Murena Kickstarter Surpasses $150K in Funding for Innovative Privacy Switch-equipped Phone

The Murena 2, the highly anticipated successor to the de-Googled and privacy-focused Murena One smartphone, is now available for backing on Kickstarter. With overwhelming support from backers, it has already surpassed its funding goal of $26,437, raising over $156,000.

The standout feature of the Murena 2 is its physical privacy switch. When activated, the switch disconnects both the front and back cameras, as well as the microphones, ensuring maximum privacy. This switch bears a resemblance to the privacy switches found on laptops. Additionally, the Murena 2 includes another physical switch that enables airplane mode, disconnecting the phone from networks and activating do not disturb mode.

In terms of hardware specifications, the Murena 2 boasts a 6.43-inch screen with a 1080 x 2400 resolution. It offers 128GB of storage, a 4,000mAh battery, and is powered by a MediaTek Helio P70 chip with eight cores. As for its camera capabilities, the Murena 2 features a 25MP front camera and a 64MP main camera, along with a 13MP telephoto camera and a 5MP wide-angle camera on the back.

Like its predecessor, the Murena One, the Murena 2 operates on /e/OS, a modified version of Android that excludes any Google apps. Instead, it offers custom apps for messaging and email. However, users have the option to download Android apps from the App Lounge marketplace. While the marketplace sources apps from Google Play, browsing can be done anonymously to avoid tracking, with only free apps available in anonymous mode, as per the /e/OS documentation.

If you’re interested in backing the Murena 2, the “super early bird” and “duo early bird” tiers with estimated delivery dates in December are no longer available. However, the “early bird” tier (€399 / about $425) and the “trio early bird” tier (three phones for €898 / about $957) are still open, both with December delivery dates. Alternatively, the presale tier (€449 / about $478) offers an estimated delivery date of January 2024. There are also a few more expensive tiers available, offering additional rewards and December delivery dates.

There are only nine days left to support the Murena 2 Kickstarter campaign.