and any antenna cables are removed. In simple terms, your device will no longer have mobile network, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and NFC capability.
For the truly paranoid situation, the anti-tamper option is also available, using tamper-evident screws and security seals, so you can be sure that the integrity of your device remains intact. Of course, when selected, you get the option to have pictures of all screws sent via the end-to-end encrypted Proton Mail (what a hard tech world we live in!).
⭐️ First-Class Customer Services with Extended Warranty
When it comes to smartphones, it is not all about hardware and software, but also support and services. NovaCustom offers 3 years of free-of-charge warranty after delivery. Software updates are guaranteed until at least 2032, with the potential to extend until 2036 thanks to the Qualcomm QCM6490’s long-term support commitment. Spare parts availability is also guaranteed for 7 years, and last but not least, you get lifetime technical questions support. This even extends the sustainability of this privacy-focused smartphone. This kind of support and after-sale customer service is rare today even in high-end smartphones, making the SHIFTphone 8.1 from NovaCustom one of the best in this category. Do you agree?
📦 A Privacy Smartphone with a Screwdriver in the Box at a Reasonable Price
You do not get a lot in the box, as both the bumper protection and the charger are optional, but you get a screwdriver—in addition to the SHIFTphone 8.1 and the USB-C to USB-A cable—encouaraging you to explore the modularity of the phone.
The 256GB/12GB version is priced at 870 EUR and the 512GB at 949 EUR. The price seems high until you realize that this price includes all tax and shipping fees, which means the amount you pay to NovaCustom is the only price that you will pay to receive your privacy smartphone:
If any import costs apply, we are responsible for these additional costs. This means that UPS won’t charge you any import costs: the amount you pay to us is the only price that you will have to pay to receive your order. This way, you won’t face any unexpected costs.
— NovaCustom
This, plus the 3 years of free-of-charge warranty, and the 7-year update and spare parts availability promise, make the price more reasonable.
Perhaps we’ll have the opportunity to review this smartphone in the near future to provide a real-world user experience and performance analysis. Until then, what are your thoughts? Does the SHIFTphone 8.1 from NovaCustom truly deliver on its value proposition? What suggestions or ideas do you have for your dream modular and privacy-first smartphone?
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