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Nice!! Hope you don't mind me firing a bunch of questions Do you use it as "just" a smartphone or as a laptop substitute? And how much screen on time do you

Nice!! Hope you don't mind me firing a bunch of questions Do you use it as "just" a smartphone or as a laptop substitute? And how much screen on time do you get? How long does it take to charge? Have you tried using steam link? What OS/ROM/disto do you have installed on it?

fsflover 3y ago
First of all, it feels unbelievably freeing to run desktop GNU/Linux on my phone and benefit from the full command line (e.g., ssh and sshfs on the go are extremely helpful) and desktop Firefox, without stupid limitations of "ordinary" smartphones. I tried to use it as a laptop. It works fine for non-heavy tasks, but not sufficiently secure for me (I prefer Qubes OS). It is very helpful for doing some configuration though. See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/anyone-using-the-l5-as-their-main-computer/22654 https://forums.puri.sm/t/anyone-using-the-l5-as-their-main-c... I get maybe 3-4 hours of heavy browsing. Usually, when I'm using the phone a lot, it lasts half a day. Also, the background apps are not frozen like on Android/iOS and can drain the battery very quickly if you don't close them. The good news is that you can replace the battery without tools and instantly get 100% charge again. It can charge in about three hours with the original charger, but I often use other chargers, which are slower (e.g., it can take 6 hours or more during the night). See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/usb-dcp-5v-1-5a-protocol-and-librem-5/17637/2 https://forums.puri.sm/t/usb-dcp-5v-1-5a-protocol-and-librem... I didn't try steam link. I tried to install Mobian. It works but the functionality lags (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39155229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39155229) behind the default PureOS, which I use. The software is still under heavy development and the phone is still getting longer battery life and smoother UI. See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-professional-use-success/22303 https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-profession..., https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-professional-use-success/22303/40 https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-profession....
- ranguna 3y ago
  All your feedback is actually encouraging me go and buy one, but I'll wait for Snapdragon 8 gen 1 or 3 support on postmarketos and then I'll get a oneplus 12 or an s24. No swappable battery, but the efficient cpu, more ram and faster recharge makes it more worth it for me. Thanks again!
  - fsflover 3y ago
    An important difference between Oneplus and Librem 5 is that the latter works with all free drivers, which enables running mainline Linux with lifetime updates.
    - ranguna 3y ago
      That's a very good point, which made me look on a different direction (after realising that I can't buy a pinephone or a librem with a VAT invoice in the EU): I'm probably going to buy a raspberry pi 5 or equivalent, slap a 2x12000mah battery and 5" oled touch screen on it, build an case around that and call it a day. It's going to be pocketable, it's going to have a lot more battery life and a lot cheaper. As for my phone, I'll probably get a pinephone or librem equivalent once there's one I can actively use for about a normal working day without having to replace the battery or experience slowdowns. Thanks for all the info on this thread!

fsflover 3y ago

First of all, it feels unbelievably freeing to run desktop GNU/Linux on my phone and benefit from the full command line (e.g., ssh and sshfs on the go are extremely helpful) and desktop Firefox, without stupid limitations of "ordinary" smartphones. I tried to use it as a laptop. It works fine for non-heavy tasks, but not sufficiently secure for me (I prefer Qubes OS). It is very helpful for doing some configuration though. See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/anyone-using-the-l5-as-their-main-computer/22654 https://forums.puri.sm/t/anyone-using-the-l5-as-their-main-c... I get maybe 3-4 hours of heavy browsing. Usually, when I'm using the phone a lot, it lasts half a day. Also, the background apps are not frozen like on Android/iOS and can drain the battery very quickly if you don't close them. The good news is that you can replace the battery without tools and instantly get 100% charge again. It can charge in about three hours with the original charger, but I often use other chargers, which are slower (e.g., it can take 6 hours or more during the night). See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/usb-dcp-5v-1-5a-protocol-and-librem-5/17637/2 https://forums.puri.sm/t/usb-dcp-5v-1-5a-protocol-and-librem... I didn't try steam link. I tried to install Mobian. It works but the functionality lags (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39155229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39155229) behind the default PureOS, which I use. The software is still under heavy development and the phone is still getting longer battery life and smoother UI. See also: https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-professional-use-success/22303 https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-profession..., https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-professional-use-success/22303/40 https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-daily-driven-in-profession....

ranguna 3y ago
All your feedback is actually encouraging me go and buy one, but I'll wait for Snapdragon 8 gen 1 or 3 support on postmarketos and then I'll get a oneplus 12 or an s24. No swappable battery, but the efficient cpu, more ram and faster recharge makes it more worth it for me. Thanks again!
- fsflover 3y ago
  An important difference between Oneplus and Librem 5 is that the latter works with all free drivers, which enables running mainline Linux with lifetime updates.
  - ranguna 3y ago
    That's a very good point, which made me look on a different direction (after realising that I can't buy a pinephone or a librem with a VAT invoice in the EU): I'm probably going to buy a raspberry pi 5 or equivalent, slap a 2x12000mah battery and 5" oled touch screen on it, build an case around that and call it a day. It's going to be pocketable, it's going to have a lot more battery life and a lot cheaper. As for my phone, I'll probably get a pinephone or librem equivalent once there's one I can actively use for about a normal working day without having to replace the battery or experience slowdowns. Thanks for all the info on this thread!