Furilabs Furiphone FLX1s | EN

Furilabs has just announced their latest smartphone, the FLX1s. The platform remains the same, but the RAM has been increased to a total of 8 GB. At first glance, the technical specifications make it seem like a stripped-down version of the FLX1, but it comes with other advantages. The fact that it’s called FLX1s rather than FLX2 shows that it’s not a new generation, but rather an updated version of the FLX1.

The platform is still a Dimensity 900, as with the FLX1, but this time it comes with 8 GB of RAM – the maximum the SoC can support. No further upgrade is possible.

The storage capacity remains at 128 GB, which is sufficient for everyday use. While 256 GB would be more appropriate nowadays, 128 GB is still acceptable. I have all my essential apps, information, a bit of music, and a few movies on my smartphone – for those moments of unexpected boredom – and still have over 50 GB free.

The design is noticeably more modern this time. The weight alone has been reduced from around 280 g to 200 g, making the phone feel completely different in daily use. No Linux smartphone has ever been this light straight from the factory. Overall, the device is also significantly thinner: width and height have been reduced by about 4 mm each, and length by 2 mm – so it won’t feel like a little brick anymore.

The display has grown from 6.59″ to 6.7″. Since the phone itself is smaller overall, this suggests that the screen has much slimmer bezels, making the device look even sleeker. The refresh rate is now fixed at 90 Hz, instead of being variable between 60–120 Hz. I hope the display is brighter than that of the FLX1, as it was barely readable in sunlight.

The headphone jack has been sacrificed for the new design. Anyone wanting to use an old wired headset will need a USB-C adapter. On the plus side, there are now “old-school” hardware switches on the side, similar to the Librem 5: LTE, Wi-Fi, and microphone/webcam can be turned off without having to log in first.

The rear camera now has only 20 MP instead of 50 MP, which initially suggests lower image quality. Whether that is actually the case remains to be seen.

The USB-C port is unfortunately limited to USB 2.0. Personally, I mostly used it for charging, as I transferred data via SSH. It’s a shame, but not a limitation I will notice.

First impressions: A few aspects of the FLX1s are a bit disappointing: the camera has lower resolution, the USB-C port is only USB 2.0 (limiting overall functionality), the headphone jack is gone, and the battery doesn’t seem easy to replace.

On the positive side, however: the phone is much lighter, the display covers more of the front with slimmer bezels, the three handy hardware switches on the side are “back,” the overall design looks significantly better than the FLX1, and, of course, the additional RAM is a welcome upgrade.

I have ordered the FLX1s and hope to have it in my hands in a few weeks. Once I do, I’ll provide a more detailed comparison between the two smartphones.