Yes it is no high-end flagship phone but it has some unique features for today’s world such as a battery that can actually be replaced and is not glued in, it has hardware kill switches to physically disable the microphone, Wi-Fi, cellular, camera and speaker. It has a physical headphone jack and will be able to run different OSs.
So like a Linux desktop you’re not going to be locked into a provider nor will your phone be full of bloatware or spyware.
On the downside it is pretty mediocre in terms of performance, battery capacity, and camera resolution. But we need to see actual reviews first as you cannot just judge by numbers alone. The other question some will ask is what sort of Google support there will be – the answer is likely the phone is not aimed at that type of user, and the type of user to buy this phone will likely have other ways around that challenge.
I’m really keen to see reviews of this phone after March 2020 when it is expected to launch.
There is a short video that can be seen at https://www.fossmint.com/pinephone-an-open-source-smartphone-for-linux/ which explains the latest changes to the design.
#linux #pinephone #opensource
#^PinePhone – An Open Source Smart Phone for Everyone
The PinePhone is a Quad-Core ARM Cortex A53 64-bit SOC-powered open-source smartphone capable of running any Linux and BSD Mobile operating system – especially Linux.