Not Android, not iOS, PinePhone Pro works with Linux

Even though Android and iOS are the two leads of the mobile market, there is a phone that does not use either of these operative systems. The phone in question, called PinePhone Pro, comes with the Linux Manjaro distribution with Plasma Mobile preinstalled. It can offer a very good option, especially for people who are familiar with this open-source system, but it is probably not a good choice for the average user. Both from the outside and inside, the PinePhone Pro is a quite different phone from what we are used to see in the market. It has a 6 inch IPS screen with 1,440x720p resolution, features that we generally see on entry-level Android phones. The power that the phone offers is also not that huge, housing a Rockchip RK3399S processor along with a GPU ARM Mali T860. It has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, expandable through a MicroSD card. PinePhone Pro has a single main camera behind, with a 13MP Sony IMX258 sensor. And in front of the phone, we have a 5 MP OmniVision OV5640 sensor. The battery of the phone has a 3,000mAh capacity. As we can see, the device has very entry-level hardware, but its charm rests inside of it. The developers of the phone state that Linux mobile systems are right now very far from being real alternatives to Android and iOS, but they say that this device can be used by everyone if the user accepts software limitations that the phone has at the moment. Another advantage of this phone is its clear focus on privacy and its control by the user. For this, Pine64 has incorporated under the rear cover of the phone a few physical switches that allow the users to deactivate the camera, the microphone, the Bluetooth, the Wi-Fi, the connecter jack, and the LTE modem, whenever they see fit. The device also has several small metallic pins called Pogo pins that allow applying modular cases to the phone, which reminds us of the Moto Mods of the Motorola Moto Z. Thanks to these magnetic pins the user can add to the phone things like wireless charging through Qi standard or a physical keyboard. PinePhone Pro is now available for pre-order on the manufacturer's website with its $399 price tag. But it should be stressed again that it is a niche product, which is why it may be released with limited units.