Not initially, but potentially could be added.
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Welcome to the forum.
If you read through the first post of the main thread on open_slate you will find tge answer, i.e:
In addition to what Mycenius wrote, we will be announcing the exact pre-order date and time, starting from 10 days before launch.
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I did vote as Integrated 5G, however as others have said if a second m.2 was added so that 5G addon board along with HDD addon would be a great addition. UPDATE: I see this is not possible at there is only one lane available
As an advanced side on the software, If it can support being USB tethered too would also work. I have found that Android devices like radios do not like to be USB tether too. Linux side probably would not be problem. It would be then a great companion to the Brax3 phone (or really any phone that can USB tether) USB tether to the Open_Slate thus only needing only one 4G/5G device for all your network connectivity.
If the charging device is strong enough, it can charge the Open_Slate also while charging the phone that is connected to it via the USB Tethering Cable.
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Do you mean DP-out for external monitors or DP-in for the tablet to be the monitor ?
This is a very valid point if the battery is to be serviced every other year. Our objective was to make it easier for the user to swap batteries on the go. We will try to further support this use case by offering external battery chargers too.
So you need a tablet charger, a battery charger and a battery just to be able to swap the battery ? That really doesnât make sense, the swappable battery needs a USB-C charging port so it can be at least charged with the same charger as the tablet.
A power bank is a easier solution for people who need to charge the tablet on the go, itâs also more versatile.
I donât think it has DP-in capability for now
it could be a charging dock for the battery that connects to any charger like with other types of devices where the battery is replaceable and can be charged separately from the device
DP-out. Through the usb c 3.2 port.
If thatâs better for you, no problem. Some use cases benefit from swappable battery. I donât think weâre eliminating any use case. It comes down to how robust the push switch to open the battery case is, which we will spend the time to thoroughly test. We wonât be stubborn with design choices either, if it wonât work to the level we want, we will just switch to screws.
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Yeah, absolutely. Wasnât suggesting that it should have it, of course, just saying it could be a reason for the quick release latch being thereâŚ
Thanks @plamen - and yes I had suspected that, so had assumed it wasnât the case. Only mentioned it as it was in the video.
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Did I miss a response to this question?
âIs there a privacy screen that will be available or is there a standard sized one that can be used?â
Could the USB-A 2.0 be made into a 3.2 instead? This has use cases like being able to transfer from a USB key in high speed, or an external drive when you donât have a spare type-C cable at hand.
How can I vote about the 5G support? (Canât see any buttons or else).
The poll closed yesterdayâŚ
The issue with Option 1 (IMO) is it means you canât have an M2 SSD for storage and an M2 5G Cellular Module.
Weâre not planning to produce a privacy screen protector at the moment for open_slate. Basically any 12ââ you can find should do the job.
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No, we have some restrictions weâre working with. We will have another meeting focused on the I/O in early February, and I will bring this again to verify.
Thank you all to those who participated in our latest poll, related to mobile connectivity.
The results are in, and they are more divided than we hoped (but as divided as we expected).
Mobile connectivity is usually offered in PRO versions, sometime for surcharge of 100-200$. Thatâs not what we ever want to do. We want to offer the full capability of the platform we use, so that the device can support more use-cases.
There are a few trade offs with each decision, to a degree. We will go back to the lab and try to figure out the best solution. Early conversations we had internally are leading us towards exploring a solution including an integrated 5G subchip to the SoC, combined with a physical killswitch for the network/cellular sub-chip. Validating this can take a bit of time, but we will be updating you along the way.
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Hi community, I am coming back with a new poll.
This one is not necessarily shaping design decisions but it is important from a business decision point of view.
As open_slate continues to take shape, we want to involve the community in another important part of the project: launch configurations.
Our current plan (unless something changes) is to offer open_slate in two versions at launch:
- Base â 8GB RAM + 128GB storage
- Pro â 16GB RAM + 256GB storage
Both versions share the same core design principles: privacy-first hardware, multi-OS support, modularity, and long-term ownership.
Even though we intend to launch with two configurations, supporting multiple SKUs comes with real manufacturing challenges.
Each configuration requires separate planning across the supply chain â and most importantly, MOQ commitments (minimum order quantities).
This poll isnât about choosing one over the other â itâs about helping us estimate the expected demand split between Base and Pro (roughly in terms of %).
That feedback helps us get an understanding of our communityâs preference.
Our original thought process
As you are aware, we are working with limited resources in comparison to the big players. We can not really afford to run multiple variations, launch 5 products a year, etc. We need to be more careful with the SKUs we design, as we can not afford to fail.
Because of that, we initially leaned toward offering only the Pro version, for a simple reason: longevity.
open_slate is designed as a platform we want to support for years. And when you combine higher RAM with lightweight, bloat-free operating systems â like de-Googled Android or Linux â 16GB RAM can keep the device feeling fast and relevant not just today, but in 5, 6, 7+ years.
With expandable storage and long-term OS flexibility, the Pro configuration is built with that future-proof goal in mind.
Why the Base version matters
At the same time, our mission isnât just to build private and capable devices.
Itâs also to make these products accessible to more people by offering the products at a more affordable price. The crazy price hike on RAM and storage is making this harder by the day, we found offering a Base version of the product a solution.
The Base version isnât meant as a compromise â itâs meant as a more affordable entry point for users who want the open_slate experience for lighter workloads, everyday tablet use, or simply a lower price bracket.
Which configuration fits you best?
- Base (8GB + 128GB)
- Pro (16GB + 256GB)
0
voters
Your feedback will directly help us estimate production demand better.
I will keep this poll upon till mid February.
Thank you for participating.
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I donât know what people are doing on those devices.
Ignoring what the user feels that he needs, I believe the Base is more than enough for anything.
The Pro version I imagine would be mostly for someone who wants to replace the desktop and have one device for everything.
I have 2 questions.
- Why isnât one motherboard enough only with different chips soldered ?
- If we can have one motherboard, can we avoid soldering the memories and replace it with some drawer slide-in/out like socket or some other mechanism so that the users can buy later larger memories and replace them without even soldering?
I can try to get more precise technical information about this, but itâs basically a different SKU that requires the MOQ quota on its own.
This is unfortunately not supported on this chip. And as far as I am aware, I donât think itâs supported on any ARM processor. There is a reason why ARM processors have longer lasting battery, and lower power mode.
Maybe the whole situation could be addressed on the basis of pre-orders, if you reach some critical thresholds you could produce 2 batches or else either of the 2 based on the demand and repeat the same with the next round of pre-orders.