@zetabeta : Thank you very much for your tipps and hints! 
...but sadly my backup phone (the one with the boot problem) now ALSO starts freezing (I used it while tried to figure out how I could make console output visible on screen while booting), so I'm afraid working on the boot problem would be another waste of time.
My primary phone (which worked so well over the last year) now freezes about every 5-10 minutes if really used. That's of course no longer bearable.
I hate to say that as an former fanboy, but I think the PinePhone hardware is sadly just... really bad. Quality-wise. Or it's some kind of lottery if you get something that works or garbage. I don't see any other explanation for this fast sudden downward trend in stability on BOTH of my devices except low quality hardware.
Perhaps I could get a Librem 5 for a few hundred bucks on ebay (paying 1299$ AND wait 52 weeks for a new one is errrr...
)... -> Does anybody know how stable and usable the Librem 5 is today?
Or does one know a good online review which is maximum a few months old? (All the old 'launch reviews' I find online are of course not relevant in 2023 for a device like the Librem 5). I would be grateful for every hint/link about this...
These days I really need a smartphone which overall/most of the time really works (as my PP did last year) and is usable (and I don't want to enter the invasive Google/Apple world which I managed to avoid for my whole life so far).
...but sadly my backup phone (the one with the boot problem) now ALSO starts freezing (I used it while tried to figure out how I could make console output visible on screen while booting), so I'm afraid working on the boot problem would be another waste of time.
My primary phone (which worked so well over the last year) now freezes about every 5-10 minutes if really used. That's of course no longer bearable.
I hate to say that as an former fanboy, but I think the PinePhone hardware is sadly just... really bad. Quality-wise. Or it's some kind of lottery if you get something that works or garbage. I don't see any other explanation for this fast sudden downward trend in stability on BOTH of my devices except low quality hardware.
Perhaps I could get a Librem 5 for a few hundred bucks on ebay (paying 1299$ AND wait 52 weeks for a new one is errrr...
)... -> Does anybody know how stable and usable the Librem 5 is today?Or does one know a good online review which is maximum a few months old? (All the old 'launch reviews' I find online are of course not relevant in 2023 for a device like the Librem 5). I would be grateful for every hint/link about this...
These days I really need a smartphone which overall/most of the time really works (as my PP did last year) and is usable (and I don't want to enter the invasive Google/Apple world which I managed to avoid for my whole life so far).
Using encrypted Mobian (bookworm) on pmOS CE Convergence PinePhone (3GB/32GB) as Daily Driver, and Beta Edition Convergence PinePhone (3GB/32GB) with encrypted Mobian (bookworm) as Backup device.