[dangus]

The difference is that Librem laptops can run any OS like a standard PC. Many users perhaps don’t even use PureOS and put something else on.

It’s this software or nothing, essentially. I realize it’s open and that we could theoretically make our own, but phones are still an incredible beast to tame at this point.

This is going to work with basically zero carrier features and won’t even activate on important cellular networks like Verizon.

I don’t expect it to compete with the iPhone, but I have doubts that it will be a stable business for Purism. I guess we will find out.

I do see the stumbling. Have they shown us multi-touch at any point? Did you notice how this is a phone that depends on a control key to copy and paste text?

Every single finger touch screen UX convention that Apple sent down to us from the heavens in 2007 has been bafflingly ignored in this effort.

It’s a great start but this is a phone they’re shipping this year and they can’t even tell us many of the specs.

[seba_dos1]

> The difference is that Librem laptops can run any OS like a standard PC.

So does the phone.

> This is going to work with basically zero carrier features

This applies to any phone not bought via the carrier. I haven't bought a phone any different way for 20 years.

> and won’t even activate on important cellular networks like Verizon

That's pretty much a US only problem, and it's because of Verizon, not those phones.

[RandomBacon]

I believe "Perfection is the enemy of shipping" is something that is mentioned here on HN quite a bit.

Let's get the big stuff out of the way first and then continue working with Gnome to introduce a long press, etc.

I'm no expert, but this device is a full-fledged computer, not something with a locked-down bootloader. I imagine people smarter than me could install whatever OS they want to on this device.

[dangus]

Locked bootloaders and proprietary components is what holds us back with alternative projects. In that sense Purism is giving us gold here.

I’m nervous though because hardware projects can fail so easily. Shipping and iterating on hardware isn’t the same as shipping software. In my opinion it just has to feel a little more “done” than this.

[iamnothere]

Really? "Many users" buy a laptop from a niche manufacturer who puts their libre OS front and center and then they just "put something else on"?

I mean, if "something else" is another Linux/BSD, sure, I'll believe that. I imagine that people can also do the same with the Librem phone though!