[10] The phone was ethically sourced, using conflict-free minerals, Fair trade gold and recycled materials.

[12] An important challenge with the Fairphone 1 was a system on a chip (SoC) Mediatek MT6589 that was not widely used and thus did not receive long-term software support from its manufacturer.

Fairphone deliberately did not include recent innovations like wireless charging or USB-C ports, intending for this to lead to lower prices and maintenance.

[14] The phone was designed to have a lower environmental impact than comparable mass-market smartphones, with an expected lifespan of five years.

[15] Many electronic devices contain conflict minerals[16] (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), used by armies and rebel groups to fund war in the country.

Hi-P assembled the Fairphone 2 in Suzhou, China, in a factory that has been audited to ensure that it meets high standards for working conditions and for the environment.

The price also funded a wide range of Fairphone's goals to make the phone more ethical, including recycling programs and partnerships for reduced usage of "blood minerals".

Production started in December 2015, aiming to ship all phones ordered during the crowdfunding campaign that month.