Final NPI Update: firm mass production & shipping dates

We’re back with another development/production update. As we reported in our previous update, on October 11th, we began our final NPI. The role of the NPI (New Product Introduction) process is to prepare Mudita Pure for mass production. 

The final NPI took a bit more time than we expected, but we have completed everything successfully. This time we would like to give you a short update and share some pictures & videos with you of the activities which took place at the manufacturing facility during the process. 

This final step was very important because it allows us to determine if we can repeatedly produce the same product with identical quality and what steps we need to take in order to refine our assembly process. 

NPI also allows us to identify potential risks in the assembly and manufacturing process and develop a plan to successfully mitigate them as soon as possible. 

Thanks to this process, Mudita will be able to introduce reproducible, ongoing, high-quality products to the market.

Here’s a quick sneak peek, behind the scenes video:

Here are some additional pictures from the manufacturing facility: 

Wide shot of the manufacturing facility

Our Team during the final NPI

Consistency & Mass Production

Introducing new products which meet customer expectations is quite a difficult process. NPI allows us to detect potential issues before mass production. During this NPI process, our manufacturing partner was able to manufacture approximately 10-15 phones per day (with limited capacity of course). Each device was individually tested by the EOL tester. The EOL (End of Line) tester is used to check the whole device after assembly (test of screen, backlight and keyboard, speakers, microphone, cellular module, flashlight, audio jack).

While we detected a few defects in some of the devices, the objective of the NPI is for the deployment process to be iterated until the desired end result is achieved. At this point, approximately 90% of manufactured devices pass the EOL tester. Ultimately, we manufactured about 120 Mudita Pure phones during the final NPI.  This will allow us to test, validate, and fine-tune all our processes, so we can have a seamless transition to mass production, which we plan on starting on November 15th.

A production team member assembling Mudita Pure

Our Team during the final NPI

Mudita Pure Main Boards

PCB_LM - Lower Module Board, contains audio jack and loudspeaker

Testing the final device 

Testing a manufactured device at the end of the assembly line is a critical step in the production process. Defective units or even those not matching product specifications closely enough must be separated from the functional devices, which will ultimately be shipped to the end-user. However, just as important as EOL testing, is testing the functionality of the final device and making sure it functions properly as it was intended. After the final NPI, but before we begin mass production, we will test the functionality of all the phones produced during the process. 

MuditaOS & Mudita Center

When it comes to MuditaOS and Mudita Center (the phone's desktop app) we're in the middle of an all hands-on-deck bug hunting effort which aims at stabilizing the software before the hardware hits your mailboxes.

In Mudita Center, we're mostly focusing on bugs regarding the user’s experience and user interface alongside making sure that Mudita Center will be able to enhance the functionalities of Mudita Harmony. 

In MuditaOS, our work is mostly about stabilizing the operating system, improving the user experience, making sure that the phone is able to cooperate with Mudita Center flawlessly and perfecting every pixel of the OS design. We were also able to implement and configure automatic software signing for Pure's MuditaOS which means that every single phone will have a unique signature so that users can be sure that the update they're receiving has been approved by Mudita and doesn't contain any unsecure code or malware.

Shipping & Delivery 

Earlier this month, we communicated to you that we will start shipping Mudita Pure in November. Nothing has changed. Currently, we are in the process of completing all the final details and preparing for mass production, which, as mentioned above, will start on November 15th. As we communicated in the October Backers’ Update, and other messages since then, shipments of Mudita Pure will be done in batches. We’ve always highlighted that our priority is to first, fulfill the orders of our initial backers and then move on to the pre-orders. To be fair to everyone, shipments will be done chronologically, starting on November 30th.  Please note: keeping in mind production, manpower and logistics, it’s not feasible for us to ship EVERYTHING IN ONE DAY. If your phone does not get shipped out on the official launch date, it will be shipped out shortly after. You will receive information about your batch number and the estimated shipping date after we have confirmed all the shipping information with our original Backers. If you are a Kickstarter Backer, if you haven’t done so yet,  please take a moment and fill out the survey sent to you through Backerkit by November 10th.  If you are an Indiegogo Backer, please log into your Indiegogo account, where you can confirm and verify your shipping address. You have time until November 10th to make any changes.  We will also be contacting all the pre-order clients to make sure we have all their correct shipping info on file. If no changes are requested, the phone will be shipped to the address we have on file. We will do everything as fast as humanly possible.  

We would like to thank all of you for your continuing support and constant encouragement. We really couldn’t have done it without our Mudita Community! It’s truly because of each and everyone of you that we’re finally ready to cross the finish line. 

Throughout this journey, we’ve dedicated ourselves to exceeding any challenge or obstacle that has come our way. We know it hasn’t been easy, but it was definitely worth it. 

Thank you for sticking with us and being part of this AMAZING journey!