A New Kind of Smartphone
Despite the widespread presence of Android in the market, most of the services and applications on that operating system are proprietary, a detail that also extends to hardware. The folks at Purism have been offering tablets and laptops with a much more pronounced open source profile for some time, but now they have decided to move into the mobile space by presenting the Librem 5. This smartphone promises a clean and private Linux environment, switches to disable components, and greater security.
The Problem with Today's Mobile Ecosystem
The smartphone is a strong example of the combination of technology and convenience, but beyond its success, great sacrifices have been made. The flexibility of the mobile environment manifests almost exclusively through apps; however, operating systems and the devices themselves leave much to be desired. Manufacturers are slow to publish updates (or offer none directly), impede repair of their products, and encourage planned obsolescence, not to mention the constant data collection. Several companies have tried to launch more open and private alternatives, but the process is far from simple. The new Purism Librem 5 is proof of that.
Librem 5: Features and Specifications
To begin, here is what its makers plan: a smartphone with a five-inch screen, an i.MX 6 or i.MX 8 SoC with a Vivante GPU, 3 GB of LPDDR3 memory, 32 GB of internal storage, two cameras, a microSD slot, a 3.5 mm connector, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a USB Type-C port, and the classic sensor group. So far it looks like any other smartphone, but there is more: the Librem 5 will include switches to disable camera, microphone, connectivity, and baseband (which, by the way, is separate from the processor), and it will use a special Linux distribution called PureOS, although it is possible to install others. PureOS guarantees that calls and messages between Librem 5 units are completely secure through the intervention of the decentralized Matrix network, but it will also support traditional calls.
Funding and Price
Now, why did I say the process is not simple? In short, Purism needs one and a half million dollars to create the Librem 5. If it does not reach that goal in 60 days, it will make corresponding refunds, and it is very likely that the project will be cancelled. The price of the Librem 5 does not exactly help: 599 dollars. Does the combo “open source-private-anonymous” really worth that amount? Each user will have to answer that for themselves.
