July 2021 Mudita Pure Development/Production update

It’s that time again! A new month means more progress and development when it comes to Mudita Pure. Things are moving along quite smoothly and we are on track to deliver Mudita Pure as previously communicated in November. 

Molding form - body

The manufacturing of the molding form is almost finished. We are progressing according to the previously established timeline and are planning to begin trail injections next week. The next NPI (New Production Introduction) is planned for the middle of next month. 

Production/Backstage 

PCB_MB_7v3 will be the MB used in final production. The production documentation for the final PCB has been prepared. It contains a 'microscopic' change from version 7v2. Files have been sent to the PCB manufacturer. The expected date of delivery of the first batch is projected to be in autumn, as previously planned. 

We have already ordered parts, materials and components for the production of pre-ordered phones, including keyboards, mode sliders, and sim trays. We also received screen  samples with the upgraded frontlight. However, we are not satisfied with the progress and requested more samples. The additional five samples will be tested next week.

Mudita Pure black keyboard

Mudita Pure sliders and SIM trays

IP rating

We are in the process of preparing to establish and test the IP rating of Mudita Pure. Since the final body casing is not finished yet, we are unable to conclusively establish the final IP rating. However, internally, we have developed a sophisticated testing tool in the office, which we are using to examine and analyze possible IP ratings. We are really proud of this development, because it will allow us to internally determine possible IP ratings before final testing is finalized. 

To meet ISO 60529 requirements, we have built a custom dripbox with controlled water flow through  a SEN0216 flow meter connected to an Arduino Nano. The Arduino Nano is a small, complete, and breadboard-friendly board based on the ATmega328 (Arduino Nano 3. x).  The Arduino Nano comes with a crystal oscillator of frequency 16 MHz. It is used to produce a clock of precise frequency using constant voltage. We are able to control the level and frequency of water used in the testing. 

The dripbox with controlled water flow

Mudita Pure undergoing internal testing

Testing and Certification

The tests for the ETSI EN 301 489-1/-17/-52 + FCC norms and standards were completed  with PASSING results. We have received the report drafts for ETSI EN 301 489-1/-17/-52 and ETSI EN 300 328 certification. The next steps are to send our comments to our certification testing partner. 

We are expecting to receive the final reports for the other standards required for the EU RED (The radio equipment directive 2014/53/EU [RED] establishes a regulatory framework for placing radio equipment on the market) and FCC/ISED, shortly. Radio equipment entering the US market must undergo an authorization process set by the FCC. The ISED process is used in Canada and is very similar to the FCC process. 

The tests for the IEC62368-1 certification testing were completed with a PASS result with the exception of one temperature test ('NORMAL OPERATING CONDITIONS TEMPERATURE TEST'). We are in the process of figuring out what exactly happened and how we can fix the issue, however, overall the problem is not expected to cause any serious roadblock. 

Varnish & Scratch Resistance Testing 

We compared the latest deliveries from several industrial varnishing plants and found one that provides us with the best results. 

We performed scratch resistance tests on varnished and not varnished samples of the external body of the phone and concluded that all varnished samples have better scratch resistance.

Varnished pebble grey and black back case

Matte black Mudita Pure cover

MuditaOS

We’ve made various changes connected with the process of updating Mudita Pure using Mudita Center. When updating MuditaOS while using our desktop app, the user will not be able to use the phone. This is done mostly so there  won’t be a break in the process of updating the operating system. We have added reporting of every individual phone’s serial number in USB descriptors so that it will be visible in Mudita Center. We have also fixed the option of internet tethering on a low battery and set the auto-lock default value to ON (after 30 seconds) for security reasons.

We’re working on logging the data necessary for us to evaluate how the first batch of Mudita Pure phones will handle real-life situations. However, we haven’t forgotten about our dedication to privacy and removed the option of logging and anonymized all sensitive data such as:

• Phone numbers

• Text messages and notes content

• Contact list contents

• Any metadata connected to localization

• Names of GSM operators

• Names of used Bluetooth devices

As development moves forward, more data will be slated to be anonymized. We will definitely inform you of all the new updates as we move forward.  We’ve also set up the logic behind phone modes (including types of notifications and whitelisting in DND mode). Every mode treats notifications differently. While the Connected mode will send you all notifications, the DND mode will only send graphic notifications and allows sound notifications ONLY from people added to your Whitelist, Offline mode means you're completely offline-no phone or text notifications.

The Mudita Pure MENU screen in different languages

Additionally, we’re excited to announce that we’ve introduced four new localizations: German, Spanish, Polish, and French. The French localization was delivered by our Developer Preview community, which makes it that much more exciting. As you might remember, we previously mentioned that our Swedish localization was also delivered because of a few extremely dedicated contributors. 

We are amazed by the dedication of these extremely talented contributors and  immensely grateful for the time, commitment and enthusiasm involved in undertaking such a project for the benefit of the entire Mudita Community. 

We have also enabled auto-save by default inside the Notes app and introduced some fixes to the Bluetooth module. We’re also implementing support for different time zones inside the ‘Settings’ app as well.

Mudita Center

We’re setting up a logging engine for all the non-sensitive data in Pure for the purpose of improving the app and the phone in the future. We’ve also removed the possibility of sending any sensitive data from Pure to Mudita Center and introduced improvements in handling MuditaOS updates such as automatic check for a new version of the operating system after connecting the phone to the computer and deleting an old MuditaOS file from the phone.

Mudita Center is now integrated with the customer Support platform so that our users will be able to contact us straight from the app when the need arises. The app is now displaying actual Pure data when the phone is connected to the computer (GSM signal strength and operator name included). We’ve also disabled phone auto-lock when the phone is connected to Mudita Center,  so that it doesn’t break updating MuditaOS while using the app. 

We have added the End User License to be accepted by the user on the first launch of the app, fixed some minor bugs, and added some UI changes.

We’ve added a web accessibility (A11y) audit tool so that developers working on Mudita Center will be able to test its accessibility level with every upcoming release. The A11y command-line Tools assist in discovering common accessibility issues. 

A big thank you goes out to all of you who volunteered for Mudita Center usability tests. We have the full amount of seats booked and are looking forward to these meetings! 

Mudita team members share their experiences while using Mudita Pure 

In previous updates, we mentioned our team was testing Mudita Pure. As we move closer to the launch date, we would like to share some of those experiences with you. 

In the videos below, four of our team members talk about their unique experiences while using Mudita Pure, and what, if anything, they missed when not having a smartphone. 

What’s Next? 

In the coming weeks we plan on having all the safety and radio certifications passed and completed. In the next update will have some more information about the new and updated molding form since the trial injections will begin next week. 

Thank you so much for all your patience and encouragement throughout this exciting, but at times challenging journey. We’re excited for the future to come! 

See you next month!