The next version of the PinePhone to ship will be the PinePhone Mobian Community Edition. It goes up for pre-order from the Pine64 Store January 18.

Update: Its available for preorder now from the Pine64 Store.

It’ll sell for $150 and up and the phone will ship with the Debian-based Mobian operating system pre-installed.

The PinePhone is designed to be an inexpensive, hackable smartphone with support for a range of different operating systems, and previous Community Edition models have shipped with Ubuntu Touch, postmarketOS, and Manjaro operating systems pre-installed… although users are free to change the operating system.

Mobian is a GNU/Linux distribution that was founded last year to port the Debian operating system to run on mobile devices like the PinePhone.

The Mobian build that will ship with the PinePhone Mobian Community Edition uses a mainline Linux kernel with some patches to ensure support for the phone’s hardware and the Phosh user interface.

Like most mobile Linux projects, Mobian is still very much a work in progress. But it already supports all of the PinePhone’s key hardware including 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, cameras, and USB. You can use it to make phone calls, surf the web, install and run applications, and it supports deep sleep.

As with the past few Community Edition PinePhone models, the Mobian version will be available in two configurations:

  • 2GB RAM/16GB eMMC storage for $149
  • 3GB RAM/32GB eMMC storage + USB-C dock for $199

The USB-C dock gives you HDMI, Ethernet, and two USB-A ports, making it possible to connect the phone to an external display, mouse, keyboard or other accessories to run mobile or desktop apps on a larger screen and use your phone like a desktop computer.

PinePhonePinePhone Convergence Package
Display5.95 inch
1440 x 720 pixel
IPS LCD		5.95 inch
1440 x 720 pixel
IPS LCD
ProcessorAllwinner A64
4 x ARM Cortex-A53 Cores @ 1.2 GHz
Mali-400 MP2 graphics		Allwinner A64
4 x ARM Cortex-A53
Mali-400 MP2 graphics
RAM2GB LPDDR33GB LPDDR3
Storage16GB eMMC
microSD (up to 2TB)		32GB eMMC
microSD (up to 2TB)
WirelessWiFi 4
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
4G LTE (Quectel E-25G)		WiFi 4
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS
4G LTE (Quectel E-25G)
PortsUSB-C
3.5mm audio		USB-C
3.5mm audio
Cameras5MP rear
2MP front		5MP rear
2MP front
Battery3,000 mAh (removable)3,000 mAh (removable)
Charging5V/3A5V/3A
Sensors Accelerator
Gyroscope
Proximity
Compass
Ambient Light
Barometer		Accelerator
Gyroscope
Proximity
Compass
Ambient Light
Barometer
ButtonsPower
Volume		Power
Volume
Hardware kill switchesModem
WiFi/Bluetooth
Microphone
Rear camera
Front camera
Headphone		Modem
WiFi/Bluetooth
Microphone
Rear camera
Front camera
Headphone
Dimensions160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm160.5 x 76.6 x 9.2mm
Weight180 – 200 grams180 – 200 grams
Included accessoriesN/AUSB-C dock
Price$149$199

via Mobian and Pine64

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4 replies on “PinePhone Mobian Community Edition is available for preorder”

  1. I keep thinking about buying one of these, but honestly my old OnePlus3 is still a better phone than any of the open source offerings I’ve seen.
    Maybe in a couple years someone will bring out a Linux phone with slightly better hardware?

  2. I’m looking forward to this! I’d love to get away from some of the overreaching tech companies and enjoy working with Linux systems.

  3. Brad…Thanks for the heads up on the Pinephone pre-order. I was going to order the KDE community version, but I’d rather have this one. Plus the KDE version is now sold out…smile.

    I have to tell you…I didn’t realize this site existed until today. I’ve made sure to put it in my bookmarks…

    My two interests in tech(at the moment) are linux smartphones and fanless mini pc’s. So…this site is right up my alley.

    While I do have some background in linux(I’ve been around just as long as Linus). I’ve never owned one of these Pinephones and I can’t afford the Librem phone, so this is my first adventure into purchasing a linux phone.

    I’m actually looking forward to going down this path…

    Best Regards,

    Steven B.

    1. Yep, after covering Linux phones from time to time for Liliputing, I noticed that the pace of development seemed to be picking up, and I wanted to take a closer look, so last fall I purchased a postmarketOS Community Edition and I’ve been flashing different distros on an SD card ever since. I’m not ready to move from Android full time just yet, but it’s been fun watching Linux phones get more and more usable with every software release.

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