Librem 5 Linux Smartphone Specifications Finalized

If you were interested in purchasing, or more exactly pre-ordering, a privacy-focused, open source Linux smartphone with clearly defined hardware specifications, Purism Librem 5 was not quite for you. Until today that is, as while the company did not commit to exact specifications at the beginning of the project, Purism has now revealed the full specifications of Librem 5 Linux smartphone.

Librem 5 specifications:

SoC – NXP i.MX8M quad-core Cortex A53 @ up to 1.5GHz, Cortex-M4 real-time core, 3G GPU with OpenGL/ES 3.1, Vulkan, OpenCL 1.2 support
System Memory – 3GB RAM
Storage – 32GB eMMC flash, MicroSD slot up to 2 TB
Display- 5.7″ IPS TFT touchscreen with 1440×720 resolution
Connectivity
- Cellular
  - Option 1 – Gemalto PLS8 3G/4G modem w/ single sim on replaceable M.2 card
  - Option 2 – Broadmobi BM818 (made in China)
  - nanoSIM tray
- Dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi 4, Bluetooth 4.0
- GPS – Teseo LIV3F GNSS
Cameras – 13MP rear camera with LED flash, 8MP front-facing camera
Audio
- 1x earpiece speaker, 1x digital microphone
- 3.5mm headphone jack with stereo out and mono microphone input
- Audio DAC: Wolfson Media WM8962
- 1x loudspeaker
USB – 1x USB-C port with USB 3.0 data, USB PD, and video out (DisplayPort alternate mode)
Sensors – Acceleration, gyro and compass sensor (STMicro LSM9DS1 “9-axis” sensor), ambient light and proximity sensor (VCNL4040), and haptic motor
Misc
- Hardware kill switches – 1x WiFi / Bluetooth, 1x Cellular baseband, and 1x cameras & microphone. If all 3 are off the IMU, compass, GNSS, ambient light and proximity sensors are also disabled
- Power button, Volume ± buttons
- Smartcard reader with 2FF card slot (SIM card size)
- RGB LED with PWM control.
Battery – User-replaceable 3,500mAh battery
Power Supply – USB Power Delivery via USB-C port
Dimensions – TBD

Beside publishing the hardware specifications, Purism has done a lot of work on the software side and showcased over 28 programs that run on the phone including the company’s PureOS app store, various GNOME programs, Emacs, Apache server, the web browser, and so on.

Time is also running short to pre-order the Librem 5 for the early bird discounted price of $649, as the price is going up $50 after July 31st. Shipping is scheduled for Q3 2019.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.