Android OS and iOS has dominated smartphone phone world and both are guilty of raid of user data privacy. Every now and then, someone comes up with the idea of a security focused smartphone. But no-one has gotten it quite right yet. No privacy focussed smartphone has been a hit anywhere yet. However, the team behind Purism Librem are making good progress in delivering on this ideal.
If successful, the Librem 5 phone will be the world’s first ever IP-native mobile handset, using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication and running PureOS. It will also be capable of running any other GNU/Linux distribution where all the source code is available, including Ubuntu Touch. Pure OS itself is a PureOS is a derivative of Debian GNU/Linux.
ALSO READ: How To Update Your Old Phones To UBports Touch OS
Librem 5 will have hardware Kill Switches for the camera, microphone, WiFi/Bluetooth, and Baseband, so the user has greater control over what goes on in the phone. The Librem 5 will also have its CPU separate from Baseband.
The company behind the Librem 5 security focussed smartphone is called Purism. Founded in 2014, their Librem brand means “freedom book” and is a line of computer hardware and bundled software with “core values of freedom, privacy, and security, improve the world for the better”. Purism has been building and selling privacy focused laptops for a few years, so they aren’t exactly without experience in this.
Purism set out to raise $1,500,000 to build Librem 5 abut have raised an overwhelming $2,398,861. That is over 150% of their target. Not bad at all. The Librem 5 will be available from January 2019. That is quite a while to wait for, but if you want a smartphone that does not track you or exploit your personal info, it sounds like a worthy wait.
Purism Librem 5 Specifications
Details, specifications and features of the upcoming Librem 5 Security Focused Smartphone are still sketchy, and so we will keep updating this page as new information emerges.
Network Properties
- 2G: GSM, GPRS, EDGE
- 3G: UMTS, WCDMA, HSDPA
- 4G: LTE unspecified frequency bands
- Data Speed: HSPA, LTE
SIM Type & Count
- Unspecified SIM
Operating System/Skin
- Pure OS or Ubuntu Touch or GNU/Linux
Design & Build
- Dimensions: mm
- Weight: g
- Build:
- Colours: Black
Display
- Type: IPS LCD display
- Size: 5.0 inches
- Resolution: 1920 × 1080 pixels
- Multitouch: Yes
- Librem 5 Security Focused Smartphone
Hardware & Memory
- Chipset: i.MX 8 SoC
- CPU: 64-bit Cortex-A53
- GPU:
- RAM:
- Internal Storage:
- External Storage: microSD
Cameras
- Rear: Yes
- Video recording: 1080 @ 30fps
- Front-facing: Yes
Multimedia
- Music Support: MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
- Video Support: MP4/MPEG4/H.263/H.264 player
- FM Radio: Yes
- Loudspeaker: Yes
Connectivity
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot
- Bluetooth: v4.2
- GPS: Yes
- USB: microUSB
Miscellaneous
- Sensors:
- Messaging: SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM, Push Email
- Browser:
- Document viewer
- Photo/video editor
Battery
- Charging:
- Battery Type and Capacity:
Announcement & Availability
- Announced: January 2, 2018
- Availability: January 2019
Pricing
- Launched Price: $599 USD
Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.