I'd like for this to have a huge breakthrough.
Btw, what's with the 11% upvote? Was 102% earlier.
this post was submitted on 22 Jan 2025
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Linux Phones
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Community about running GNU/Linux on phones. Projects like Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, PostmarketOS, Mobian etc. Either on former Android phones or hardware like the PinePhone.
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More competition is always nice, but not if they're only building their own OS backbones. For linux mobile to be viable, it's gotta be a team sport on the software stack
Seems to be Debian based, probably a Mobian rebrand.
That's what I like to see. I would not consider a phone using halium to be a native linux phone.
Question… how does this post have -1 downvotes?
Someone mistook upvote with downvote and upvoted with downvote
Those hardware killswitches
The flush mounted camera
I'm interested. I have a PinePhone and PinePhone Pro which unfortunately I still don't use as daily drivers. They do work and honestly playing with Sxmo with PostMarketOS is really interesting. ssh-ing to my phone to script, use hooks on events, backing-up whatever I want or need instantly is a totally new way to have a phone and I loved in. Yet... "silly" details like not having a usable high-end camera for photos is impractical. Sure I could have an additional extra camera but I often like to go out without a backpack and that won't work.
Anyway, this is exciting. Few redflags I'll be looking out for before I spend 1 EUR on this :
- no repository. That's the biggest IMHO because it's one thing to make cool software but in the spirit of open-source you don't do it "hidden" until it's "ready" but rather you engage with the community from the start
- no hardware blueprints. This goes back to point 1. They are targeting a very specific community who not only cares about openness but has expertise in the domain AND is very opinionated. I bet some people here were already thinking of 3D printing casing, or wondering if the drives for the modem (Snapdragon X62) are actually open so yes listing specs is a start but if there is no room for suggestions by the community, even if to dismiss them because pre-prod is already rolling, people are going to feel left out. It also brings up the whole repairability and upgrade path can of worm.
- no external backing. Sure crowdfunding is amazing but for hardware it's damn hard. I've backed few such projects, e.g. Lynx XR1, and it's a totally different beast compared to software or content production. The scale of it all where you need to book production lines that cost literally millions is not easy. Typically that might mean EU funding (as they are based in Madrid) or large sales (as Lynx did with schools AFAIR) and the later might mean pushing back delivery to "normal" backers.
- team composition. I can't vouch for people on the team but when I see 3/6 on marketing/sales and nobody on logistics/supply chain who would basically live in Shenzhen, I worry.
All that being said I did leave my email and whenever I go to Madrid next I'll pay them a visit. That's the kind of project I do want to succeed!
I really want a Linux phone that isn't neutered, but I also don't want it to be $2k+ Lol. If the librem 5 is anything to go by (at $800 with pretty outdated specs) I'm bracing for 2k
Volla phone seems pretty good, and dual-boots a secure android.
That is interesting, thanks for pointing it out
I backed the Librem 5 and waited years. I was somewhat disappointed at the delivery but understood that Purism was sticking to specific requirements and advancement of full open source phones. I imagine there will be less of a gap in hardware as projects happen so hopefully there's a Linux native device for 1k with decent specs soon.
That's a fair point. I hope with more of these coming on the market there might end up being an open-source or just Linux phone standard so mobile OS's operate more akin to desktops than they do right now with all the tuning to specific hardware.
Yes, it's not funded by sponsored pre-installed crap.
Then again, with a good screen, RAM, mainstream Linux, and maybe some reparability this could vastly outlast other phones.
Yeah with the right specs, and assuming I could use a usb-c dock with the phone like a computer with OK specs, I'd put more money into that so I don't really need a laptop tbh. Upgradeability makes that even better
Did so with the PinePhone 4 years ago and... sure that works. Plugged it on a giant screen and keyboard https://twitter-archive.benetou.fr/utopiah/status/1310878869944176642/ just for fun.
That's neat lop. How was it's functionality?
Honestly I didn't spend much time actually working this way because... well it "just" worked. If you have a more specific question though happy to try to answer. I don't think I even had to tinker, namely plug in the USB-C hub, plug anyway else you need in, e.g. mouse&keyboard, HDMI screen and voila.
I guess I just picture a phone powering a "PC like" station struggling and lagging. That's probably an outdated concern considering things like raspberry pi's run just fine
Depends entirely on what you are doing. For example yes you can run Blender on this... but probably going to struggle quite a bit once you do anything complex on it. If you are "just" browsing the Web... and to be honest (on the non-Pro at least) not heavy pages, great. Watching videos that aren't 2160p x265 60fps? Sure. But... if you start to do that or video editing... yeah it will be practical unusable. IMHO better of think of it as a lightweight computer, like a RPi, that can handle a LOT as long as it's not demanding.
That's great to hear. I would probably use it for checking on my server, watching some videos and some basic work tasks. Sounds like it would work fine enough for that. Thanks for the info!
No problem. I suggest asking locally if someone around, by any chance, have one they could give you for a week or so, see if it's worth it for you.
At the same time, anything too low will be suspicious or unrealistic.
For ref the PinePhone Pro Explorer Edition is at $400 so... even though I'd rather have a top of the line phone for cheap, arguably that segment is covered. If they do have great hardware AND, like Purism, also do some software dev or "just" integration, unlike Pine64, then unfortunately that price range would seem justified.
Also for reference the latest iPhone with top specs is at $2K, same for best Android by Microsoft or Samsung.
Hardware specs alone put it firmly in 1.5k+ range. My gripe is that it won't be shipping to India anytime soon.
Man, I'd love to see this phone get made, but it really sounds too good to be true. If it does get made, it'll likely cost more than most top of the line phones on the market, and then there's the concern of the build quality considering it will be crowdfunded.
The specs are exciting. Lets see what the price is.
I do not see much added value in a hacky phone, which does not use an open source processor. Only RISCV and a fully open source OS and bootloader will add enough value to compensate the massive convenience loss of not simply using GrapheneOS.
Rochchip is a great Pi alternative but the node they use is far less efficient than Qualcomm. So not a great phone chip.