The PinePhone is an inexpensive smartphone from Pine64 designed as an affordable device capable of running free and open source operating systems including postmarketOS, UBports Ubuntu Touch, Sailfish, Mobian, and Manjaro. With a starting price of $150, it helped jump start the mobile Linux space as soon as the first units started shipping in 2019, although the hardware went through a few revisions before it became more widely available.
In 2021, Pine64 introduced a new PinePhone Pro for folks looking for a more powerful mobile Linux device. With a faster processor, more RAM, better cameras, and improved WiFi 5 and Bluetooth capabilities, the PinePhone Pro is a big step up… but with a $399 price tag, it’s also a more expensive phone. The PinePhone Pro began shipping to developers in late 2021 and it should be generally available starting in early 2022.
While it has entry-level hardware, it also has some features that are uncommon on modern smartphones, including a removable battery (which can be replaced with any Samsung J7 form factor battery) and hardware kill switches that can disable the mic, cameras, or wireless features of the phone when you need more privacy.
Aimed at developers and early adopters, the PinePhone is not generally available year-round, but Pine64 makes limited quantities available in batches several times per. You can find more details in the spec table blow, or check out Pine64’s PinePhone website and Wiki.
| PinePhone Pro | PinePhone | |
| Display | 6 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD Gorilla Glass 4 | 5.95 inch 1440 x 720 pixel IPS LCD |
| SoC | Rockchip RK3399S 2 x ARM Cortex-A72 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.5 GHz | Allwinner A64 4 x ARM Cortex-A53 @ 1.2 GHz |
| GPU | ARM Mali-T760 4-cores @ 500 MHz | ARM Mali-400MP2 |
| RAM | 4GB LPDDR4 @ 800 MHz | 2GB or 3GB LPDDR3 |
| Storage | 128GB eMMC | 16GB or 32GB eMMC |
| Camera (rear) | 13MP Sony IMX258 LED flash | 5MP Omnivision OV5640 LED flash |
| Camera (front) | 8MP Omnivision OV8858 | 2MP GC2035 |
| Modem | Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS | Quectel EG25-G with global GSM and CDMA 4G LTE GPS, A-GPS, GLONAS |
| WiFi | Ampak AP6255 WiFi 5 | WiFi 4 |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.1 | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| I/O | USB 3.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader | USB 2.0 Type-C (power, data, video) pogo pins 3.5mm headphone microSD card reader |
| Sensors | Accelerometer Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light | Accelerator Gyroscope Proximity Compass Ambient Light Barometer |
| Buttons | Power Volume up/down | Power Volume up/down |
| Hardware kill switches | Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones | Cameras Microphone WiFi & BT LTE modem Headphones |
| Battery | 3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor | 3,000 mAh Samsung J7 form-factor |
| Charging | 5V/3A (15W) | 5V/3A (15W) |
| Dimensions | 160.8 x 76.6 x 11.1mm | 160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm |
| Weight | 215 grams | 180 – 200 grams |
| Price | $399 | $149 / $199 |
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