I got a PinePhone the other day, and long story short, I’m pleasantly surprised. It came installed with Manjaro, but it seemed a little buggy, so I flashed the EMMC to Arch.

PROS:

I was surprised at how polished the actual physical hardware seemed. I was expecting something a little more janky, I guess. I do need to order a case because the thing is a little slippery when it your hands. Like I said, I’m currently running Arch on it, strangely enough. Phone calls work, 4G works, SMS works, camera works.

CONS:

I’m having an issue with the WiFi connecting and disconnecting. I’m also having an issue with the OS detecting the convergence dock that came with the phone. Sometimes it connects and recognizes it right away, sometimes it does not. It has something to do with the power supply and/or power settings on the phone, I think. But I haven’t not researched it much yet.

Edit: I modified some power settings and now I have no problems with the wifi at all.

I didn’t expect the thing to be very powerful, and boy is it not. It definitely takes a while to install packages, compile, etc. But I was expecting that for $200 or whatever I paid for it.

OVERALL:

This thing is a must have for Linux people. It’s cheap and it mostly works. I have high hopes for what is to come with this phone. Imagine a stock Linux phone devoid of all the vendor and cell company bloatware. And you can get all of this without a bunch of technical gymnastics. A phone you can plug into a monitor and have a full working OS. I’d say another few years, if not sooner, and that’s what we will have.

Also, I use my phone with Ting in the USA. Use my referral link, if you’re interested. I think it costs me like 12 bucks a month to have this phone on Ting.