Pine64 details the list of blobs in the PinePhone

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jxself
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Iscritto: 09/13/2010

https://www.pine64.org/2020/01/24/setting-the-record-straight-pinephone-misconceptions/

The TL;DR version is WiFi/Bluetooth, GPS/LTE, rear Camera.

I would also guess that the usual things like USB controllers have embedded blobs. Also, probably the OpenRISC power management controller.
https://linux-sunxi.org/A64/Memory_map
https://linux-sunxi.org/AR100

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

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Iscritto: 07/07/2017

> The TL;DR version is WiFi/Bluetooth, GPS/LTE, rear Camera.

It sounds like the camera is *functional* without blobs, just missing a
feature. It's an improvement over the devices which currently support
Replicant. They can't even boot without non-free software, and they
have the modem enabled at all times.

> https://www.pine64.org/2020/01/24/setting-the-record-straight-pinephone-misconceptions/

None of this contradicts any of the information that has been shared in
this forum. However, I have noticed some sloppy discussion of the
Pinephone elsewhere. The "Comparison" section[1] of the Pinephone's
Wikipedia page is largely an advertisement for the Librem 5, which
falsely states that unlike the Pinephone the Librem 5 is endorsed by the
FSF. I took a look at the source[2] cited for this claim, and no
evidence is provided, but with the tone and spin of the article I can
see why people would come away with the impression that the Pinephone
has serious freedom issues (beyond that of a normal smartphone), when in
fact, as far as I can tell, it is about has close to a freedom- and
privacy-respecting phone as is possible at this time (which is
admittedly not very, but that's not Pine64's fault, and I've not been
shown an reason to think that the Librem 5 can do better).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinephone#Comparison

[2]
https://tuxphones.com/purism-librem-5-vs-pine64-pinephone-linux-smartphone-comparison/

Aristophanes
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Iscritto: 10/05/2017

> It's an improvement over the devices which currently support
Replicant. They can't even boot without non-free software, and they
have the modem enabled at all times.

Regarding the devices supporting Replicant, I'm curious as to the following: is the hardware, such as Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, operational, even though it cannot be used because it requires non-free software? In other words, in a phone running Replicant, is, for example, the Wi-Fi module on, despite it being inaccessible by the user of the phone, or is it disabled and off?

Beko
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Iscritto: 08/31/2019

Thank you for the link, it's good to know what explicitly is and is not blobbed.