Is this an actual Librem 5 case?

Hardware Librem 5
1

While reading softpedia news on the Librem 5 release date they had a picture of a Librem 5 case design. Is this from Purism themselves or is this hypothetical?

2

Its from here https://puri.sm/posts/librem5-smartphone-makes-major-strides-in-manufacturing-and-development/ or https://puri.sm/posts/librem5-progress-report-11/. So yes it is the final design.

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3

I’ve seen a lot of discussions much earlier, so what is the final decision:

  • does librem 5 support any kind of external storage, e. g. microsd, sd, or maybe even usb-flash? I see that developer’s kit supports it, but I’m a bit confused if this applies to the actual phone or not.
  • Will the battery be replaceable? Will it be possible to use the phone purely on AC, with battery removed?
4

The original hardware specs on the product page state that there will be a MicroSD slot, though those are “subject to change”. Given this, the inclusion of a MicroSD slot on the developer’s kit would seem to support the idea that the final spec will include MicroSD, but admittedly it is not visible in the case design renderings and I can only speculate about why.

In any event, USB flash drives should be an option. USB Type C flash drives exist, and so do dual Type A/Type C flash drives. Or adapters can be used with Type A flash drives.

5

I only see the USB C host mentioned in the same place as the microsd card, in the specs for the developer kit.

Also I forgot to ask if the modem is going to support 2G also.

6

It is mentioned under the “Tech Specs” heading on the page I linked; i.e. the specs for the phone.

But in any case, the i.MX 8M CPU contains built in USB Type C functionality, which as standard includes the ability to function as a host device. Purism would have to be crazy to disable that. If the Librem 5 does not support USB flash drives, I will eat my hat.

7

The MicroSD slot is guaranteed:

External Storage: microSD (2Tb max)

The part that is in italics shows that they haven’t decided whether the MicroSD card slot will only support the SDXC standard (for cards between 32GB and 2TB) or whether it will also support the new SDUC standard (for cards between 2TB and 128TB).

It is a rather moot point today, since the biggest cards on the market are 1TB and cost over $400, but if you plan on using the Librem 5 for the next 5 years as a desktop PC, then you might care whether SDUC is supported.

8

2 TB - that’s a LOT of selfies !

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