I recently put in a pre-order for a Librem 5 (like a month or so ago) based off the fact that their previous batches were shipping. I realized it might be 6 months to a year, but I recently have been really frustrated with my mobile experience and want out of the Android/iProduct ecosystems. My attempt to source an old Nexus 5X to run KDE Plasma off of eBay ended in a canceled order.
I am totally prepared to support a phone that runs Linux and would rather spend time writing my own apps to fill in the gaps of my needs for either PureOS or Plasma. I had seen Purism 5 development boards on my mastodon/fediverse feeds, so I was confident they were out in the wild (Purism does have an official fediverse server; although they were given flack for some of their code modifications).
PostmarketOS has done some amazing work, but it's still a long way from being able to run open operating systems practically on mobile devices. I don't even really care about the binary blob firmware honestly as long as I had a reasonable level of introspection on the rest of the operating system.
This post makes me really sad and wonder if I should have backed this project, or tried to keep sourcing old Nexus 5Xs or wait for the PinePhone. I hate how shitty of a (non)-platform ARM is, which makes it so difficult to just port Linux to it. Microsoft at least had mandated ARM+UEFI. There are people who have gotten past their bootloader locks, but there are still no FOSS drivers for any of the hardware. If Microsoft actually gave a shit about open source, they'd release kits for getting Linux working on their old mobile devices instead of letting them end up in landfills. I've done a full post on this before: https://battlepenguin.com/tech/android-fragmentation/
I know Purism has hit a lot of controversy before. I'm not all that mad that they can't make totally open hardware ... that is just plain difficult only any x86 hardware today because of all the stuff Intel/AMD will simply not let go of. But it is sad if they're being dishonest about their progress or outright lying to people. Most of their customers are engineers and people close to the software field; people who understand the unrealistic expectations of marketing and management--people who put up with enough bullshit as it is.
I am totally prepared to support a phone that runs Linux and would rather spend time writing my own apps to fill in the gaps of my needs for either PureOS or Plasma. I had seen Purism 5 development boards on my mastodon/fediverse feeds, so I was confident they were out in the wild (Purism does have an official fediverse server; although they were given flack for some of their code modifications).
PostmarketOS has done some amazing work, but it's still a long way from being able to run open operating systems practically on mobile devices. I don't even really care about the binary blob firmware honestly as long as I had a reasonable level of introspection on the rest of the operating system.
This post makes me really sad and wonder if I should have backed this project, or tried to keep sourcing old Nexus 5Xs or wait for the PinePhone. I hate how shitty of a (non)-platform ARM is, which makes it so difficult to just port Linux to it. Microsoft at least had mandated ARM+UEFI. There are people who have gotten past their bootloader locks, but there are still no FOSS drivers for any of the hardware. If Microsoft actually gave a shit about open source, they'd release kits for getting Linux working on their old mobile devices instead of letting them end up in landfills. I've done a full post on this before: https://battlepenguin.com/tech/android-fragmentation/
I know Purism has hit a lot of controversy before. I'm not all that mad that they can't make totally open hardware ... that is just plain difficult only any x86 hardware today because of all the stuff Intel/AMD will simply not let go of. But it is sad if they're being dishonest about their progress or outright lying to people. Most of their customers are engineers and people close to the software field; people who understand the unrealistic expectations of marketing and management--people who put up with enough bullshit as it is.