Librem 5

The Librem 5 is a smartphone manufactured by Purism that is part of their Librem line of products. The phone is designed with the goal of using free software whenever possible, includes PureOS, a Linux operating system, by default, and as of 2021 is the only smartphone recommended by the Free Software Foundation. Like other Librem products, the Librem 5 focuses on privacy and freedom, and includes features like hardware kill switches, and easily-replaceable components. Its name, with a numerical "5", refers to its screen size, and not a release version. After an announcement on 24 August 2017, the distribution of developer kits and limited pre-release models occurred throughout 2019 and most of 2020. The first mass-production version of the Librem 5 was shipped on 18 November 2020. On August 24, 2017, Purism started a crowdfunding campaign for the Librem 5, a smartphone aimed not only to run purely on free software provided in PureOS, but to "[focus] on security by design and privacy protection by default". Purism claimed that the phone would become "the world's first ever IP-native mobile handset, using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication". Purism has cooperated with GNOME in its development of the Librem 5 software. It is planned, that KDE and Ubuntu Touch will also be offered as optional interfaces. The release of the Librem 5 was delayed several times. It was originally planned to launch in January 2019. Purism announced on September 4, 2018, that the launch date would be postponed until April 2019, due to two power management bugs in the silicon and the Europe/North America holiday season. Development kits for software developers, which were shipped out in December 2018, were unaffected by the bugs, since developers normally connect the device to a power outlet, rather than rely on the phone battery. In February, the launch date was postponed again to the third quarter of 2019, because of the necessity of further CPU tests. Specifications and pre-orders, for $649, to increase to$699, were announced in July 2019.