Pinephone “Community Edition: PostmarketOS” Launched with 3GB RAM, 32GB Flash, USB-C Hub

After PinePhone “BraveHeart Edition” with any OS pre-installed introduced at the end of last year, Pine64 launched  PinePhone “Community Edition: UBports” with Ubuntu Touch last April, and now the company is taking pre-orders for Pinephone “Community Edition: PostmarketOS with Convergence Package”.

Besides using a different operating system, the new PinePhone also got a hardware upgrade with 3GB RAM and 32GB flash instead of the 2GB/16GB configuration from earlier models. Due to the changes and the addition of a USB-C dock for convergence, the price has also gone up from $149.99 to $199.99 with shipping scheduled to start at the end of August. If you don’t need the extra memory, storage, and convergence package, you can still pre-order PinePhone with postmarketOS for $149.99.

PinePhone  “Community Edition: PostmarketOS with Convergence Package” specifications:

• SoC – Allwinner A64 quad-core Cortex-A53 processor @ up to 1.2 GHz with Arm Mali-400MP2 GPU
• System Memory – 3GB LPDDR3 SDRAM
• Storage – 32GB eMMC flash,  MicroSD Card (SDHC/SDXC) up to 2TB
• Display – 5.95″ IPS capacitive touchscreen with 1440×720 resolution
• Audio – Mono loudspeaker, 3.5mm stereo audio jack with mic support
• Cameras
  • 5MP rear camera with 1/4″ sensor, LED Flash
  • 2MP front-facing camera with f/2.8, 1/5″ sensor
• Connectivity
  • Cellular
    • Micro-SIM socket
    • Worldwide, Global LTE bands
      • LTE-FDD: B1/ B2/ B3/ B4/ B5/ B7/ B8/ B12/ B13/ B18/ B19/ B20/ B25/ B26/ B28
      • LTE-TDD: B38/ B39/ B40/ B41
      • WCDMA: B1/ B2/ B4/ B5/ B6/ B8/ B19
      • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
  • Single-band Wi-Fi 4 802.11 b/g/n with hotspot support
  • Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DPprofile
  • GNSS – GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
• USB – USB Type-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode support
• Sensors – Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, ambient light, magnetometer(compass)
• Misc – Vibrator; 4x privacy switches: LTE (includes GPS), Wifi/BT, Mic, and Camera
• Battery – Removable 2750-3000 mAh Li-Po battery; fast charging via USB-C using USB PD
• Dimensions – 160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm (plastic enclosure)
• Weight – 185 grams

The phone will ship with a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a USB-C docking bar providing 2x USB Type-A host ports, HDMI video port, and a 10/100Mbps Ethernet port. That’s the latter, and supporting software, that enables “convergence”, meaning you can also use your phone as a computer by connecting it to a larger display, USB mouse and keyboard, and wired network.

If you own an earlier version of PinePhone and would like to try it out the instructions are available on the Wiki. Using HDMI output from a USB-C dock will be challenging however, as you’d need to modify the PCB since Rev 1.1 and 1.2 version have an issue with the USB-C circuitry. Also remember you’ll have less memory than this limited edition, so you don’t expect too much in the way of multi-tasking.

More details about the new phone and other updates can be found in the latest Pine64 blog post.

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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