4 ms·
Both have good build quality. I have a Librem 5 Birch (1st run), so while it has a prototype feel, it still has the build quality of a mid tier Android Device (
by kop316 6y ago
Both have good build quality. I have a Librem 5 Birch (1st run), so while it has a prototype feel, it still has the build quality of a mid tier Android Device (~$300-400). It uses a lot more metal with a plastic backplate, so I like the weight of it.
My huge annoyance with my Librem 5 is that the Wifi Signal is terrible. I literally have to be within 5 ft of my Wifi AP to have even a useable signal. It won't work if there's any obstruction or if it's beyond 15 ft line of sight. I have tried all of the suggested fixes, but this is still a pervasive issue. I hope it's fixed in a later batch.
The Pinephone has much more of a plastic feel. I have a Google Pixel 3a, and half the time I have to do a double take to see which is which. But the build quality on that is very nice too.
If you have other questions, feel free to let me know!
- freedomben 6y agoAwesome, thank you! Have you tried a variety of distributions on each phone? Is there one that runs better/worse on each? Is there one that works good on both? It seems like there's a very friendly but intense arms race to get stuff working (which I think is awesome) :-)
- kop316 6y agoI have left the Librem 5 on stock PureOS. It went from being barely usable to pretty well supported (aside from MMS and the WiFi issue I talked about). On the Pinephone I tried a whole bunch at first, but i haven't done that in a while. So far the front runners for a useable phone seem to be Ubuntu Touch and PostmarketOS. I want to try Sailfish OS again, as that seems very tempting as well. But in either case, I like to see the diversity in the OSes for the Pinephone.