Interesting specs. Looks like it's based on the RK3588S. In terms of CPU grunt that's a fairly good upgrade over the RK3399S used in the Pinephone Pro, ~3x more performance in single core according to Passmark[1].
For the GPU in the RK3588, there is a Mali-G610 MP4, which at least on paper looks pretty promising. Notebookcheck shows it only -35% of the Apple A14 Bionic[2]. For comparison, the Mali-T860 MP2 in the RK3399S used by the Pinephone Pro seems rather anemic by today's standards[3].
The other specs also look fairly good. 32 GiB of modular(!) RAM, two decent resolution camera sensors, a fingerprint sensor, a decently large battery, a modern modem...
It stands to reason that if they really do manage to get mainline Linux working well on this, while it won't be cutting edge by smartphone standards, it really ought to be one of the first mainline Linux phones where the performance is actually decent.
I'm cautiously optimistic. Looking at the postmarketOS compatibility list, few phones on the market have good modem support and fewer have working camera (literally no device has managed to get a "Y" in camera!) which makes me wonder if the fairly modern Qualcomm modem and fairly decent looking camera sensors they chose can really actually work under mainline Linux and a fairly stock userland. If it does, then damn. We're possibly entering peak "viable Linux phone" territory here.
I've been looking at Linux phone options for a while now. This one is crowd funded, so I'm waiting to see if it actually materializes.
Some things that buyers might want to consider:
Supply Chain Security - Do you trust the manufacturer? What about their suppliers? What about their government? Pretty much every government in the world has mandated access to mobile phone activities, so choose which government you want to have this access. Spain is part of the EU, so you get the bonus of both their national government, and the EU having full access to your private communications under their rules for doing so.
Maken · 1h ago
I trust much more anything and anybody EU-based to protect my privacy than those based in almost any other country. For starters, in Spain communications' privacy is an explicit constitutional right. And at the EU level, while there is no explicit constitution, all the countries are bound by the ECHR and its court on this matter. It's not perfect but it's way better than countries that either have no privacy laws or explicitly request companies to allow unlimited government access to their users' data.
unwind · 3h ago
Very cool, didn't know about this!
Their website [1] has lots of more details of course, as well as pictures (or renders, not sure) of the planned products.
I was bordering on being interested, since it would be cool to feel that the phone is fun/interesting again, but then I realized that in real life I'm way too tied to various proprietary (Android, in my case) apps since pretty much everything that could be a web site has been made into an app. :|
Went back to check since I had a thought, and they do state that they will include a "jailed Android OS" which I guess helps, but that also kinda removes the free/open/clean feeling associated with having a Linux-based phone. Hm. I guess I'm just complaining, at this point. Sorry. :)
If this is going to be Linux phone, then a good use case would be to use it on desktop mode with an external monitor. They mention this on their website but they are planning on doing it with a convuluted wireless device?
Why not simply usb C with displayport alt mode?
I could just stick a dongle in there and connect all my peripherals. It's not new technology, that's what I do with my 3 year old phone.
ranguna · 3h ago
Taken directly from the interview:
> Does one (or both) of the USB-C ports support DisplayPort Alt Mode, so that I can plug into a display without carrying accessories?
>
> Yes, at least one of the ports will provide direct DisplayPort output, allowing you to use the Nexx as a desktop without additional docks.
So indeed, it's going to have displayport!
I'm guessing their wireless dock is optional.
namedthing0 · 3h ago
This is the only way to escape the suffocating stranglehold of big american tech.It is high time for tech made for users, instead of tech for stockholders with no morals at all.
a2128 · 2h ago
I've backed a different EU alt-hardware project before and it's always more tricky to make a product than it seems.
The other project already had finalized most of the design (which took years of work prior to crowdfunding), had multiple assembled prototypes, and were promising shipping in 6 months. It turned out to take 2 to 3 years between all the component delays, negotiating with manufacturers, getting production lines set up, hardware certification, fixing design flaws, yelling at manufacturers for doing something wrong. Some of these delays probably could've been avoidable but there truly seemed to be surprises every step of the way.
These people seem to have not much more than a dev board that talks to a PC, and are promising to go from that to shipping fully assembled phones in 1 year. It would truly be amazing to see but I really don't think that's a realistic amount of time
nairboon · 2h ago
Which project was this?
rajaravivarma_r · 39m ago
Not the author of parent comment, but from the description it looks like it is Jolla Tablet, which was crowdfunded and the delivery got delayed. After an year or so, some of the funders go the tablet. While, some of us got half a refund.
soco · 3h ago
For me it's all in the camera specs and results. I can't wait to hear about that!
For the GPU in the RK3588, there is a Mali-G610 MP4, which at least on paper looks pretty promising. Notebookcheck shows it only -35% of the Apple A14 Bionic[2]. For comparison, the Mali-T860 MP2 in the RK3399S used by the Pinephone Pro seems rather anemic by today's standards[3].
The other specs also look fairly good. 32 GiB of modular(!) RAM, two decent resolution camera sensors, a fingerprint sensor, a decently large battery, a modern modem...
It stands to reason that if they really do manage to get mainline Linux working well on this, while it won't be cutting edge by smartphone standards, it really ought to be one of the first mainline Linux phones where the performance is actually decent.
I'm cautiously optimistic. Looking at the postmarketOS compatibility list, few phones on the market have good modem support and fewer have working camera (literally no device has managed to get a "Y" in camera!) which makes me wonder if the fairly modern Qualcomm modem and fairly decent looking camera sensors they chose can really actually work under mainline Linux and a fairly stock userland. If it does, then damn. We're possibly entering peak "viable Linux phone" territory here.
[1]: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4906vs3987/Rockchip-RK3...
[2]: https://www.notebookcheck.net/ARM-Mali-G610-MP4-Benchmarks-a...
[3]: https://www.notebookcheck.net/ARM-Mali-T860-MP2-Benchmarks-a...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42803559
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42821868
Some things that buyers might want to consider: Supply Chain Security - Do you trust the manufacturer? What about their suppliers? What about their government? Pretty much every government in the world has mandated access to mobile phone activities, so choose which government you want to have this access. Spain is part of the EU, so you get the bonus of both their national government, and the EU having full access to your private communications under their rules for doing so.
Their website [1] has lots of more details of course, as well as pictures (or renders, not sure) of the planned products.
I was bordering on being interested, since it would be cool to feel that the phone is fun/interesting again, but then I realized that in real life I'm way too tied to various proprietary (Android, in my case) apps since pretty much everything that could be a web site has been made into an app. :|
Went back to check since I had a thought, and they do state that they will include a "jailed Android OS" which I guess helps, but that also kinda removes the free/open/clean feeling associated with having a Linux-based phone. Hm. I guess I'm just complaining, at this point. Sorry. :)
[1]: https://liberux.net/#specs
Why not simply usb C with displayport alt mode?
I could just stick a dongle in there and connect all my peripherals. It's not new technology, that's what I do with my 3 year old phone.
> Does one (or both) of the USB-C ports support DisplayPort Alt Mode, so that I can plug into a display without carrying accessories? > > Yes, at least one of the ports will provide direct DisplayPort output, allowing you to use the Nexx as a desktop without additional docks.
So indeed, it's going to have displayport!
I'm guessing their wireless dock is optional.
The other project already had finalized most of the design (which took years of work prior to crowdfunding), had multiple assembled prototypes, and were promising shipping in 6 months. It turned out to take 2 to 3 years between all the component delays, negotiating with manufacturers, getting production lines set up, hardware certification, fixing design flaws, yelling at manufacturers for doing something wrong. Some of these delays probably could've been avoidable but there truly seemed to be surprises every step of the way.
These people seem to have not much more than a dev board that talks to a PC, and are promising to go from that to shipping fully assembled phones in 1 year. It would truly be amazing to see but I really don't think that's a realistic amount of time