Can You Daily Drive a Purism Librem 5: Is Mobile Linux Ready?
Is Purism’s Librem 5 usable as your daily phone? If you’ve grown accustomed to the apps available in the Play Store or Apple App Store, then the answer is no. Purism’s device simply doesn’t offer that type of experience.
But there are many people looking for something different. They’re not asking if the Librem 5 can beat Android or iOS at being Android or iOS. They’re asking whether the Librem 5 is actually usable as a phone, period. And, well, yes, but also no. It depends.
Can You Place Calls and Send Texts?
Calls on the Librem 5 come through clear, as long as you have a compatible carrier. In the US, T-Mobile’s network is perhaps the safest choice, though AT&T’s network is also compatible.
SMS has proven reliable, and MMS messages come through as well. Just know that you might have toconfigure APN settings manuallybefore your group chats and picture messages go through.
The phone may have had a rocky start in this area, with software not quite mature enough when the phone first launched, but time has been the Librem 5’s friend in this regard.
How’s the Battery Life?
Battery life is arguably the Librem 5’s biggest weakness. At the time of writing, the phone doesn’t yet reliably receive calls or texts while suspended. Suspending in general is considered an experimental feature. Instead, the device functions as a computer whose display turns off but whose internals never fully go to sleep.
The result is you can expect around eight to 12 hours of battery life, depending on how actively you use the device and what kind of software you’re running. Under a very light load, you can expect a drain of around eight percent per hour.
The device also charges slowly. At a time when many phones can replenish a substantial portion of their battery life in well under half an hour, the Librem 5 needs to charge for hours to get back to a full charge, no matter how fast your charger is. It comes with a 20W charger, but swapping for a 60W one doesn’t speed things up.
This means you need to babysit the device, topping it off in the car or at your desk whenever you get the chance. If you work from home or have a desk job, or you spend most of your day driving, this can be manageable. But if you’re regularly away from an outlet for most of the day, this may be untenable.
Can You Take Pictures?
The Librem 5 has a capable 13MP rear camera. The issue is the lack of mature software. Most smartphone cameras come paired with proprietary firmware that hides whatever the manufacturer is doing to get pretty shots. Purism developers are largely having to learn and calibrate the software for the camera themselves.
In its current form, the Librem 5 camera works, with a giant asterisk. You need to manually adjust the gain (ISO), exposure, balance, and focus for every shot. This is not a point-and-click experience.
So can the Librem 5 take good shots? Yes, of stationary subjects, and as long as you aren’t in a hurry.
But then there’s the issue of viewing those photos. The Librem 5 doesn’t yet come with a gallery app. You view images by opening them from the file manager. Not ideal.
Can You Browse the Web?
The Librem 5 comes with two web browsers:GNOME WebandMozilla Firefox. GNOME Web offers the most integrated look, and it can create dedicated web apps that appear in your app drawer.
But the version of GNOME Web shipping on the Librem 5 is a bit too demanding for the low-powered device to handle all that well. That’s why the device also comes with Firefox. Firefox’s interface is usable, but you will still encounter many parts of the interface that don’t scale to fit the Librem 5’s screen.
Yet even with those quirks, Firefox has significantly better performance than GNOME Web, especially when paired with add-ons that reduce demand, such asuBlock OriginandMobile View Switcher. You can even installNoScriptto block JavaScript if you’re willing to break certain sites.
With Firefox and a few add-ons, browsing feels pleasant enough. But if you try to use the Librem 5 next to a modern Android smartphone or iPhone, you will notice the difference in speed.
Can You Connect to Bluetooth Devices?
The Librem 5 can connect to Bluetooth devices, but don’t assume that it will. Bluetooth earbuds may connect but have audio that goes in and out. Older Bluetooth devices might work better than new ones, as is often the case with Linux, but this is only a guess.
The Librem 5 can connect to a car’s infotainment system, but at the time of writing, only as a multimedia device. The Librem 5 fails to inform the car that it is capable of making calls. This can create issues in regions of the world where only hands-free calls are legal. Fortunately, the Librem 5 comes with a solid pair of wired earbuds with a mic. This saves you from having to hold the phone up to your ear.
Like many things with the Librem 5, the Bluetooth situation is one that can improve with time, after the necessary software updates land. Just because a feature isn’t ready this year doesn’t mean that it won’t be next year.
Can You Play Audio and Video?
The Librem 5 is a capable media playback device, as long as you’re into DRM-free, offline media files.AmberolandLollypopare two adaptive music players that feel at home on the device.Clapperhandles videos, andCozyis good for audiobooks.
Podcastscan handle, unsurprisingly, playing podcasts. But it doesn’t automatically search and pull podcasts from anywhere. You must manually copy and paste RSS feeds. Fortunately, Apple Podcasts URLs work as well, so you can listen to virtually anything that isn’t Spotify exclusive.
If you want streaming apps, the Librem 5 isn’t for you. you may watch YouTube in a browser, and there are a few third-party clients available. There is alsoSpot, an unofficial client for Spotify. That’s about it. Don’t expect Disney+ or Amazon Prime, but such services are neither open source nor privacy respecting, so Librem 5 buyers probably won’t sweat this.
How Is the App Store?
The Librem 5 comes with an app store called the PureOS Store. This is simply the GNOME Software app with Purism branding. Out of the box, the PureOS Store only provides Linux apps, especially thoseavailable for PureOS.
You need to add Flathub to gain access to much of the mobile GNOME app ecosystem. And no, there aren’t any Android apps available here.
Unfortunately, the PureOS Store suffers from all the same issues as GNOME Software, which isn’t a particularly lightweight app. It suffers from frustratingly long load times on the Librem 5.
The experience is even more painful when you consider that you are expected to use GNOME Software to view and remove apps that are already installed on your device. This list often fails to load.
Fortunately, you can turn to the terminal to install software using APT or Flatpak, and this works very well. But this is far from a solution that works for non-technical users or people who simply aren’t yet familiar with the Linux command line.
What Else Can the Librem 5 Do?
Modern life assumes our phones are capable of doing a lot, such as:
Just keep in mind that the Librem 5 is a work in process, and it continues to improve as time goes on.
Can You Daily Drive a Librem 5?
If the above functionality is enough for you, then yes, yes you could! More adaptive apps continue to appear, and it’s technically possible to run some Android apps in a pinch.
There is also much that the Librem 5 can do that Android and iOS cannot. It is literally a portable Linux PC in your pocket, with all the freedom that entails.
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