08-29-2023, 06:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-29-2023, 06:31 PM by Kevin Kofler.)
Some people use the PinePhone or PinePhone Pro as a daily driver. Many do not, for various reasons. I do, with an original PinePhone, but keep in mind that 1. I did not use a smartphone before, only a dumb phone, 2. I knew and accepted from the outstart that third-party apps are not going to work (proprietary apps, but also several FOSS ones that target only Android/iOS and would be a lot of work to port), 3. I do not use the phone all that much (I use it more to browse the Internet (with Angelfish) and check my e-mail (with Geary) on WiFi, rarely on mobile data because I am on a metered plan, than to make phone calls), and 4. I also still carry a dumb phone around as a work phone (I used to have 2 dumb phones of the same model, I kept the work phone and switched to the PinePhone for personal use). So my experience might not apply to you.
The battery life is usually sufficient for the day with my sparse use (I let it charge overnight every night), but I always carry a power bank around just in case (and when I use the WiFi a lot, I easily end up needing it). The battery is swappable, so in principle, you might carry around a spare internal battery, but you will probably find an external power bank more practical. If you end up needing more power a lot, there are 3D printing source files available for adapters that allow you to fit a back cover with a built-in power bank, designed for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, to at least the original PinePhone (not sure whether you can make it fit the PinePhone Pro as well).
In the list of things you expect the phone to do, the biggest issue is probably the social media apps. Those are not going to work natively. You may or may not get them to run under Waydroid or be able to use alternatives (e.g., third-party Signal clients like Axolotl, though people have trouble getting that one to work as well, the version on Flathub does not work at all for me). But to set expectations, I would not expect any of those apps to work. Video calls might also be an issue right now, but that should probably improve with libcamera getting more widespread support, whereas the lack of support for proprietary apps is by design and not going to change any time soon.
As for docking stations, what kind of docking station are you envisioning? The simple "bring your own peripherals" connector stick that comes with the original PinePhone "with convergence package"? A video with a prototype of that was already uploaded to YouTube back in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBeza4UNOm8. Or rather those single-device docks that look and feel like a notebook (but use your phone's CPU), such as the NexDock or the Purism Lapdock? I have read reports of people using the PinePhone or PinePhone Pro with both those models, with some glitches but basically working, but cannot find a video right now.
The battery life is usually sufficient for the day with my sparse use (I let it charge overnight every night), but I always carry a power bank around just in case (and when I use the WiFi a lot, I easily end up needing it). The battery is swappable, so in principle, you might carry around a spare internal battery, but you will probably find an external power bank more practical. If you end up needing more power a lot, there are 3D printing source files available for adapters that allow you to fit a back cover with a built-in power bank, designed for the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra, to at least the original PinePhone (not sure whether you can make it fit the PinePhone Pro as well).
In the list of things you expect the phone to do, the biggest issue is probably the social media apps. Those are not going to work natively. You may or may not get them to run under Waydroid or be able to use alternatives (e.g., third-party Signal clients like Axolotl, though people have trouble getting that one to work as well, the version on Flathub does not work at all for me). But to set expectations, I would not expect any of those apps to work. Video calls might also be an issue right now, but that should probably improve with libcamera getting more widespread support, whereas the lack of support for proprietary apps is by design and not going to change any time soon.
As for docking stations, what kind of docking station are you envisioning? The simple "bring your own peripherals" connector stick that comes with the original PinePhone "with convergence package"? A video with a prototype of that was already uploaded to YouTube back in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBeza4UNOm8. Or rather those single-device docks that look and feel like a notebook (but use your phone's CPU), such as the NexDock or the Purism Lapdock? I have read reports of people using the PinePhone or PinePhone Pro with both those models, with some glitches but basically working, but cannot find a video right now.
