No thanks, I'd rather use a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS
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buy privacy-first community driven phone look inside closed source OS with no recovery image and outdated dependencies
this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2026
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I wish there was an up to date linux phone/tablet alternative. We are kind of lucky that there is still a google alternative. The closer google gets, the worse our choices get. And with the dev speed of google and apple, it is really hard to keep up with them. Even many basics are still missing on linux or a free android.
The Fairphone can run Linux, can't it?
But not everything works. One user is regularly posting updates (I think in !linuxphones@lemmy.ca) about getting all devices of their FP to work. They are making progress but it's still tedious work and if they ever lose interest or something happens to them it can be years until someone capable can pick up the torch.
Man, I just want a pocketable device with Linux on it, with cell Bluetooth wifi gps antennas that can send and receive texts, calls and data. I don't care about individual apps. If services can be reached via a browser, I'm good.
Ubuntu touch has a widr selection of devices that are 90% completed and at the bareminimum do what you want.
You don't even need a shitty slow phone. Some of the oneplus phones work and they run on a snapdragon 845-865 which are the golden standard when it comes to emulation and other harder processes. I think the 845's source code got leaked too so often projects will only work for that chip.
I've been keeping an eye on the Commodore Callback . Looks pretty good. I would just need Android Auto with CoMaps to work and I'll buy it.
i really hope fairphone themselves picks it up. it would be incredible of fp7 (or 8, give them time) could be 100% (or close) compatible with linux out of the box. even if it required closed source blobs for like the radios or whatever.
i put postmarket on my fp5 and it runs pretty damn well. with a little more polish it absolutly could be my daily driver. it is very close.
i know its a lot to hope for, but i think faiphone is in a unique position to do this if they ever decided to.
I love PMOS, but isn't it AOSP under the hood?
According to Distrowatch and Wikipedia it is based on Alpine Linux.
i dont think so... you need waydroid to run android apps. i think its proper linux...
My understanding is that pmos is the exception in that it runs "pure" linux, whereas Ubuntu touch and Sailfish OS run Helium as a compatibility layer that allows them to use Android drivers
Good to know! I haven't been able to try one yet, so I wasn't sure.
Its pretty abysmal in the way of hardware security, and software. The gOS team did a deep dive on alternative devices to the pixel. Only device even close to the pixel was Samsung, but well... Samsung hates their consumers it seems and refuses to open their devices.
I mean it can⦠but it's not exactly in the same universe as a somewhat polished user experience
From what I've seen the various Linux OSes for phones are pretty poor for real use, most features missing, unstable, very poor security, and so on.
I keep hoping if I say it enough I can will it into existence but I really think that thr steam frame is going to usher in a community made phone/tablet that runs on arch and uses fex just like the steam frame does.
So many community projects poped up on github when the steam deck was released, and people been using proton in third party apps. Hell other distros have their own "steam deck" mode that just boots into big picture mode. I truely think that fex, and the work valve is putting into(or funding) arm64, is going to be more valuable than the steam frame itself. Gamehub app is already using the work valve put in with fex, and arm translation layers you can play red dead on a modern mid range pocco phone at 720p fps. And that's the exe PC version not the Netflix apk.
Me too. The mobile space is stuck between two dogshit OSes. Gnome is doing good work in this space which is nice to see.
KDE is doing some impressive work lately too
Also good news :)
Making an operable phone would be (relatively) easy enough. The trouble comes with trying to make it compatible with all the apps and app stores out there, because people expect their phones to be able to download and run various apps that every other phone can. Sometimes they need it to.
The apps are a solved problem. Itβs the other way around. Getting a phone or tablet with an soc that has mainline Linux support is hard. It takes forever for all that stuff to settle in mainline and manufacturers will not help.
The apps are far from a solved problem. Otherwise, alternative mobile OSes would not have such a hard time, even if you look beyond mainline Linux. The issue are banking and ID apps, which can work but also may not work.
They can work. They are designed not to. Because there are philosophical differences over what kind of access each should have.
Websites still work. You donβt need an app. You need a bookmark.
I know that the could work. But that is a philosophical distinction if they don't work. You preach to the wrong guy. I removed all these banking and ID apps from my daily driver because I don't see why I should put that kind of stuff on my phone to begin with but I am a minority. Banking apps require the app, bookmarks won't cut it and yes they don't work because some banks (not all mind you) don't want them to work which makes no difference to the end user though.
We do need an open security standard and then the only way how we could break out of the duopoly is by the EU forcing companies to use that open standard, at least additionally to the US based solutions. That would break the duopoly.
Is /e/OS out of date?
Out of date is subjective.
It's not only the OS itself but the ecosystem. There is no free RCS app on android.
There is no "state of the art" (or even close to it) app for free Banking, Crypto, translation, tax reporting (Germany), car navigation, social hiking/biking/sports, not even public broadcasting, free news apps are lacking features, ...
I donate to many apps but it's not enough. There are amazing people and apps and ecosystems out there but it's hard to keep up.
Mine just updated today. Its been working out for me and my family for 6ish months now. Cant complain.
No but it is as Linux as Google Android.