Librem 5

Librem 5 is a smartphone manufactured by Purism, SPC. The phone is designed with the goal of using free software whenever possible.

Librem 5
BrandPurism
Operating systemPureOS
CPUNXP® i.MX 8M Quad core Cortex A53, 64bit ARM @max 1.5GHz (auxiliary Cortex M4)
GPUVivante GC7000Lite
ModemBaseband Gemalto PLS8 / Broadmobi BM818,
Memory3 GB LPDDR4-3200
Storage32 GB eMMC flash memory
Removable storagemicroSD (2TB max)
Battery3500mAh, user-replaceable
Data inputssensors:

Other

  • Power
  • Volume buttons
  • Wi-Fi, Cellular, Microphone/Camera kill switches
Display720×1440 144mm (5.7″) IPS TFT
Rear camera13 MP LED flash
Front camera8 MP
SoundWolfson Media WM8962 DAC
ConnectivityWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz), Bluetooth 4, TESEO LIV3 multiconstellation GNSS receiver, 3.5mm headphone jack/microphone jack, USB-C USB 3.0 PD/Displayport, 2FF Smartcard reader
Otherhaptic motor, notification LED with pulse-width modulation control of RGB colour

History

In 2017, Purism started a crowdfunding campaign for Librem 5,[1] a smartphone aimed not only to run purely on the free software provided in PureOS, but to "[focus] on security by design and privacy protection by default". Purism claimed that the phone would become "the world's first ever IP-native mobile handset, using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication"[2]. Purism cooperated with KDE and GNOME in its development of Librem 5. Ubuntu Touch was also planned as an option.[3]

Purism announced on 4 September 2018 that the launch date of Librem 5 would be April 2019[4], later than initially planned, because of two hardware bugs and the Europe/North America holiday season. The two "silicon bugs" in components provided by NXP Semiconductors caused extreme battery draining, discharging the phone in about an hour. Development kits for software developers were planned for release in October 2018, mostly unaffected by the bug, since developers would normally connect the device to a power outlet rather than rely on the phone battery. Finally, the launch date had been postponed to the third quarter because of the necessity of further CPU tests.[5]

Specifications and pre-orders, for $649, to increase to $699, were announced in July 2019.[6] On September 24, 2019, Purism announced that the first batch of Librem 5 phones had started shipping.[7][8] A video of an early phone was produced,[9] and a shipping and status update was released soon after.[10][11] However, the first batch, called Librem 5 Aspen, was shipped only to employees and developers. On November 22, 2019, it was reported that the second batch, called Birch, would consist of around 100 phones and would be in the hands of backers by the first week of December.[12] In December 2019, Jim Salter of Ars Technica reported "prototype" devices were being received; however, they were not really a "phone" yet. There was no audio when attempting to place a phone call, and cameras didn't work yet.[13] Matthew Humphries of PC Mag reported American-made versions of the $699 Chinese-made devices would be sold for $1,999 for extra supply chain security.[14]

Hardware
An initial rendering of the Librem 5 phone

The Librem 5 features an i.MX 8M Quad Core processor, with an integrated GPU which supports OpenGL 3.0, Vulkan, and OpenCL 1.2 with the default drivers[15], however since the used driver is the open source etnaviv driver, it at present only supports OpenGL ES 1.1 and 2.0. [16] It has 3GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, a 13MP rear camera, and an 8MP front camera. The left of the phone features three hardware kill switches, each of which cuts power to the camera and microphone, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modem, and the baseband modem (which contains the GPS[17]). The device uses a USB-C connector to charge its 3500mAh lithium battery. There are two M.2 slots present, which support replaceable modem cards. The 144mm (5.7") display has a resolution of 1440×720. A 3.5mm headphone jack and MicroSD slots are present.[8]

Mobile security

The hardware features three hardware kill switches which physically cut off power from both cameras and the microphone, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and baseband processor, respectively. Further precautionary measures can be used with Lockdown Mode that in addition to powering off the cameras, microphone, WiFi, Bluetooth and cellular baseband also cut power to GNSS, IMU, ambient light and proximity sensor.[18] However there is no hardware kill switch for the internal and external speaker (eg headphones), speakers are vulnerable to acoustic cryptanalysis.[19][20]

Librem 5 is the first phone with a hardware kill switch for the baseband processor. This is possible due to the fact that the baseband processor is not integrated in the CPU like in conventional smartphones, instead it is integrated in a replaceable M.2 card.

Software
Mobile/desktop convergence: the Librem 5 mobile, when connected to a keyboard, screen, and mouse, runs as a desktop computer.

The Librem 5 ships with Purism's PureOS, a Debian GNU/Linux derivative, and users can switch between mobile versions of the GNOME and KDE Plasma Mobile desktop environments. The phone is a convergence device:[21][22] if connected to a keyboard, monitor, and mouse, it can run Linux applications as a desktop computer would. Many desktop Linux applications can run on the phone as well, albeit possibly without a touch-friendly UI.[8]

Purism claims the "Librem 5 will be the first ever Matrix-powered smartphone, natively using end-to-end encrypted decentralised communication in its dialer and messaging app".[23][24]

Phosh,[25] the GNOME mobile shell, developed by Purism and GNOME (2018-05)

The operating system uses a GTK-compliant user interface called Phosh.[26]

Purism was unable to find an open-source cellular modem, so the phone uses a modem with proprietary hardware, but isolates it from the rest of the components rather than having it integrated with the system-on-a-chip. This prevents code on the modem from being able to read or modify data going to and from the system-on-a-chip.[8][27]

See also

References
  1. Claburn, Thomas (21 Oct 2017). "Wanna exorcise Intel's secretive hidden CPU from your hardware? Meet Purism's laptops". www.theregister.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  2. "Librem 5 – Purism". Purism. The Librem 5 phone will be the world’s first ever IP-native mobile handset, using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication over the Internet.
  3. Vaughan-Nichols, Steven (2018-04-24). "Ubuntu Touch lives on in Purism's Librem 5 smartphone". ZDNet. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  4. Tung, Liam (2018-09-05). "Linux phone battery bug: Purism's Librem 5 delayed until April 2019". ZDNet. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  5. Weaver, Todd (2019-02-21). "Massive Progress, Exact CPU Selected & Minor Shipping Adjustment". Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  6. "Linux Smartphone Librem 5 is Available for Preorder - It's FOSS". It's Foss. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  7. "First Librem 5 Smartphones are Shipping". Purism. 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  8. Amadeo, Ron (2019-09-26). "Purism's Librem 5 phone starts shipping—a fully open GNU/Linux phone". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  9. "Purism Shows Off The Librem 5 Linux Smartphone In Action - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  10. "Purism Provides Update On Librem 5 Shipping, Known Issues - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  11. Medley, Sam. "Hands-on video of the Librem 5 Linux phone shows improvements, but there is a lot of work left to do". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  12. Salter, Jim (2019-11-22). "The Librem 5 has been "shipping" for a month—but not to backers". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  13. Salter, Jim (2019-12-02). "Librem 5 backers have begun receiving their Linux phones". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  14. Humphries, Matthew (December 6, 2019). "American-Made Librem 5 Phone Costs $1,999". PCMAG. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  15. "Purism Confirm Final Specs for the Librem 5".
  16. "Etnaviv Gallium3D Is Almost To OpenGL 2.0 Compliance".
  17. "Purism Librem5 modem revealed, will provide LTE and GPS support". TuxPhones. 2 April 2019.
  18. Social, Kyle RankinChief Security OfficerPGP ID: 0xB9EF770D6EFE360FFingerprint: 0DFE 2A03 7FEF B6BF C56F73C5 B9EF 770D 6EFE 360FLibrem (11 March 2019). "Lockdown Mode on the Librem 5: Beyond Hardware Kill Switches". Purism.
  19. Sputnik (2018-03-14). "New Hacking Technique Can Steal Info Through PC Speakers and Headphones". sputniknews.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  20. Mathews, Lee (2018-08-31). "Now Hackers Can Spy On You By Listening To Your Screen". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  21. Jose, Manuel. "Purism: A Linux OS is talking Convergence again".
  22. Larabel, Michael. "Purism's PureOS Proclaims Convergence Success For Mobile & Desktop Support - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com.
  23. "Librem 5". Purism. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  24. "The Librem 5 from Purism: A Matrix Native Smartphone. | Matrix.org". Matrix.org blog.
  25. "Librem 5 design report #5". Purism (company). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  26. "Phosh". developer.puri.sm.
  27. Faerber, Nicole (4 September 2018). "Progress update from the Librem 5 hardware department". Purism.
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