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this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2024
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Really they should be making it for existing phones. The mobile Linux scene is pretty barren
The problem is that phone hardware is incredibly non-standard. Every model requires custom tweaks and regular bug fixes, which is why there aren't many phones with good Linux support or with enduring LineageOS support or any other specialty OS. Every manufacturer does their own thing and edits Android to fit their hardware, but they generally don't release the custom drivers or any documentation. The same phone model from a different year or different region might have a different chipset in it. Keeping up with it is basically impossible, by the time an aftermarket developer gets their custom OS build running properly the phone is obsolete.
On the other hand, if a project can pick the hardware platform for themselves then everything is more manageable.
I suppose manufacturers don’t usually play well with others.
Everybody likes to take advantage of open standards, but nobody wants to share their own toys.
Well, they call it IP ;)
It's extremely difficult since every phone SOC has its own closed proprietary blob of drivers that's required to make use of it.
Doesn't the ESP32 module this project is using require the same thing?
They have some blobs for wifi/ble, but the difference is you can freely use them, whereas obtaining the blobs for most phone SOCs is hard.
I keep thinking if they could make a phone that you just assemble like a computer and can change the parts to upgrade. I don't care it would be bit bulky. But I assume they wouldn't make as much money if people won't buy entire new phones every two years.
Fairphone 5?
Currently typing this on a Fairphone 5 that I imported from Europe. I would personally say no in terms of it being an answer to the above poster. At least as of now. I'm not saying I dislike the phone. I'm fairly happy with it, with the only real complaint being battery life.
Although it is easy to repair, as far as I am aware none of the phones really share any parts or have an upgrade path which is what I would really like to see. Similar to the Framework laptops (which I also own and just upgraded). I think the SoC in this phone will last me for quite some time, but if the Fairphone 6 ends up having a much more energy efficient screen, I would love if I could install it on my current phone, but that is highly unlikely as far as I can tell.
Seems like you've experienced all the reasons I've never considered getting one despite thinking it's a really cool product lol
I get a new phone every couple of years and aside from the battery, I seriously doubt I'd ever upgrade a module in the fairphone. I would just choose the best parts when I bought it initially and use it as-is until it was toast.
Laptops, on the other hand....if I ever need to buy one, it'll be a Framework.
Makes sense to me. One of the deciding factors for me was the ease of bootloader unlocking. After getting fucked by Asus on my Zenfone 8 Flip when they started with their heel turn, the FP5 seemed like one of the better options for a company that would "always" have the unlock option.
Currently I am running it rooted with the original fully updated ROM, but I plan on installing Lineage OS on it in the future. Since I hadn't ever installed a custom ROM and because I didn't have a backup phone anymore, I bought a cheap OnePlus phone to practice installing Lineage on. Although the OnePlus was relatively easy to unlock, the FP5 was even easier.
I honestly only buy a new phone when my current one breaks or runs out of software support. I bought my current phone (Google Pixel 8) because my old (Moto G Power) ran out of security updates, and this one has 7 years of support.
If I could have switched to a FOSS OS for longer support, I'd still be using my old phone. If I could replace parts to something that gets software updates, I would have. But no, it's ewaste because it's no longer getting support.
If someone makes a forever phone, I'll buy it.
Depending on the country, it might not be available or has limited carrier options. Not very fair imo.