>Pinephone requires two binary blobs for the WiFi/Bluetooth [...]
One binary blob for the WiFi/Bluetooth. The other binary blob is for the modem, for which an alternative OSS firmware has been in development for some time. There's also a third blob for the camera autofocus firmware.
>[...] in Linux kernel, [...]
All three blobs are firmware, not drivers. There are no blobs in the kernel. It's identical to the Librem 5 in this regard; the Librem 5 also has firmware blobs for WiFi/Bluetooth, modem, and some others, but no blob drivers.
>[...] and cannot run FSF-endorsed distros without adding those blobs.
You can disable the WiFi/Bluetooth, modem, and camera with hardware switches. Given that, and that the RYF criteria allows firmware blobs for auxiliary chips, I'm not sure why it would apply differently to the Librem 5 vs the PinePhone.
> All three blobs are firmware, not drivers. There are no blobs in the kernel.
Blobs means proprietary pieces of software. Firmware is software, too, it just runs not on the main CPU. If it resides in the OS, then the OS has "binary blobs", according to the definition by FSF. Librem 5 also has blobs, but they are not in the OS. They reside in the WiFi card and in the modem, both of which are replaceable pieces of hardware, not really parts of the the phone itself.
One binary blob for the WiFi/Bluetooth. The other binary blob is for the modem, for which an alternative OSS firmware has been in development for some time. There's also a third blob for the camera autofocus firmware.
>[...] in Linux kernel, [...]
All three blobs are firmware, not drivers. There are no blobs in the kernel. It's identical to the Librem 5 in this regard; the Librem 5 also has firmware blobs for WiFi/Bluetooth, modem, and some others, but no blob drivers.
>[...] and cannot run FSF-endorsed distros without adding those blobs.
You can disable the WiFi/Bluetooth, modem, and camera with hardware switches. Given that, and that the RYF criteria allows firmware blobs for auxiliary chips, I'm not sure why it would apply differently to the Librem 5 vs the PinePhone.