Librem 5 Smartphone Specs Firmed Up, But Now Delayed To Q3

[Jaxad0127]

On the video they've posted on the blog - performance of this phone seems really bad. Is it doing some software rendering or what? I was running some QtQuick applications on i.MX6, which is less powerful, and it was running smoothly, for sure much better than what they show on the video.

The video from the blog looks to be their WIP GTK-based stuff, so not QtQuick. They have said that a KDE-based GUI and apps will be available as well; those are more mature than the GNome side offerings ATM (most of which Purism seems to be writing themselves).

[edwaleni]

The choice of the PLS8 for LTE module pretty much means I won't be buying one since none of the variants of it support band 12, something that has been standard on phones since 2016 and which is critical for use on T-Mobile US. In contrast the team at PINE64 seemed receptive to using an LTE module with band 12 and band 71 support (something that's still very recent) in the PinePhone when I inquired about it with them on their forum. Between that and the price difference I think I know which of these two products I will be supporting (which is too bad because I do genuinely want to show support for libre hardware).

T-mobile's special requirement that says any device operating on T-Mo's band 12 frequency must support VoLTE and be certified for E911 on that band. In the US, pretty much all the devices that do not meet the criteria simply "disable"/"drop" band 12 period. Given that it's an LTE band that isn't very common worldwide, it's no big deal for other carriers.

.....there are very real costs and complexities associated with obtaining that certification, and it must be done on a device-by-device basis. Many phone OEMs, then, may simply choose to remove band 12 support from their unlocked smartphones sold in America.

https://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...ill-confusing/

Pine may have been "receptive" to using Band 12. Wait until they try to get their device certified for Band 12 use. Since TMo is the only one using such a scheme and they aren't AT&T or Verizon....just saying.

[nomadewolf]

I remember Jolla doing the same thing with unclear specs. It was announced with a "HD" display, so while everyone was secretly hoping for FullHD we were pretty sure it was going to be 720p. It then came out with 540p and they claimed qHD was still HD...

HD is 720p
FullHD is 1080p

If you read HD and still hope for FullHD it's your own fault...
That said, 720p in a smartphone screen is good enough.
There are laptops with 15.6" screens being sold with 1366p screens...

[caligula]

That said, 720p in a smartphone screen is good enough.
There are laptops with 15.6" screens being sold with 1366p screens...

Yes but many phone users expect 4k these days on a 6" display. They're even pushing 8k. Soon all the mobile SoCs will decode 60 fps 8k h265 video. People also expect their 50 Mega pixel cameras to record such videos.

[Mateus Felipe]

Still a overpriced low-end hardware. I would like to be able to purchase something so expensive, but if I was able I would actually buy a high-end instead.

[M@yeulC]

HD is 720p
FullHD is 1080p

If you read HD and still hope for FullHD it's your own fault...
That said, 720p in a smartphone screen is good enough.
There are laptops with 15.6" screens being sold with 1366p screens...

I concur; and it's also better for battery life. I've never got the pixel race for phone screens, it's just so weird and full of nonsense. Well, on the upside, VR was able to piggy-back on those advances.

[Mr.Radar]

T-mobile's special requirement that says any device operating on T-Mo's band 12 frequency must support VoLTE and be certified for E911 on that band. In the US, pretty much all the devices that do not meet the criteria simply "disable"/"drop" band 12 period. Given that it's an LTE band that isn't very common worldwide, it's no big deal for other carriers.

.....there are very real costs and complexities associated with obtaining that certification, and it must be done on a device-by-device basis. Many phone OEMs, then, may simply choose to remove band 12 support from their unlocked smartphones sold in America.

https://www.androidpolice.com/2015/0...ill-confusing/

Pine may have been "receptive" to using Band 12. Wait until they try to get their device certified for Band 12 use. Since TMo is the only one using such a scheme and they aren't AT&T or Verizon....just saying.

The modules they are looking at (the Quectel EC25-A and EC25-AF) implement VoLTE on the module itself as part of the GSM audio interface so it shouldn't require any special software on the device side. Earlier LTE band 12 devices may not have had the necessary firmware support for VoLTE.

EDIT: Additionally, Verizon is shutting down their 2G and 3G networks at the end of the year and AT&T will shut down their 3G network by the end of 2021 (having already shut down their 2G network) so any phone that does not support VoLTE will soon be near useless for voice calls in the US in the near future. (T-Mobile US hasn't specified a date for shutting down 2G and 3G on their network but I don't think they'll keep them around much longer than AT&T and Verizon, especially since large parts of their network only have service on LTE bands 12 or 71 with no 2G or 3G fallback.)

[sverris]

Still a overpriced low-end hardware. I would like to be able to purchase something so expensive, but if I was able I would actually buy a high-end instead.

Lower quantities > higher price. Nothing you can do about it. From that perspective, it is not overpriced.

[grok]

I am pretty sure we expect 1440x720, though right now they're saying a size 5.5" to 5.7" and just "HD".

Perhaps they're aiming for the 5.7" 1440x720 display, but were it unavailable or something they'd go for a 5.5" one, either 1280x720 or 1440x720.

Regarding the lag : it's not huge. Looks like CPU or GPU running at minimum speed, or less efficient debug executables for everything concerned (driver, compositor). Or what not.
I remember a previous time, someone complained about an ugly font.

[chupasaurus]

I am pretty sure we expect 1440x720, though right now they're saying a size 5.5" to 5.7" and just "HD".

Perhaps they're aiming for the 5.7" 1440x720 display, but were it unavailable or something they'd go for a 5.5" one, either 1280x720 or 1440x720.

Regarding the lag : it's not huge. Looks like CPU or GPU running at minimum speed, or less efficient debug executables for everything concerned (driver, compositor). Or what not.
I remember a previous time, someone complained about an ugly font.

It would be 1440x720 as design team had clearly stated that the display would have 2:1 ratio. The size is a matter of wherever they could fit everything on 5.5''-sized board.
The lag is from Gnome/GTK, which is anything but mature for mobiles as of yet. I don't care since I'd use Plasma Mobile anyway (:

Disclaimer: backer