Comment by daneel_w
11 hours ago
> Pinephones have entirely closed source baseband firmware.
> The baseband firmware itself doesn't have any replacement available.
Same with the Google Pixels and their Samsung Exynos modem. Neither you nor GrapheneOS users have any idea at all what's going on in their cellular transceivers. What will it be for the upcoming Motorola phone?
Hi daneel, what would you like GrapheneOS to do while you develop your own formally verified, open hardware, open source firmware/OS baseband processor they can use? Sit on their hands doing nothing or making the best of the least worst options currently available?
The Pixels already are the best of the least worst options currently available. Anything new must categorically bring improvements, and the closed source firmware of the Pixels is a pressing point.
> Neither you nor GrapheneOS users have any idea at all what's going on in their cellular transceivers
Pixel has an IOMMU - are you implying that’s being defeated, or that you weren’t aware of it?
Neither. It's great that the Pixels' baseband ACPU doesn't have free reign in system memory, but if we're gonna underline the deficient state of the cellular modem in the Pine Phone we should also remind ourselves that the firmware situation with the Pixels is an almost equally sore thumb.
It doesn’t feel equal to me, here in my real-world usecase.