Linux Phones

PinePhone (at least v1) is no longer maintained in Mobian due to changes in tech.

The original PinePhone is still maintained. I don't know for how long, though.

The device is a SBC Single Board Computer meaning the modem is soldered on the same silicon as the CPU, RAM, Storage, etc…

I'm not sure what you mean, since PinePhone's and Librem 5's modem is not integrated into the SoC. It's a separate chip connected through USB.

Librem 5 is better in some areas worse in others. The modem is a m.2. This allows the Mainboard to cut power to the modem as desired. The modem can’t be entirely turned off in other phones and as they are on the same SBC

PinePhone also has a killswitch to power off the modem. I think the only difference between them is that Librem 5's modem is removable and PinePhone's modem is soldered onto the board.

there is speculation secret commands could be used for data extraction or to activate spyware in cellphones as was recently discovered with Android and iOS. Separating the m.2 isolates the abilities of the modem module as a “firewall” being the closest comparison.

Android phones have some modem isolation too, but I don't know much about it.

PPP is supposedly more battery intensive but manufactured in Hong Kong, which has been absorbed into China. For this reason the tech world is not as fond of their PPP as their initial PP before China absorbed them. Considering the last 4 years people are no longer “fond”.

I haven't heard of that, but I'm pretty sure Librem 5 is manufactured in China too, just like most phones.

Something newer than PP or L5 is needed. Something that can do basic tasks without binary blobs wrecking The FOSS Dream.

Binary blobs are fine as long as they are not present in the operating system or executed by the main CPU. At least that's the Free Software Foundation's opinion until we can do something about it. This is where Librem 5 does better than PinePhone.

Framework is a little big but if you see what modders have done it is a good candidate.

It has a x86 CPU, so it probably requires proprietary BIOS. I assume you will also need to install proprietary firmware in your OS to get working WiFi. So I don't know if it's an improvement over GNU/Linux phones. It's probably not very energy efficient either.

Having the ability to add mics with physical kill switches and cameras with kill switches or being omitted entirely in my opinion would be optimal.

PinePhone and Librem 5 have killswitches for the cameras and the microphone.

Moving out of the Cellular space away from Phone numbers and to Element, or SIP or VOIP just makes sense for communications. It “cuts the cord” of the ATT / Bell monopoly that has plagued humans for decades.

Phone calls are not end-to-end encrypted, so they suck. But to use Matrix you will need to use the internet. So you still need a modem probably. If not, you can just disable it with a killswitch.

Eventually we will see “phones” move away from cellular to satellite. This may be the jump we need to break free of all this blob nonsense cock blocking Linux.

I think the main problem is lack of SoCs that have good mainline Linux kernel support. Removing the modem won't solve it and you will still need proprietary firmware for WiFi and Bluetooth, which sucks.

There isn’t a optimal answer just yet, like do I build a phone out of a RPI5? when RPI5 and ARMs in general have blobs.

Yeah, it has the same problem.

A winner hasn’t really been declared, hell a Steam Deck could even be modded (x86 too) to run off the shelf Linux tech and the OS could be on MicroSD and the modem could theoretically be in the m.2 slot. Purism does sell the modems for $50 on their store.

Oh, that's interesting. It probably still has blobs, though. And if you want to use WiFi, it probably requires proprietary firmware installed in your OS.

Librem 5 is probably the best in terms of software freedom. I think it doesn't require any proprietary firmware in the operating system, because it was moved to separate chips. But I think binary blobs are still executed during boot, which is why they didn't manage to get the RYF certificate from the FSF.