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Nicole Faerber

Sourceress

Latest posts by Nicole Faerber (see all)

• Unleashing the Librem 14 - July 6, 2022
• Librem 14 Rave - April 8, 2021
• Librem 14: Adding Librem EC, Freed Embedded Controller Firmware - February 22, 2021

Purism has finalized the specifications for the Librem 5 development kit and will be placing all the component parts order and fabrication run the first week of June 2018. If you want to have early access to the hardware that will serve as the platform for the Librem 5 phone, you must place your dev kit order before June 1st, 2018. The price for the development kit is now $399, up from the early-bird pricing that was in effect during the campaign and until today. The dev kit is a small batch, “limited edition” product. After this batch, we are not planning for a second run (as the production of the phone itself will replace the dev kit in 2019).

Improved specifications

We decided to wait to get the latest i.MX 8M System On Module (SOM), rather than utilizing the older i.MX 6 SOM, therefore having the dev kit align nicely with the ending phone hardware specifications. This means the dev kits will begin delivery in the latter part of August for the earliest orders while fulfilling other dev kits in September. Choosing to wait for the i.MX 8M SOM also means our hardware design for the Librem 5 phone is still on target for January 2019 because we are pooling efforts rather than separating them as two distinct projects. Our dev kit choices and advancements benefit the Librem 5 phone investment and timeline.

The current dev kit specification is (subject to minor changes during purchasing):

• i.MX 8M system on module (SOM) including at least 2GB LPDDR4 RAM and 16GB eMMC (NOTE: The Librem 5 phone will have greater RAM and storage)
• M.2 low power WiFi+Bluetooth card
• M.2 cellular baseband card for 3G and 4G networks
• 5.7″ LCD touchscreen with a 18:9 (2:1) 720×1440 resolution
• 1 camera module
• 1 USB-C cable
• Librem 5 dev kit PCB
  • Inertial 9-axis IMU sensor (accel, gyro, magnetometer)
  • GNSS (aka “GPS”)
  • Ethernet (for debugging and data transfer)
  • Mini-HDMI connector (for second screen)
  • Integrated mini speaker and microphone
  • 3.5mm audio jack with stereo output and microphone input
  • Vibration motor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Slot for microSD
  • Slot for SIM card
  • Slot for smartcard
  • USB-C connector for USB data (host and client) and power supply
  • Radio and camera/mic hardware killswitches
  • Holder for optional 18650 Li-poly rechargeable battery with charging from mainboard (battery not required and not included!)

The dev kit will be the raw PCB without any outer case (in other words, don’t expect to use it as a phone to carry in your pocket!), but the physical setup will be stable enough so that it can be used by developers. As we finalize the designs and renders we will publish images.