In the US store it costs 200$ for the original PinePhone and 400$ for the Pro version. The EU store is a little more expensive.
I’m not the person you asked, but I’ve had mine for 2 years.
Pros:
free software and freedom (and with that increased privacy and security)
runs the same software that you can run on desktop as long as it has an ARM build (a lot of Debian packages do) or you compile it yourself - this includes not just apps, but also terminal programs and servers
killswitch to power off the proprietary modem for when you don’t want phone carrier tracking you
like in other modern phones the modem is isolated (here it’s connected over USB)
multiple distros to choose from
multiple desktop environments to choose from
replacable battery
headphone jack
replacement parts available in case you break something
there are some interesting addons that you can buy (pine64.org/devices/pinephone/#accessories)
microSD card slot
you can boot from the microSD card, so distro hopping is easy
can run Android apps through Waydroid
Cons:
slow - you are running modern software on an old SoC (the Pro version is faster, but still slow compared to modern phones)
not all GNU/Linux apps have a responsive UI that works well on mobile
some old apps might not have touch support
short battery life - the SoC is not very energy efficient. Possible workarounds: get the keyboard addon with builtin battery (but it makes the phone bigger and heavier), carry spare batteries with you, or buy/3D print a bigger case and use a bigger battery
runs hot
GPS isn’t super accurate
audio quality during phone calls isn’t great
the non-pro version might not be able to run a mainline kernel, so you might not be able to install a desktop distro on it
the Pro version should be able to run a mainline kernel, but there might be things that don’t work
experience with GNU/Linux is required
sometimes workarounds are needed - for me, on Mobian stable sometimes the modem or wifi don’t wake up from suspend and I have to reset it with a script (I added it to the apps menu for quick access, but it’s still annoying)
[on original PinePhone] bad camera and the default app can only take pictures - there is a script for recording video, but then there is no preview
I’m not sure if you can use the camera as a webcam in most software
[might depend on the model] video playback is not GPU accelerated, so it makes the CPU hot and drains battery and you might be limited to 1080p@30fps or 720p
you can run a stable distro with old software and old bugs (and sometimes things change very fast) or a less stable one with current software, but then things will sometimes break after update and you will have to fix it (probably more than on desktop)
on Mobian stable (old software) the proximity sensor acts weird during a call and sometimes you can’t see the screen
no Xbox gamepad support in Mobian stable (but Playstation gamepads work)
they keyboard addon isn’t perfect and requires some setup
with the keyboard addon I can’t plug in any USB devices to the phone and I don’t know why - charging works though
[original PinePhone] uses micro SIM standard instead of nano SIM
sometimes there is screen flickering in non-pro version
killswitches could be a bit easier to flip (they are very small)
[on original PinePhone] poor 3D performance (even SuperTuxKart doesn’t run smoothly), WebGL doesn’t seem to work (at least for 3D)
not a lot of RAM, so you can’t run too many apps at once or have too many browser tabs open - you can still run Electron apps, though (just not too many at once)
no push notifications, so if you want to be notified when you get a message in some app, while the phone is suspended, you would have to setup a script to wake the phone up periodically
Edit: I corrected a mistake with the SIM card. I turns out that PinePhone Pro uses nano SIM and it’s only the original PinePhone that uses micro SIM
It’s hard to say if it will work for you. For some people it does and for others it doesn’t. It’s just something you would have to see for yourself and it might require some time to set everything up the way you want it. It’s a device that requires tinkering. Voyager seems to have a web version and so does FluffyChat. I use Nheko Matrix client (available in Mobian/Debian repo) - it’s a native app that works pretty well. I don’t know about the other apps, but in general you can run Android apps through Waydroid. Maybe those would work too.
There are no push notifications, so if you want the phone to suspend and still receive Matrix notifications, you would have to setup a script that will wake the phone up periodically.
Pictures (taking and viewing, maybe nextcloud upload but that could be done by a script as well)
This works on the original PinePhone, but the camera itself is pretty bad. PinePhone Pro has a decent one, but I’m not sure what the current state of that is. My understanding is that it works, but the pictures might not look that great. I think it’s only one guy working on the camera app and he is currently working on a new version: blog.brixit.nl/fixing-the-megapixels-sensor-linea…. For syncing files with a desktop I use SyncThing, but Nextcloud should probably work too. For sending just a few specific files from time to time you could use KDE Connect or even just SSH.
Web browser
That works. I use Firefox. PinePhone doesn’t have a lot of RAM, though, so you won’t be able to have a lot of tabs open at once.
Music
Definitely works. I use Lollypop app (available in Mobian/Debian), which works well on a mobile screen. The phone has a headphone jack if you need it. The speaker isn’t very good.
Calls
This works, but audio quality during phone calls isn’t always good. There also seem to be some modem issues on PinePhone Pro: zerwuerfnis.org/daily-driving-the-pinephone-pro. I think it’s currently recommended to install the free modem firmware and I’m not sure if the author was using that (the phone doesn’t come with it installed).
I’m not sure if MMS works (SMS does), since I don’t use that. Support for emergency broadcasts is now being added to Phosh: phosh.mobi/posts/cellbroadcast/
You should also know that the battery life isn’t very good. So if you use the phone a lot, you might need either an extended battery case or spare batteries (the battery is replaceable) or the keyboard addon.
Edit: I have a stupid idea! I fondly remember my blackberry from back in the day. Obviously its not for the mainstream but pinephone isnt either. Wouldnt a step back to a blackberry design be pretty awesome for us nerds? :)
I don’t know which one you mean, but I would love to have a slider keyboard! Technically you could make one and I’ve been wondering how hard that would be. PinePhone has some pins on the back that you could use - one of them is i2c. The keyboard addon from Pine64 uses them (they have other addons too). It’s probably a lot of work to make something like that, though.
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