Comparison of open-source mobile phones

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

Mobiles currently in production
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]). 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, 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, 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
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]
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
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

References
  1. "PinePhone Pro". PINE64.
  2. 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. Picugins, Arsenijs (16 December 2021). "PinePhone Malware Surprises Users, Raises Questions". Hackaday. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  5. Erecinski, Lukasz (25 January 2020). "Setting the Record Straight: PinePhone Misconceptions". PINE64.
  6. 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. 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. 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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