My loyal (and crazy) family gave me the PinePhone for my birthday, which was three months ago now.
A smartphone that runs flawless Linux - very good!
I've been testing the PinePhone for the last three months and I have to say that I've never changed a blog post as often as this one.
Before I get to the PinePhone, a few words about my current setup when it comes to my beloved smartphone.
My current setup
Current model: Apple iPhone X / 64GB
Most used apps:
APPS
Of course, there are also functions such as alarm clocks, calls, and system-internal features.
THE PINEPHONE
Now to the Pinephone.
The PinePhone is an open source smartphone, which means that all components are completely open source.
The PinePhone is also compatible with all currently available mobile Linux distros.
HARDWARE
The PinePhone's hardware is more in line with the lower middle class compared to current smartphones.
Here are the specs:
SPECS
Since the PinePhone places additional value on privacy, hardware switches are installed on the back.
These can be used to switch off LTE/GPS, WiFi, microphone, speakers and camera on the hardware side.
The A64 quad-core processor and 3GB RAM are in principle completely sufficient for a smartphone and for Linux at least.
For larger computing tasks, a laptop or computer has to be used anyway.
The display is almost identical to the iPhone X in direct comparison and is even a little larger due to the lack of a notch at the top. The resolution is not as good as the OLED display, but it is still completely sufficient and you get used to everything.
32GB eMMC storage is only half of the iPhone, but the majority of the iPhone's storage is taken up by photos. These will be outsourced in the future anyway and no longer stored on the smartphone.
Another reason why photos should not be on the PinePhone is the camera.
The camera in the PinePhone is rather mediocre to say the least and is for hobbyists and not for everyday use. It takes passable photos - but nothing more.
Here you should follow the KISS principle, use the PinePhone for phone things and a camera for taking photos. That's how I'll handle it.
SOFTWARE
The PinePhone is available in different versions.
It started with the "Braveheart", which comes completely without an OS.
After that there were the community editions. These were either Manjaro, Mobian and KDE Plasma Mobile. These came with cool "branding" on the back of the phone.
I can call the Manjaro version my own.
The news came out in the last few days that future PinePhones will be delivered with Manjaro and Plasma Mobile as standard.
Despite the branding, any other OS can be installed on the community editions.
If you would like to test all available operating systems, we recommend the multiboot image from
xnux.eu.
Here you have the option of testing 17 different distros.
I have never taken so long to decide on a distro as I did with the PinePhone.
Of course I would like to have the same OS on my smartphone as on my computer, but NixOS is still a lot of tinkering for the Pinephone and since my iPhone is slow When I say "goodbye", I need something that is suitable as an everyday device.
Manjaro, Arch, postmarketOS are OK but not stable enough for me and they drain a lot of battery.
I don't like SailfishOS. SXMO as a WM is cool because it is based on DWM, but if I need about 30 seconds to answer a call, then it is not suitable for everyday use.
I would not have thought of what I am saying now. I have chosen Ubuntu. Ubuntu Touch to be precise
It has been 15 years since I last used Ubuntu.
Unfortunately, the community edition does not come with Ubuntu Touch. So you have to flash it yourself.
To do this, you need an SD card and the image from
Jumpdrive.
The image is flashed onto the SD card (
FLASH SD CARD)
When everything is on the SD card, it goes into the PinePhone. The PinePhone boots from the SD card by default if it is present.
If everything has worked, you will see a screen on the PinePhone telling you that the PinePhone is ready to be flashed.
The PinePhone is now connected to the computer via a USB cable and appears there as a device.
It is handled the same as with a standard desktop Linux distro including a terminal.
DAILY USE
But now let's move away from theory and onto suitability for daily use.
The PinePhone sits comfortably and securely in the hand and the three buttons are easy to reach. So switch it on.
Booting up to the PIN entry takes ~15 seconds.
The 10 seconds are great and much faster than with the iPhone.
Ubuntu Touch guides you through the initial setup in a beginner-friendly way as usual.
The PinePhone can then be used straight away.
The Ubuntu Touch interface is modern and intuitive to use and is based on Unity.
The initial calculations of the PinePhone, as with other operating systems, are not necessary here. The phone is ready for use straight away and responds without latency or loading times.
Let's move on to the apps.
APPS
1. Castro - Podcatcher
Podcasts? Very important! Unfortunately, Castro is only available for iOS. No problem, because there is "Podbird" for Ubuntu Touch.
Clear UI and easy to use. Queues, downloads, subscriptions and the Apple Podcasts connection, everything you need.
Importing from other podcatchers would be great, but it is not necessary.
2. Apple Mail
Dekko 2 is the answer here. Modern UI - easy to use. Perfect.
3. Comet
For Reddit I use "uReadIt", a Reddit client that looks great and runs quickly.
4. Signal - Messagingi
There is the Signal client "Axolotl", but I haven't been able to get it to work yet.
Unfortunately, Signal is the main communication channel. So something has to be done here!
5. Element
For Element or Matrix there is the app "FluffyChat". It looks modern and is easy to use. If you know where to configure the Matrix server, it works really well right away.
6. Tweetbot
As expected, there is no official Twitter app here either, but of course there is a web app. For me, "Tweet Mobile" works best for now.
7. Discourse Hub - Discourse Forums
Unfortunately there are no alternatives here. The only option here is access via web browser or computer.
8. Discord - Discord Client
Is done via web app and that's fine because I don't need it that often.
9. Firefox - Web browser
Firefox is not available in the OpenStore. Ubuntu Touch comes with a virtual environment called Libertine. Libertine also allows you to use Firefox.
Works quite well so far.
10. Paypal - Payment
There is a web app for Paypal that provides access to Paypal. I don't need it often - so it's completely sufficient.
11. Ebay & Ebay classifieds
Also managed via web app and since eBay is not a priority, it's completely OK.
12. Corona Warn App
Well, the CWA has the highest priority but of course there is no Ubuntu client here.
As long as the iPhone still works, it will probably have to stay that way.
13. Github
The WebApp client for Github is unfortunately not working at the moment. But that doesn't matter - I don't necessarily need Github on my smartphone.
14. Reeder
For RSS feeds I can recommend "uRsses". It looks chic and modern and runs stably.
15. Slack
Slack is not used often, so it doesn't matter that the only Slack app is not working. It's a shame but there's nothing you can do.
16. Threema
Unfortunately there is no replacement or web app or similar for Threema. I hope something happens in the future.
17. Telegram - Messaging
There is the app "TELEports" which is linked to the Telegram API and works excellently including push notifications.
CONCLUSION
There are apps or web apps for almost everything important. The Ubuntu Touch Store is constantly growing and updates are available almost daily.
And when this pandemic is under control at some point and the CWA is no longer needed, the iPhone can be completely removed.
The battery life with Ubuntu Touch is easily enough for the day - it charges at night anyway.
Calls are of acceptable quality and have worked without interruptions so far, as has the mobile data connection.
I will now continue to test the PinePhone in daily life and will add to the article here if anything else comes up.
The final conclusion is: The PinePhone with Ubuntu Touch works well in everyday life (at least for me).
You should take your time setting up the PinePhone. If you want to use your contacts etc. If you don't want to synchronize via Google, you'll have to do some manual work.
All in all, a great smartphone that runs Linux and is definitely suitable for everyday use.