February 2019 --> no design freeze, 3 to 4 months to source components and make tooling (very optimistic).
May/July 2019 --> start of production.
June/August 2019 --> debug, SOP, build stock, start shipping
Optimistic.
I hope they are very determined, I like the product/idea but they started a very hard task.
I would rather take the most sold Android flagship device, reverse engineer the hardware and build a linux/bsd distro on top. Would not match their requirement (modem privacy etc.), but would take the really hard job of designing an up-to-date phone hardware.
Early adopters will pay a lot to get performance, good camera, battery life, screen quality. I will use it as
a toy instead of a daily tool if too many compromises are
made in the name of privacy.
Q3 is in my opinion too optimistic. Based on the status of hardware (TBD) there is probably no chance to start shipping parts in Q3. The design should be locked today. Will they be able to source the tools, get reliable suppliers to source enough components in 3-4 months timline ? The rest of the time till Q3 should be used to ramp-up the production and sort out quality/production issues. Probably will be out of stock for at least till Q3/Q4 2020.
Optimistic.
I hope they are very determined, I like the product/idea but they started a very hard task.
I would rather take the most sold Android flagship device, reverse engineer the hardware and build a linux/bsd distro on top. Would not match their requirement (modem privacy etc.), but would take the really hard job of designing an up-to-date phone hardware.
Early adopters will pay a lot to get performance, good camera, battery life, screen quality. I will use it as a toy instead of a daily tool if too many compromises are made in the name of privacy.