PinePhone

The PinePhone is a smartphone, developed by computer manufacturer Pine64, intended for allowing the user to have full control over the device. Measures to ensure this are running mainline Linux based mobile operating systems, assembling the phone with screws, so that it can be easily disassembled for repairs and upgrades[5], and including six kill switches / security switches for its hardware, which are accessible by removing the back cover of the phone.[6]

PinePhone
A Pinephone running postmarketOS
BrandPine64
Dimensions160.5mm x 76.6mm x 9.2mm[1]
Mass185g[2]
Operating systemPlasma Mobile, Ubuntu Touch, PostmarketOS, Sailfish OS, any Linux-on-a-phone system, any Linux system
CPUAllwinner A64 ARM Quad core Cortex-A53, 64bit @ max1.2GHz
GPUMali-400 MP2[3]
ModemQuectel, integrated
Memory2 or 3 GB LPDDR3[3]
Storage16 or 32GB eMMC flash memory [3]
Removable storagebootable microSD[3]
Battery3000mAh, Samsung J7 form-factor, user-replaceable (est. cost $10 US)[4]
Data inputssensors:

Other

  • Power
  • up/down buttons
  • LTE/GNSS, WiFi, Microphone, Speaker, Cameras kill switches[4]
Display720×1440 5.95″ IPS LCD[3]
Rear cameraSingle OV6540, 5MP, 1/4″, LED Flash
Front cameraSingle GC2035, 2MP, f/2.8, 1/5″
ConnectivityWi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, single-band, hotspot capable, Bluetooth 4, A2DP, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C USB 2.0 PD/Displayport

Distribution History

Pine64 began taking orders for the so-called "BraveHeart" gamma version of the PinePhone on November 15, 2019,[7][8] which was intended for early adopters and software developers, providing only a test firmware so the end user could test their phone before installing their own operating system of interest. In January 2020, Pine64 shipped thousands of BraveHeart phones to early adopters.[3]

In April 2020, the first community edition of the PinePhone began taking orders and shipped in May 2020.[9] This edition featured Ubuntu Touch as the pre-installed OS. For each sale of the "Community Edition" versions of the phone, as well as those of custom back covers, the community OS project selected by the buyer will receive a $10 donation.[10]

The second PinePhone PostmarketOS Community Edition was announced in June 2020 and is available as a basic model or the enhanced "Convergence Edition" with 3GB of RAM, 32GB Flash and a USB-C Dock for $50 more (US$199.99).[11] [12]

Features and comparison to other Linux-based phones
Main board; DIP cut-off switches center right, black-and-white

The PinePhone is often compared to other phones shipping with a non-Android Linux distributions, especially the Librem 5, which released around the same time, and the WiFi-VoIP phone Necuno, which does not employ a cellular modem.

Pine64 notably promises 5 years of production in contrast with most smartphone manufacturers who typically produce for 1 to 3 years,[13] and do not guarantee their production lifespan upon release. A long production life and sharing a common A64 platform with the PineTab tablet and Pine A64 boards is meant to encourage tinkerers to create mods and DIY projects based on the PinePhone.

Hardware

Compared to the Librem 5, the PinePhone has a 20% slower CPU clock speed, a third less RAM, half the Flash memory storage, and a smaller but faster-charging battery. Both phones have batteries that can be easily removed without tools.[14]

The PinePhone and Librem 5 use separate cellular baseband and WiFi/Bluetooth chips and hardware kill switches which results in larger printed circuit boards (PCBs) and less energy efficiency compared to the standard Android phone that uses an integrated System on a Chip, such as the Snapdragon, Helio or Exynos. The PinePhone is thinner at 9.2 mm than the Librem 5 which is 15.5 mm thick, because the PinePhone solders its communication chips to the PCB whereas the Librem 5 places the cellular baseband and WiFi/Bluetooth on two removable M.2 cards. In addition, Librem 5 adds an extra internal plastic cover over the PCB and the DIP kill switches under the back cover in the PinePhone require less space than the kill switches on the side edge of the Librem 5.[1][15][16]

Pine64 is the second phone maker (after OpenMoko) to offer booting from a microSD card, which allows users to try out multiple operating systems, before installing in the internal Flash memory.

Another distinctive feature of the PinePhone is the 6 pogo pin I2C connector under the back cover, which can be used for adding mods to the phone.[17] Pine64 has reported that it is developing 3 mods, which include a physical keyboard,[18] a 5000 mAh battery and wireless charging.[19]

The PinePhone has 6 DIP switches under the back cover, the first five of which switch off the following components:

  • Cellular modem/GNSS
  • WiFi/Bluetooth
  • Microphone
  • Rear camera
  • Front camera

The sixth DIP switch will convert the 3.5 mm headphone jack into a UART serial port,[20] which is the first time this kind of switch has been included in a mobile phone.

Operating systems

The PinePhone relies completely on community-driven, open-source operating systems.[21] Because these community OS projects were involved in the development of the PinePhone, it has been ported to 16 different Linux distros and 7 different graphical user interfaces, as of June 2020,[22] such as Ubuntu Touch by UBports, postmarketOS, Mobian, LuneOS, Nemo Mobile and Maemo Leste, etc. Because no software development costs are incurred by Pine64, the PinePhone's selling price (US$149.99 for the basic model[23]) is lower compared to other Linux phones, notably the Librem 5 (US$749.99[24]), which comes with its own manufacturer-supported, open-source (mainly GPL-licensed) operating system, PureOS.

The only proprietary software in the PinePhone's Linux file system are the firmware for the Realtek RTL8723CS WiFi/Bluetooth and optional auto-focus firmware for the OmniVision OV6540 back camera (which none of the ports currently preinstall). Although the PinePhone is designed to use fully open source software in its drivers and bootloader, it is near impossible to find components, such as the cellular modem, GNSS, WiFi and Bluetooth, that do not contain proprietary blobs. For this reason, the PinePhone isolates these components by communicating over serial protocols, such as USB 2.0, I2S and SDIO, which do not allow direct memory access (DMA), and offers power separation switches for them. This way the blobs are still needed for operation of these radios, but they are isolated or even physically removed from the independent main system.[25]

Reception

On August 13, AndroidPolice reviewed the first Community edition, and beside the title "The Linux-based PinePhone is the most interesting smartphone I've tried in years" it touted the amount of available distros, and the idea behind communities being provided with the means of developing their OS. [26]

In January 2020, ZDNet called the PinePhone hardware "promising" and noted six hardware kill switches for the modem, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, microphone and cameras.[27]

In December 2019, Martins D. Okoi of FossMint said that the first edition of the PinePhone is aimed at Linux-savvy users who would like to test beta operating system builds, but the version for general users should be available in March 2020.[28]

In November 2019, Phillip Prado of Android Authority said that the PinePhone had the potential to "expand our imaginations into what mobile computing could look like," but he was not expecting it to replace everyone's Android device.[29] Linux Magazine explained the different operating systems, and the support from the community.[30]

Ars Technica talked about the unusual external ports of the phone, offering I2C, GPIO and serial.[3]

See also

References
  1. "The $149 Linux Phone: Everything You Need to Know". OMG! Ubuntu!. 8 November 2019.
  2. Aufranc, Jean-Luc (16 July 2020). "Pinephone "Community Edition: PostmarketOS" Launched with 3GB RAM, 32GB Flash, USB-C Hub". CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.
  3. Amadeo, Ron (2020-01-16). "The PinePhone starts shipping—a Linux-powered smartphone for $150". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  4. "PINEPHONE". PINE64.
  5. "September Update: The PinePhone is real & shipping soon". PINE64. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  6. T., Raffaele (2 September 2019). "Librem 5 vs. PinePhone: comparison of two Linux smartphones". TuxPhones.
  7. "PinePhone Linux smartphone pre-orders start next week". SlashGear. 7 November 2019.
  8. "November Update: Brave Heart, Pinebook Pro reception and more". Pine64.
  9. "PINEPHONE – "Community Edition: UBports" Limited Edition Linux SmartPhone $149.99". Pine64.
  10. "Its time to start giving back". Pine64.
  11. "June Update: postmarketOS CE PinePhone, Shipping & PINE64 Cluster". Pine64.
  12. "PinePhone – PINE Store". Pine64. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  13. "Proving our case: Fairphone 2 is sold out!". Fairphone. 22 March 2019.
  14. amosbatto (2019-08-25). "Comparing specs of upcoming Linux phones". Purism forum.
  15. Amadeo, Ron (2019-09-26). "Purism's Librem 5 phone starts shipping—a fully open GNU/Linux phone". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  16. "Librem 5 Update: Fresh Dogwood Pictures". Purism. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  17. "PinePhone". pine64.org wiki. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  18. "December Update: Thank You For 2019!". PINE64. 5 December 2019.
  19. "May Update: PineTab pre-orders, PinePhone Qi charging & more!". PINE64. 15 May 2020.
  20. "PinePhone". pine64.org wiki. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  21. Aufranc, Jean-Luc (16 November 2019). "PinePhone "BraveHeart" Limited Edition Linux Smartphone is Now Available for $150". CNX Software - Embedded Systems News.
  22. "PinePhone Software Releases". pine64.org wiki. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  23. "PinePhone – PINE Store". Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  24. "Librem 5 – Purism". Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  25. Erecinski, Lukasz (26 January 2020). "Setting the Record Straight: PinePhone Misconceptions". pine64.org official Pine64 homepage.
  26. "The Linux-based PinePhone is the most interesting smartphone I've tried in years". AndroidPolice. 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  27. Leprince-Ringuet, Daphne. "This Linux smartphone is now shipping for $150". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  28. Okoi, Martins D. (2019-12-19). "PinePhone - An Open Source Smart Phone for Everyone". Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  29. Prado, Phillip (2019-11-28). "PinePhone: Everything you need to know about the $150 Linux-powered phone". Android Authority. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  30. Wallen, Jack. "The PinePhone Pre-Order has Arrived » Linux Magazine". Linux Magazine.
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