Comparison of open-source mobile phones

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The scope for this page is that used for list of open-source mobile phones.

Mobiles currently in production[edit]

Model Hardware kill switches Modular smartphone System-on-a-chip (Soc) Baseband cellular modem Wi-Fi firmware Boot firmware Other proprietary firmware Hardware licensing Obsolescence slowdown Modifiability Security Certifications Other
PinePhone Pro 5 (or 4, amalgamating cameras?): Modem & GNSS, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, microphone, rear camera, front camera, audio jack[1] (DIP switches inside back cover[2][3][better source needed]). No kill switch for other sensors. Hexacore. 2016 Rockchip RK3399S and 2× A72 and 4× A53 CPU cores @ 1.5 GHz[1] Quectel EG25-G.[1] Ships with proprietary firmware for regulatory compliance[4] (isolated from CPU with a USB bus[2][5]). More secure, better-featured free replacement exists.[4] proprietary Wi-Fi/Bluetooth firmware,[5] in /lib/firmware.[6] Efforts to replace it are in beta, but may never be legal to ship,[citation needed] same as original PinePhone.[1] open-source boot software,[2] same as original PinePhone.[1] ? User-replaceable[7] Samsung J7 form-factor 3000mAh battery. Phillips-head screws.[1] I2C pogo pins, back mods can be added (all compatible with original PinePhone). USB 3.0. Bootable from a microSD card. Good parts availability.[6][1] GPS and modem on same kill switch; neither can be used while the other is airgapped.[1] entire phone can be disassembled. Headphone jack. Convergence (will run as a desktop if monitor and keyboard plugged in).[1]
Librem 5[8] 3: Cameras and the microphone, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and baseband processor. All three also shut off sensors (GPS, compass, accelerometer etc.).[2] The Wi-Fi+Bluetooth card,[9] and the Modem[10] are on M.2 slots. 2017 NXP arm64[2][11][12] On replaceable m.2 card. Proprietary firmware isolated from CPU with a USB bus (like a USB Wi-Fi dongle)[2] Originally, proprietary firmware isolated over USB, no downloadable/modifiable firmware;[13] subsequently, Purism paid Redpine Signals to create open-source Wi-Fi/Bluetooth firmware for the RedPine hardware.[6][14] proprietary DRAM init code loaded on separate CPU[2] for RYF cert compliance[15][16] none in /lib/firmware; some non-modifiable proprietary firmware in components.[6] schematics released under GPL 3.0+[6] User-replaceable (but custom-sized[6]) battery, lifetime updates[17] Display and frame fused. Phillips-head screws.[6] Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on replaceable m.2 cards (the former custom-made).[6] m.2 card slots. Purism has traditionally had more time-limited parts availability.[6] slot for an OpenPGP card, planned Librem key support[6] Tentatively recommended by Free Software Foundation (FSF).[18]

Operating system PureOS is endorsed by FSF.[19][20]

Seeking FSF "Respects Your Freedom" endorsement.[21][22]

Convergence; will run as desktop.[17] Headphone jack. Carrier-free OTT service available.[23]
PinePhone[24] 5: Modem & GNSS, Wi-Fi & Bluetooth, microphone, rear camera, front camera, audio jack[25] (DIP switches inside back cover[2]). No kill switch for other sensors.[6] 2015 Allwinner arm64 (Allwinner violates the GPL)[2] Quectel EG25-G. Ships with proprietary firmware isolated from CPU with a USB bus.[2][5] More secure, better-featured free replacement exists, but can't ship due to regulatory threats.[4] proprietary Wi-Fi/Bluetooth firmware,[5] in /lib/firmware.[6] Efforts to replace it are in beta, but may never be legal to ship,[citation needed] same as original PinePhone.[1] open-source boot software[2] proprietary schematics published[6] User-replaceable battery, 5-year production run. Phillips-head screws.[6] I2C pogo pins, back mods can be added. Cannot be upgraded beyond USB 2.0. Bootable from a microSD card. Good parts availability.[6] GPS and modem on same kill switch; neither can be used while the other is airgapped.[6] entire phone can be disassembled. Headphone jack. Convergence.[26][27]

Mobiles expected to be in production[edit]

Model Expected release date Hardware kill switches Modular smartphone System-on-a-chip (Soc) Baseband cellular modem Wi-Fi firmware Boot firmware Other proprietary firmware Hardware licensing Obsolescence slowdown Modifiability Security Certifications Other
DragonBox Pyra Mobile Edition Unclear, possibly defunct None The PCB is separated in three parts: CPU board (CPU, RAM and storage), mainboard (ports, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) and the display board. schematics will be available to users[28][clarification needed]
Necunos NC 1 Unclear, possibly defunct None 2011 NXP i.MX 6 Quad and 4x Cortex-A9 MP, 32-bit[6] None[6] Proprietary blob for wi-fi driver (for regulatory reasons)[29] Blob without access to the main memory;[30] via SDIO[6] probably binary blobs on separate ROM, given cert aspirations[6] binary-blob proprietary firmware will not have memory access[6] strong focus; most sensors omitted for security. Seeking FSF endorsement.[30] 100 Mbit/s ethernet port[6]

Mobiles no longer in production[edit]

Model Hardware kill switches System-on-a-chip (Soc) Baseband cellular modem Wi-Fi firmware Boot firmware Other proprietary firmware Hardware licensing Obsolescence Modifiability Security Certifications Other
Meizu PRO 5 Ubuntu Edition None
Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition None
BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition None MediaTek Quad Core Cortex A7 1.3 GHz [31]
BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition None
NEO1973
Neo FreeRunner

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "PinePhone Pro". PINE64.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Braam, Martijn (20 December 2019). "Yet Another Librem 5 and PinePhone comparison". TuxPhones.
  3. ^ "October Update: Introducing the PinePhone Pro". PINE64. 15 October 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Picugins, Arsenijs (16 December 2021). "PinePhone Malware Surprises Users, Raises Questions". Hackaday. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Erecinski, Lukasz (25 January 2020). "Setting the Record Straight: PinePhone Misconceptions". PINE64.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Batto, Amos (20 August 2021). "Comparing specs of upcoming Linux phones". Purism community. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  7. ^ Sneddon, Joey (22 October 2021) [15 October 2021]. "New PinePhone Pro Announced with 6-Core CPU". OMG! Ubuntu!.
  8. ^ "Hardware Reference". Librem Hardware Reference wiki page.
  9. ^ "Librem 5 Phone – Birch". Wiki page about the Birch version of the Librem 5, on Puri.SM hardware reference wiki.
  10. ^ "Will the phone support 5G networks?". FAQ entry about 5G support.
  11. ^ "Intel's Management Engine". Purism.
  12. ^ Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Computer vendors start disabling Intel Management Engine". ZDNet.
  13. ^ Faerber, Nicole (4 September 2018). "Progress update from the Librem 5 hardware department". Purism.
  14. ^ Faeber, Nicole (27 May 2019). "Librem 5 - WiFi Specs". Purism community.
  15. ^ Ainslie, Angus (19 June 2018). "Solving the first FSF RYF hurdle for the Librem 5". Purism.
  16. ^ Larabel, Michael. "Purism's Librem 5 To Rely On Secondary Processor For Binary Blobs - Phoronix". www.phoronix.com.
  17. ^ a b Amadeo, Ron (26 September 2019). "Purism's Librem 5 phone starts shipping—a fully open GNU/Linux phone". Ars Technica.
  18. ^ "Ethical Tech | Giving Guide". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  19. ^ Robertson, Donald (2017-12-21). "FSF adds PureOS to list of endorsed GNU/Linux distributions". www.fsf.org. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  20. ^ "Free GNU/Linux distributions". GNU.
  21. ^ Ainslie, Angus (2018-06-19). "Solving the first FSF RYF hurdle for the Librem 5". Purism. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  22. ^ Foster, Jeremiah C. (2019-09-19). "Librem 5 — Promise Delivery Chart". Purism community. Retrieved 2020-07-07.
  23. ^ "Librem AweSIM". Purism. 7 October 2020.
  24. ^ "PinePhone board information, schematics and certifications". PinePhone board information, schematics and certifications section on the Pinephone wiki page on Pine64 wiki.
  25. ^ Leprince-Ringuet, Daphne. "This Linux smartphone is now shipping for $150". ZDNet. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  26. ^ "Pine64 July Update: Biggest Update In Months!". New Convergence Package Announce. 15 July 2020.
  27. ^ "PinePhone Manjaro Community Edition". New PinePhone flavour announce with Convergence Package option. 31 August 2020.
  28. ^ "The Pyra". Official Pyra and Pandora Site.
  29. ^ "Long awaited NC_1 update". Necuno Solutions. 24 January 2020.
  30. ^ a b Batto, Amos (20 August 2021). "Comparing specs of upcoming Linux phones". Purism community.
  31. ^ "BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition Caracteristicas". BQ (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2016-03-31.
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