The Russian smartphone R-FON was unveiled on December 18, featuring the Rosa Mobile operating system developed by Rosa IT Center. The device includes a secure operating mode that automatically activates when a worker from a corporate or government environment begins their shift. This capability was explained by Oleg Karpitsky, the chief executive officer of the Rosa IT Center, the organization responsible for creating Rosa Mobile specifically for R-FON smartphones.
To trigger safe mode, the phone relies on a simple signal. A connection to a designated service Wi-Fi network can serve as the cue, or the device can be tapped at a checkpoint using an NFC reader, typically paired with an access pass. In the NFC scenario, the transition is captured by the NFC module embedded in the R-FON hardware.
Safe mode on R-FON translates into the application of security policies set by the employer. In practice, this means limiting access to broad online services while permitting access to official, organization-approved applications and services.
According to Karpitsky, this feature ranks among the most critical elements of R-FON because it enables a rapid shift from a restricted, work-focused smartphone environment to a broader civilian mode. In civilian mode, users can access a wider set of apps and services that are appropriate for personal use, aligning with the needs of employees who may require flexibility in their day.
The landscape of corporate mobile devices often includes devices that come with either severely limited factory functionality or rely on virtual work environments, such as virtual desktop solutions, to access corporate networks. This approach can introduce inconveniences and security risks, since there is no local, on-device access to the organization’s infrastructure. R-FON aims to address these gaps by maintaining local capabilities while enforcing enterprise controls.
R-FON is a Russia-based smartphone built on Rosa Mobile, launched on December 18, 2023. The device features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with FullHD+ resolution, a MediaTek Helio G99 processor, and 8 GB of RAM.
Earlier remarks by Karpitsky on socialbites.ca referenced the extent of R-FON adoption, noting growing numbers of users and highlighting the early traction of the device in the market.