Off topic: Librem 11 tablet

[guru]

In an email Purism mentioned a planned product ‘Librem 11 tablet’. Are there any further information somewhere available?

[2disbetter]

I’d really love to know this as well. I think something like this would fly off the shelf like hotcakes.

[spacemanspiffy]

Same. I don’t know that I really need one, but it’s at the top of my “want” list for cool new toys. I’m really interested in the hardware specs.

[wctaylor]

I doubt there’s much further information, but it has been on Purism’s to-do list for a very long time. They actually even the tablet up for pre-order many years ago, but they decided to shelve it to focus on phone development.

I suspect the tablet would be based on the phone is as many ways as possible in order to benefit from all the development that’s already be done there.

[gondolyr]

I imagine that they would want to make it a tablet/laptop workstation with a dock, though this is based on their original campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/librem-2-in-1-tablet-that-does-not-track-you). A lot has changed since 2016 and convergence is a significant aspect of mobile Linux now. The thing that hasn’t changed are Purism’s principles such as having repairable devices that people can open up. I am confident this won’t be any different.

[Privacy2]

They will be competing against two different sorts of tablets.

1. Intel based. These are relatively easy to install Linux on. There are even some current Linux hardware vendors who sell these with Linux installed. See, for example, the “Juno Tablet”. If Purism does this, I imagine that they will do the same thing that they’ve done with the Mini — rebrand Chinese hardware.

2. Custom HW. If they go this route, it might look like the new Pine64 tablet — the Pinetab2 (Pine64 chose to use the RK3566. They have a $159 4GB RAM / 64GB eMMC version and a $210 8GB / 128GB eMMC version as well as a doesn’t-work-yet RISC-V based version). I think the first deliveries are in the next few weeks. If Purism goes in this direction, they will probably add HW kill switches. I don’t think Purism will do this — too long and expensive for them.

[irvinewade]

@wctaylor

They actually even the tablet up for pre-order

@wctaylor

would be based on the phone

I think the original tablet was not very close at all in specs to the phone … so I’m thinking it has to be one or the other … and like you I would lean towards “based on the phone”.

@gondolyr

dock

@gondolyr

convergence

That would be cool. Use the tablet standalone or as an 11" lapdock for the phone? Not sure how it would work though.

[amarok]

Nicole wrote this a while back:

Is it in plan to have tablets as well

Right, this is the most reasonable approach to do, i.e. taking the Librem 5 guts and refactoring the main PCB to fit into a tablet shell. We have spent literally years developing the Librem 5 platform, on the hard- and software side. It did not take that long because we were sitting on our hands, but because it was such a great amount of work, even with the extremely dedicated and skilled team we have. We could start it all over for a tablet but that would make no sense. So better take what we …

[raenrfm]

This totally makes sense…although if you already have an L5 with a Nexdock why would you want the tablet?

[amarok]

• Smaller than the Lapdock, so convenient for travel
• Potentially greater computing power
• A traveler to a different region of the world might not take the L5 along

[raenrfm]

True…don’t get me wrong I would probably buy one. I think it would need higher resolution and more horsepower to convince me.

[irvinewade]

@amarok

Smaller than the Lapdock

… although that depends on exactly which lapdock. At the low end, you can have an 11" lapdock (like the Uperfect UDock X Mini, technically 11.6") but at the high end, you can have a 15.6" lapdock (like the Uperfect UDock X 156) and the Nexdock comes in somewhere in the middle at 13.3" (I think).

@raenrfm

higher resolution and more horsepower

Another dimension is … battery. Obviously with an 11" form factor to play with you have a lot more flexibility than in the Librem 5, a lot more real estate … and that would include the possibility of a bigger (flatter?) battery.

The capacity in the battery on the Uperfect lapdocks mentioned above is quite high compared with the Librem 5 (10800 mAh and 12000mAh respectively for the two lapdocks) but the capacity on the Nexdock not so much. So for the question that you specifically asked, that would be another answer.

So for the Librem 11 … higher resolution (definitely want that, FHD would be nice), higher battery capacity (definitely want that and I see no reason why it can’t be done), more horsepower (would like that but I am uncertain as to whether it is realistic).

Well, we can speculate all the way until it is fully announced.

@joao.azevedo Given that Purism has intentionally partially announced the Librem 11, any chance of a category in the forum for it - and move this entire topic into that new category - rather than continue to nest in the Librem 5 category as “off topic”?

[steve]

Biggest concern I have with a tablet is that if it’s arm there’s no streaming. As the arm linux build for browsers lacks wildvine.

[amarok]

And another benefit is the detachable tablet portion, of course.

[irvinewade]

Latest missive from Purism says

in a handful of weeks an announcement about our tablet the Librem 11

(It is obvious from the context that we are talking about a “good” announcement, not a “bad” announcement.)

So … maybe the Librem 11 will be announced in a handful of weeks.

[guru]

I was contacted by Purism as a supporter and possible investor with an email saying:

Purism Supporter,                                                                         
                                                                                          
Get an immediate 5% bonus on any investment into Purism, so consider investing            
now.
https://puri.sm/ir/convertible-note/
...
Librem 11 Tablet[4] going to be launched within weeks.
...

The URL reffered by [4] is only

[4] (coming soon )

[guru]

Any news about the L11 tablet?

[pajuky]

In addition to the previously-mentioned Juno tablet, now we have StarLabs entering the fray… StarLite 12.5-inch – Star Labs®

Hopefully Purism will announce something soon

[irvinewade]

@pajuky

StarLabs entering the fray

Out of stock or announceware though?

[pajuky]

Yup like just about everything else haha (even that previously-mentioned Juno tablet has only 1 left in stock or something)

EDIT: funny enough a few minutes after posting this, it’s now available for order (with a 8-9 weeks shipping delay, so it’s kindof a preorder I’m assuming — at least that’s what I learned 20 years ago with the 4-Hour Work Week ha ha ha)