Does Mudita have plans to produce the Kompakt outside of China?
1 Like
@haleme Can you clarify if you are referring to future iterations of the phone or the current model? I’m not super familiar with the manufacturing process, but I wouldn’t expect us to move a manufacturing process when we’ve already this far along. The Global Version is ready to ship soon, so there’s no going back.
Can’t wait, I’m too bound to my smartphone to just let it go before Mudita ships… And my latest dumbphone is already dead lol…
1 Like
@urszula Should have been a bit clearer with the intent behind the question. It is two fold; first the ethical concerns of sourcing product from a country with a less than stellar track record for worker and human rights. Second, and of lesser concern to me, is the tariff situation between the US and China.
Understand the current batch of the Kompakt is rolling out the factory now, so that train has left the station. But will consideration be made for future batches and models to be made and source from Europe or other regions?
All that said, I have preordered and an super excited to receive my Kompakt, regardless of the country of origin.
1 Like
I think for such a small company it’s not realistic to have resources to produce such a product outside of the country where the most of the components are made.
My wish would be more sustainable packaging for the phone, for example the box and the contents of it could be fully paper (take a look at Sony phones) and the back cover or other components of the phone should be mostly from recycled materials (Fairphone has 100% recycled plastic back cover). I think it would appeal to many of the people in Muditas target group, I’d risk not even a USB cable is necessary.
Edit: Generated a picture with my idea, looking pretty good imo. Fun thing, AI put a selfie camera on it 
3 Likes
My unreal target would be to have cars and phones made without a gram of plastic. 
1 Like
@thurakanda Possibly, but IDK. The Pure is made in Europe with very similar components. I mean, Mudita even brags about the Pure’s built in Europe on the page,
“Mudita Pure was not only designed and developed in Europe, we also chose to produce as much of the phone as we could locally. The EU has developed social and environmental regulations which help to prevent the abuse of workers and the environment.”
It would be interesting to understand the shift in priorities and why the swing to Asia for the manufacture.
1 Like
There’s a saying, “Something can be made cheap and good, fast and cheap, or good and fast, but not fast, good, and cheap.”
I just want to try to play devil’s advocate a bit: Labor costs are higher in China than Vietnam or Mexico - which are considered cost-friendly alternatives. However, China’s supply chains are fully integrated and the sheer scale/efficiency of their manufacturing capacity means that products are still cheaper to produce there than Vietnam or Mexico (or anywhere else) where workers are paid less.
If Mudita could find the exact same components outside of China, they wouldn’t all be produced in one country, and the logistics will never be as efficient as Shanghai. If they can’t get the same component and have to substitute it, they’d have 2 hardware versions and a fragmented userbase. Depending on the importance of the component, it may add time and costs to updates/apps.
Mudita is probably going to be selling thousands of a product that is affordable and focused specifically on mindful use of technology (and much more complex than the Pure). If they were ordering millions of phones, then maybe they could responsibly source (if that’s truly possible) the product and negotiate decent prices. In my opinion, they should just put that time and energy into developing their next product(s). They might be able to make material changes to the case and still keep production in China without much disruption, but a full-scale or even partial decoupling now would be tough to manage on so many fronts. . . just my speculation.
2 Likes
It’s quite noticeable. There’s a local businessman growing his apparel and leather garment business in Poznan and he recently moved part of his production from Poland to China/India.
At the same time, the (in)famous Thermomix, kitchen robot, is manufactured in France and Germany, and this is one of important factors giving the price (comparable Cobbo 7 is like few hundred bucks cheaper). At the same time, I tend to doubt that their Android-based display is also manufactured in Germany or France from the scratch. Otherwise, this would be a potential manufacturing base for Mudita. 
1 Like
@haleme At Mudita, we take these matters seriously. We carefully select our suppliers, visit their facilities, and ensure they operate in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. We work with partners that hold ISO certifications, which help ensure that they care about both the environment and the well-being of their employees. All components and materials used in Mudita Kompakt meet the legal standards required in the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
We’ve also prioritized durability and long-term support. Mudita Kompakt is built to last, featuring an internal aluminum frame and a housing made of durable plastic. It meets the IP54 standard for water and dust resistance. We offer spare parts, such as batteries and displays, for at least four years, and our repair services will be available for a minimum of four years as well, in compliance with local consumer protection laws in all markets where the phone is available.
The phone also comes with a two-year warranty and includes software and security updates for a minimum of three years. We’re committed to supporting our customers beyond the initial purchase and will do our best to assist with any issues that may arise.
3 Likes