Freedom Phone

The Umidigi A9, A9 Pro, and A9 Max are Android-based smartphones sold by Umidigi. Unveiled in December 2020, they are a family of entry-level smartphones.

In July 2021, the A9 Pro gained media attention after it was reported that a white-label version of the device with modified firmware was being sold in the United States as the "Freedom Phone", with marketing targeting conservatives.

Specifications

The A9 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G25 system-on-chip with a 2.0 GHz CPU and 3 GB of LPDDRX4 RAM. It includes 64 GB of external storage, which is expandable via a microSD card slot contained within its dual SIM tray. The A9 Pro has 128 GB of storage and 6 GB of RAM. The A9 uses a 6.53-inch display, while the A9 Pro uses a 6.3-inch display. The A9 includes 13-megapixel and 8-megapixel ultra-wide rear-facing cameras with a 2-megapixel depth sensor and 8-megapixel front-facing camera, while the A9 Pro uses 48-megapixel quad rear-facing cameras and a 24-megapixel front-facing camera. Both devices also include an integrated infrared thermometer. The devices ship with Android 11.

In February 2021, Umidigi announced a third model in the A9 line known as the A9 Max, which has 8 GB of RAM and a curved display.

Freedom Phone

In March 2021, Erik Finman, a 22-year-old who has described himself as the "world's youngest Bitcoin millionaire", announced that he would be producing a smartphone targeting conservatives in the United States. Finman promoted the device as including access to apps "censored" by Apple and Google such as Parler, Newsmax, and One America News Network (OANN).

The smartphone, branded as "Freedom Phone", was officially launched on 14 July 2021 via a social media post by conservative commentator Candace Owens, and was promoted by other conservative activists and commentators such as Ali Alexander, Dinesh D'Souza, Roger Stone and Jack Posobiec. It was marketed in particular to supporters of former U.S. President Donald Trump, with advertising promoting the device as a "free speech and privacy first" smartphone, that its hardware was "comparable to the best smartphones", and that it included an "uncensorable" app store known as "PatriApp" that would not take down apps "censored" by the App Store or Play Store. It was reported that there had been over 10,000 pre-orders.

At this time, it was reported that the Freedom Phone was a white-label version of the Umidigi A9 Pro. Its OEM Android software was replaced by a custom Android distribution known as "Freedom OS", which is stated to contain code from LineageOS and GrapheneOS, and comes with apps such as DuckDuckGo, alt-tech platforms such as Parler and Rumble, and Telegram installed. The device was promoted as including a feature known as "Trust", which is a LineageOS feature. It uses MicroG, an open source implementation of Google Play Services that is often used with custom distributions such as LineageOS. The PatriApp store is a rebranded version of Aurora Store—an alternative open source client for the Play Store—rather than an independent app store as was implied in the device's marketing materials.

In a review of the product, CNET said that the US$500 Freedom Phone appeared to be "nearly on par with a $200 budget Android phone."; the Umidigi A9 Pro retails for $120 in comparison, a little less than a quarter the price. The Freedom Phone website did not initially publish specifications for the phone, but incomplete information was later published. Finman confirmed to ''The Daily Beast'' that the Freedom Phone was manufactured by Umidigi.

In August 2021, Finman announced that future models would have upgraded hardware, and replace Freedom OS with ClearCenter's Android-based Clear OS Mobile; he stated that Clear had better logistics, and experience in developing privacy-oriented smartphones.

In January 2023, ''The Daily Beast'' reported that Finman and Michael Proper, founder of Utah-based phone company ClearCellular, were ensnared in a legal battle over issues with the phone.

See also

* Affinity fraud
* Secure telephone

References

{{Reflist

Android (operating system) devices
Smartphones
Mobile phones introduced in 2020
Mobile phones with multiple rear cameras