The market for smartphones equipped with hardware kill switches remains niche, but there appears to be some growth in it, especially seeing the state of the world we live in. Privacy is something we are told to compromise on in the name of "safety," while conditions on the ground don't seem to improve.
Recently, we saw Murena team up with HIROH to launch a flagship device featuring dual kill switches, signaling this growing demand for privacy-first mobile hardware.
In the same vein, Furi Labs, a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of Linux-powered smartphones, has introduced the FLX1s, their most recent attempt to push privacy boundaries even further.
📝 Furi Labs FLX1s: Key Specifications
The FLX1s stands out with its impressive privacy-first hardware design, featuring not two, but three dedicated kill switches. These physical switches provide users with granular control over their device's most sensitive components.
One switch physically cuts power to the microphone, the other completely disables both front and rear cameras, and the last one cuts all cellular connectivity at the hardware level.
Under the hood, the phone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor with Mali-G68 graphics, paired with 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128 GB of UFS storage.
While not quite flagship-tier, these specs provide solid performance for everyday tasks and multitasking. For users needing more storage, the device supports microSD cards up to 1 TB.
On the software side, the FLX1s runs FuriOS exclusively, a Debian-based operating system that offers remarkable flexibility. The OS supports multi-boot configurations, Android app compatibility through compatibility layers, and even includes KVM virtualization support for running multiple operating systems simultaneously.
This device also packs in other neat features:
- Display: 6.7" 1600x720 @90 Hz (protected by AGC Dragontrail Glass)
- Camera: 20 MP and a 2 MP macro on the rear and a 13 MP front.
- Battery: 5,000 mAh Li-Po
- Network Connectivity: 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G (dual-sim).
- Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
- Bluetooth: 5.2, A2DP, LE.
- USB: Type-C 2.0 (audio, data transfer, and power)
- Build: Glass back, polycarbonate mid-frame, metal buttons.
🛒 Getting the Furi Labs FLX1s
The Furi Labs FLX1s is available for pre-order at $550. The company is handling production in batches, with the first batch already sold out and pre-orders now open for the second batch.
Production is scheduled to complete by the end of October 2025, with shipping expected to begin shortly after.
Suggested Read 📖
Sourav Rudra
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