PinePhone “Community Edition: UBports” Linux Phone Launched with Ubuntu Touch

PinePhone “BraveHeat” Limited Edition Linux smartphone launched last November as promised for $149.99. As the codename implied, it was for the enthusiasts as the phones that were part of that product batch may have had some defects, and came without an operating system, meaning the users had to flash the firmware themselves.

But there’s now a new edition, namely PinePhone “Community Edition: UBports” pre-loaded with UBports with Ubuntu Touch featuring Lomiri user interface.

The specifications are exactly the same with an Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB eMMC flash, a 5.95″ display with 1440×720 resolution, and 4G LTE cellular connectivity.

The only difference is that Ubuntu Touch is preloaded to the device, and the back of the phone should have a marking showing you purchased UBports Edition. What should be noted is that it’s still not considered as a consumer device, as UBports is still beta, and the phone is primarily aimed at UBports community members who can provide feedback to UBports developers.

More specifically, while the Ubuntu Touch image will be functional with support for outgoing and incoming voice calls, SMS texts and LTE, GPS location and GPU hardware acceleration, some features including camera support and USB Host need more work, and battery life still needs to be optimized. You’ll find a complete list of what works and what doesn’t on Gitlab.

There’s also the same warning about the LCD display as with the BraveHeart edition::

• Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect.
• When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the PinePhone at this price as a community service to PINE64, Linux and BSD communities. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the PinePhone. Thank you.

If you’d like to go ahead, you can pre-order PinePhone Community Edtion: UBports on Pine64 store for $149.99 plus shipping. Shipping is expected to take place in late May 2020.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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