PinePhone

The PinePhone is a smartphone developed by Pine64, which also creates different single-board computers and laptops. It is a fully hackable smartphone, running a range of mainline Linux based mobile operating systems. Many components are screwed rather than soldered in place, such that the phone can be easily disassembled.[4] The phone has a total of six hardware kill switches / security switches, which are accessible by removing the back cover of the phone.[5]

PinePhone
A Pinephone running postmarketOS
BrandPine64
Dimensions160.5mm x 76.6mm x 9.2mm[1]
Mass180 to 200 g[1]
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[2]
ModemBaseband, integrated
Memory2 GB LPDDR3[2]
Storage16GB eMMC flash memory [2]
Removable storagebootable microSD[2]
Battery3000mAh, Samsung J7 form-factor, user-replaceable (est. cost $10 US)[3]
Data inputssensors:

Other

  • Power
  • up/down buttons
  • LTE/GNSS, WiFi, Microphone, Speaker, Cameras kill switches[3]
Display720×1440 5.95″ IPS LCD[2]
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

Pine64 began taking orders for the so-called "BraveHeart" gamma version of the PinePhone on November 15, 2019,[6][7] which is intended for early adopters and software developers, providing only a test firmware so the end user can test their phone before installing their own operating system of interest. In January 2020, Pine64 shipped thousands of BraveHeart phones to early adopters.[2]

On the company's website, as of April 2020, the first community edition of the PinePhone is taking orders and planned to ship in May 2020.[8] This edition features Ubuntu Touch as the pre-installed OS. More editions will be produced, each with a different OS and art on the device hardware. Per sold device the partner project developing the software for that edition will be donated $10 by the company.[9]

Comparison
Main board; DIP cut-off switches center right, black-and-white

Costing $150, the PinePhone is often compared to the $749/$799 Librem 5 (or $1999 for the USA built version), and the €1,199 security-focused WiFi-VoIP phone Necuno that does not employ a cellular modem. 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.[10]

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][11][12]

The Librem 5 comes with its own manufacturer-supported, open-source (mainly GPL-licensed) operating system, PureOS, while the PinePhone has broader support from more community-driven, open-source operating systems.[13]

Software Freedom and Security

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.[14]

Innovations and notable features

The PinePhone is the first mobile phone that outsources all of its software to multiple community OS projects, such as Ubuntu Touch by UBports, postmarketOS, LuneOS, Nemo Mobile and Maemo Leste, etc. This strategy has reduced PINE64's development costs and lowers the PinePhone's selling price, compared to other Linux phones. PINE64 will sell "Community Edition" versions of its phone and custom back covers where the community OS project selected by the buyer will receive a $10 donation for every sale. Because 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,[15] which is more than any other phone. 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.

A 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.[16] PinePhone has reported that it is developing 3 mods, which include a physical keyboard,[17] a 5000 mAh battery and wireless charging.[18]

The PinePhone is the first smartphone whose manufacturer promises 5 years of production. In contrast, most smartphone manufacturers only promise to produce for 1 or 2 years, and even devices, such as the iPhone 4 and Fairphone 2 which were produced for over 3 years,[19] did 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 encourage tinkerers to create mods and DIY projects based on the PinePhone.

The PinePhone will have 6 DIP switches under the back cover to switch off the 1. cellular modem/GNSS, 2. WiFi/Bluetooth, 3. Microphone, 4. Rear camera and 5. Front camera. The sixth DIP switch will the convert the 3.5mm headphone jack into a UART serial port,[20] which is the first time this kind of switch has been included in a mobile phone.

Reception

In November 2019, Phillip Prado of the 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.[21] Linux Magazine explained about the different operating systems, and the support from the community.[22]

In December 2019, Martins D. Okoi of the FossMint said that the first edition of the PinePhone is aimed at Linux-savvy users who will like to test beta operating system builds, but the version for general users should be available in March 2020.[23]

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.[24] Ars Technica talked about the unusual external ports of the phone, offering I2C, GPIO and serial.[2]

See also

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