Customers should expect the devices in two weeks' time

Jan 17, 2020 23:08 GMT  ·  By

The long-anticipated PinePhone Linux-powered smartphone has finally started shipping to customers who were brave enough to purchase the first batch.

The PinePhone Linux phone has been available for pre-order since mid-November 2019, and those who bought one paid as low as $149 USD for the device, which doesn't ship with an operating system preinstalled. After a bit of delay, the PinePhone is now finally shipping to customers, starting today, January 17th.

"We’re now ready and I am happy to confirm that PinePhones will begin shipping on January 17th, 2020," said PINE64's Lukasz Erecinski. "The dispatch process will take a couple of days, however, so your unit may ship anytime between the 17th and 25th. At any rate, you’ll have your PinePhone soon."

What you need to know about the PinePhone Braveheart Edition

Once again, we would take this opportunity to remind the reader the we're talking about the PinePhone Braveheart Edition of this Linux-powered smartphone, which represents the first batch to be available to the public. It's targeted mainly at Linux developers and technology enthusiasts who have the knowledge to install an operating system on the device.

In the box, customers will receive the PinePhone, a high quality USB-C charging cable, and an introductory leaflet in letter form. There is no charger in the box, so you'll have to use one that you probably already have in your house or office from another smartphone if it's capable of outputting 5V/15W.

The device itself comes with a plastic screen protector applied at the factory, which the manufacturers recommend keeping it on the display, even if the PinePhone features hardened glass. The PinePhone Braveheart Edition also comes with some improvements, both internal and external, compared to the first developer units, which you can read in this lengthy blog post.

Bottom line, the PinePhone Braveheart Edition isn't a smartphone you can buy and use on a regular basis for calls and texting as it only comes with a Linux-based factory OS preinstalled called postmarketOS, which only allow you to test various features of the device and run an automated test.

It will be up to customers to find and install an end-user operating system, such as Ubuntu Touch, KDE neon with Plasma Mobile, or LuneOS, all of which you can preview running on the PinePhone in the video below. According to PINE64, a larger scale production of the PinePhone is scheduled for March 2020, if one of these Linux OSes reaches sufficient maturity.

PinePhone specifications
PinePhone specifications
PinePhone Packaging Box
PinePhone Packaging Box
Braveheart PinePhone with back cover taken off
Braveheart PinePhone with back cover taken off
Factory OS – postmarketOS with custom factory UI
Factory OS – postmarketOS with custom factory UI

PinePhone (5 Images)

PinePhone is now shipping
PinePhone specificationsPinePhone Packaging Box
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