Behold, the Pro1-X, created and designed by the team at F(x)tec and XDA.

This smartphone is supposedly the first commercial device to include LineageOS out of the box. For those who aren’t aware, LineageOS is, in a nutshell, Android, with the exception of Google’s proprietary services stripped out and updates that come to your device indefinitely. Those who pre-order the device can also choose Ubuntu Touch, or stock Android if users need it. From the Indiegogo page, more operating systems will be supported later on:

• Sailfish OS
• Windows (RT?)
• Mobian

Sounds like an exciting project, especially considering the beefy hardware the phone has:

• 6/8 GB RAM, depending on what model you select
• 128/256 GB internal storage, depending on what model you select, with expandable storage via MicroSD card
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, clockable at up to 2.45 GHz
• 6” AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1080
• 8 MP selfie camera, 12 MP back camera

Video can be captured at 4K at 30 FPS, and playback at the same resolution and double the framerate. In addition to what you’d expect from a modern smartphone – such as a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 802.11ac connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, fingerprint reader, GPS, gyroscope, power/volume keys, etc – the Pro1-X includes a built-in, physical keyboard. Just slide the bottom half of the phone downwards, and start typing or texting away, in addition to using a touchscreen keyboard. You can choose between a few different keyboard layouts when pre-ordering, including QWERTY, QWERTZ, and, uh, a Scandinavian style.

The battery is rated at 3,200 mAh. The Indiegogo page says you can talk up to 10 hours, and keep the phone in standby for a whopping 480 hours.

According to the CPU and GPU benchmarks on the same site, it did better than most competing devices, except for the OnePlus Nord, and even then it tied neck-and-neck for GPU performance. As such, one could definitely consider this to be a pretty decent gaming machine in your pocket. Connect to an external monitor via USB-C-to-HDMI, and use the phone like a desktop. You get the best of both worlds, really.

Naturally, you’re probably going to think that, based on the hardware, the price tag is steep. And you’d be right. The off-the-shelf price is $900. That’s almost double what the OnePlus Nord costs. And as much as I’d like to say you can get it cheaper, you still can while pre-orders are live, but not by much. All of the early bird prices are gone right now – the first 30 customers who pre-ordered could get it as low as $500! I almost got mine for $600, but for some reason, Indiegogo had a problem with my order. Not sure if I just didn’t make it in time for the deal, or something’s wrong with my credit card.

If you’re quick enough, you can snag one at the cheapest of $640 right now, but don’t be surprised if, after this post gets published, that tier will be gone. I’ve literally hit the Refresh button a few times while writing this, and their goal is getting higher and higher by the thousands.

The Pro1-X definitely looks exciting. I’m debating on whether I should still pre-order, although, the longer I wait the pricier it’s going to be. The PinePhone is great, but it’s SoC is horribly slow. Maybe I’ll just suck it up and keep using that for now.