Getting a pinephone ?
Posted by AKArein@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 36 comments
Hl there, as my phone gets older and closer to forfeiting it's phone duties, i'm thinking what to do then, and the pinephone strikes me for, well, extensibility, running linux, privacy switches and all that jazz, i'd want to get it (the OG) + the keyboard attachment
I('d) use my phone for
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music (downloaded) and video streaming/podcasts (sometimes a lot)
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internet browser
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writing code (probzbly with a terminal or light gui
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ssh
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messages and calls once in a while
I'm a bit scared the keyboard would be too small, but i do have pretty/very small hands
Alternatively, whzt other device could you reccomend that could suit me ?
Thankss for the help :)
bubblegumpuma@reddit
I would look at PostmarketOS' supported devices as an alternative for a pinephone. Do note, 'supported' often does not mean that it 'works', it means that it boots, but the individual wiki pages have a little chart which says what works and doesn't.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
I would suggest the FuriPhone instead.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci5zMCP2r2k&feature=youtu.be
Diarrhetos@reddit
They are completely unusable. They were unusable when they were relatively ok hardware and now they're unusable aged hardware. You will spend countless hours getting it to remotely resemble a functional android and things will still not work. Cool proof of concept but the market is simply not there.
Otherwise-Listen-780@reddit
just get a android
ReallyEvilRob@reddit
My Pinephone was a nice little toy to tinker with, but not a device I would ever daily drive. Very buggy and laggy for basic phone functions.
mitchMurdra@reddit
Lol. Go grab an Android and root it. Don't grab this garbage.
RealConfusedPsyduck@reddit
it feels like everytime I open this sub this question is being asked and the answer is ALWAYS the same. I really wish people would look up their problems before posting about it.
leonderbaertige_II@reddit
Get an xperia 10 and Sailfish or a fairphone/pixel/... and ubuntu touch.
Farshief@reddit
As much as I want a Linux phone I haven't found any that have convinced me to daily drive one yet. The closest I've found was the FuriLabs FLX1
ficskala@reddit
Samsung galaxy S series, connect a monitor and a keyboard, and you can use it as a desktop using dex (don't get the A series though, those don't ship with dex, and you can't use it on them
AKArein@reddit (OP)
Hm, Thing is, connecting a monitor and a keyboard is, well, too big and too much material, i'd want to be able to take and use it anywhere you see ?
ficskala@reddit
I mean, you can still use it the same way without a monitor and a keyboard, it's just that when you do have a monitor and a keyboard around, you can alao use it this way
Maybe the galaxy ultra would be more interesting, it has a much larger screen, i wouldn't recommend their foldable phone because they're still too fragile
Average_Emo202@reddit
Yeah don't get the foldables! I fix phones as a side hustle and the foldables are a pain, replacement screens are expensive (300+). It's just planned obsolescence.
ficskala@reddit
I wouldn't agree, they're trying out a new thing, it's normal for new tech to be more delicate, once they figure out how to make it work well, they can focus on making it more robust
Average_Emo202@reddit
So people are paying companies to alpha/beta test their phones ?
Farshief@reddit
Yeah it's been that way forever. Early Android was ass compared to what exists now. Same for Apple
Little-Equinox@reddit
You can also connect a 15" touch screen to a Samsung with Dex support.
AKArein@reddit (OP)
Thanks, but what i want is a small screen on my small device, yk ?
Little-Equinox@reddit
Well, in my own experience there are 10" touch displays that work, but smaller than that and Dex will become hard to work with, smallest I ever worked with was 6", and that actually is a pain because you'll miss click because of the small display.
rileyrgham@reddit
Then don't carry a big monitor with you... Take a fold up mini.... Or use a remote one.
Rezient@reddit
Get a pixel.
I have a pine phone (standard). It is now a museum piece for myself.
Was not a fan of the music applications. They were buggy and slow.
It has 2 GB ram, not enough to do many things. Most applications installed by default were so slow, I had to replace them with terminal based applications. I remember web browsing kinda sucked, because speed and site compatibility (I had to turn on desktop mode for most sites)
It's ARM based, so not all software on a desktop is available, it's more akin to a poorly supported RPi.
calls were ok, but users reported that some texts or calls are not received entirely. I actually asked pine64 in an email if this device could be used for emergencies, they HIGHLY recommended not to. It's not reliable like that
This is a plaything, and a proof of concept device at best. If you want it, you want it, but it's not going to even be your favorite toy, compared to a pixel or rpi
Human_Exkrement@reddit
Don't get a PPP, you'll be disappointed.
If you're looking for privacy and security buy a pixel 8 and put graphene os on it
witchhunter0@reddit
You might consider PinephonePro instead Pinephone since it have better specs regarding video stream and general use. It can do all the things you've mentioned and has dedicated keyboard as accessories, just check first it's availability in the store. Keyboard has seen improvements, but I'm not sure you can use USB port with anything else when it is attached (I don't own one myself).
The best about keyboard is it provides more battery resource which is the main problem with Linux arm phones. My battery bank served me surprisingly well for that matter.
There is a little annoyance on PPP with audio volume level after waking from sleep, but I don't know if it has been resolved by some latest patches.
I wouldn't recommend it as a primary phone, but it seems to suit your needs. Anyway do some more research.
rozniak@reddit
The keyboard is absolutely terrible unfortunately, I have it and it just stays in its box nowadays. Never had the battery work from it, most keys you have to press a lot harder for them to work, and it's an absolute bastard to pry the phone back out.
I'm still annoyed my PinePhone is chipped in one corner from trying to get the keyboard case off.
witchhunter0@reddit
Thanks for the insight, but I have read several other, not so exclusive comments. Perhaps it depends on expectations, although I never understood why they go for solution that requires to remove back case just to use the keyboard. Couldn't they just connect it via USB? I've used some non-branded 10in1 USB hub to connect external keyboard and it worked out of box. Well it's mainline Linux after all, or I've been just lucky.
AKArein@reddit (OP)
Well the appeal is to have the keyboard there with the phone, that's part of the reason i'm considiering the pinephone+keyboard
But well, opinions seem so mixed, i mighvt as well considier trying to get it all working on the smallest laptop i can find
rozniak@reddit
I imagine there's a reason they opted for the pogo pins on the back of the phone - the other cases connect the same way, and I have no trouble with them. It's only the keyboard case I find that has issues, and is extremely rigid (the other back cases flex somewhat that make it easier to remove them without damaging the phone).
Axolotl_Architect@reddit
You can run Linux in many different phones. Look into it, but I think the Google Pixel 3a is 100%-ish compatible with Ubuntu touch and might have better specs than the pinephone. You can also probably use whatever phone-distro you want, like phosh or mobian.
Cellopost@reddit
I tried Mobian on a pixel 3a a year or two ago. I couldn't get it to connect to at&t. The SIM settings app didn't have the settings needed to make it work.
Everything else worked, though posh was slow AF.
mrlinkwii@reddit
your better off getting a normal android phone
BarePotato@reddit
Getting a pinephone is going to be like replacing your aging device, with a different aging device. They were neat for the idea early on, I guess, but they are mostly ass, IMHO. Get a good phone, a tablet, or a laptop.
daemonpenguin@reddit
The battery only lasts an hour or two and you won't be able to browse the web with the original PinePhone. It is not meant to be used as a daily device, it is a development platform.
The PinePhone is like a Raspberry Pi. A cool device for testing, not something you do daily tasks on.
cloggedsink941@reddit
I have a pinephone, not pro.
Calls sms and mobile internet work, but power management is really poor. So it gets very hot and the battery drains really fast.
I think that's the main issue preventing from using it regularly.
I used mine as my regular phone for a few months, but I had to carry a powerbank often.
For me the main problem was that it has no dual sim. But I think that is not a problem for people who don't have 2 numbers from 2 different countries active.
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