this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2026
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Linux Phones

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The Discussion on Linux-based Phones.


Benefits:

  • Hardware freedom.
  • Perfect operating-system competition.
  • Full utilization of specs.
  • Phone lifespan raises to 10+ years.
  • Less e-waste.

Linux Mobile Distros:

  • Ubuntu Touch
  • Sailfish
  • FuriOS
  • Postmarket OS
  • Mobian
  • Pure OS
  • Plasma Mobile
  • LuneOS
  • openSUSE Mobile
  • Nemomobile
  • Droidian
  • Mobile NixOS
  • ExpidusOS
  • Maemo Leste
  • Manjaro Arm
  • Tizen
  • WebOS

Linux Mobile Hardware:

  • Fairphone 5
  • Volla Phone
  • PinePhone
  • FLX1
  • Librem 5

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Google will soon be requiring android app developers to pay $25 to register their governments ids to make apps outside of the play store.

The package (com.google.android.verifier) will be introduced on devices running Android 8 or higher, granting Google the ability to block the installation of unverified apps.

Complete your migration plans before Google puts up the barbed wire making it much harder to leave.

The alternatives are Graphene, Calyx, Sailfish, FuriOS, Ubuntu Touch and Postmarket OS.

95 days: 30 September 2026: Indonesia, Brazil, Thailand and Singapore.

188 days: 2027: Globally.

top 32 comments
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[–] ellypony@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

What do I do if I don't have any of the supported devices : (

[–] solxix@pawb.social 35 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Why is LineageOS not in your list of alternatives?

[–] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 17 points 17 hours ago

It's an obvious first step to de-googling. It's android without Google.

[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 24 points 23 hours ago

Wow, their enshittification process is on steroids!

Seems like only yesterday they introduced those mandatory verifications.

[–] Sunshine@piefed.ca 36 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

How is else is google going to make their extra 13b so they can finally beat Apple's 416b record revenue, closed-garden it is.

ICE is gonna love restricting non-google play store developers from fighting them.

[–] Smaile@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 day ago

New phone arctypes here we come.

[–] Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

The Jolla phone looks interesting. I hope it doesn't end up like Windows Phone.

[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 2 points 15 hours ago (2 children)
[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago (1 children)
[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 1 points 19 minutes ago* (last edited 16 minutes ago)

SailfishOS has been alive and well for 13 years, it won't die anytime soon.

[–] Rolive@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

No support, no apps, extremely limited. Only one good feature, windows phones had great cameras.

[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 1 points 19 minutes ago* (last edited 18 minutes ago)

It has apps though - both native (3 app stores full) and the option to run Android apps.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] swiftywizard@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 8 hours ago

Community Build runs fine for moto edge 30 fusion, I like e/OS for the convenient integration of a tracker/DNS blocker and white-listing of apps to access your real gps data since it is required for wifi/ble operations on android. You can set a fixed location for the apps where you only really need the permission, like a wifi scanner or pairing new headphones.

[–] KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 8 points 16 hours ago (3 children)

I've heard that /e/os is basically just used as a tool to sell murena services and is a generally shitty android rom

[–] sunnyjim@lemmy.zip 2 points 30 minutes ago

I have /e/ on my Fairphone 5 and I like it well enough. I was looking for a degoogled European android ROM and it works OK for that. My banking apps etc. all work and I only occasionally have problems with apps relying too heavily on Google services and therefore not working.

They definitely have better integration with Murena services but I use Proton instead and I've not had a problem.

I've heard good things about iodé too.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 points 10 hours ago

OK, I've been planning to buy one of their devices so I'm very interested in such information. Where have you heard this? Do you have any sources you can point me to?

[–] A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip 4 points 15 hours ago

I've heard they sell refurbished consumer devices with /e/.
They basically tried to recreate G-services (voluntary for users of course) in addition to providing the OS which is built from AOSP.
It worked well enough for me, like LTS LineageOS basically but I didn't care for the design so much.
But all my info is many years old.

[–] Jayb151@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

I tried installing this on my pixel 4a, but the web installer failed each time I tried. It was never able to unlock the bootloader

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 12 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (3 children)

Anyone have experience with Lineage OS? I have on old LG G7 that I don't think is even mentioned in the linked OS', but I think Lineage is meant for older phones; however, the last commit to it's code was almost a year ago so I think it's deprecated/abandonware now.

https://xdaforums.com/t/nightly-judyln-official-lineageos-for-the-lg-g7-and-g7-thinq.4684488/page-5

*Postmarket OS has compatibility, the issue was my phone had a different name then the one listed as it was Canada only; so Postmarket should work on it.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 11 hours ago

i've been using lineageos with microg and root (used to be magisk, but switched to kernelsu which seems much more sensible), and it frankly just seems like the best smartphone experience possible these days.

[–] brb@sh.itjust.works 3 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 hours ago

:O thanks so much!

[–] Australis13@fedia.io 13 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

I use the last supported version of LineageOS on my old Note 3 (Lineage 18.1 / Android 11) as a spare device around the house. Always meant to try building a newer version but never got around to it, and it's not as though the phone ever ventures outside my LAN anyway (mostly acts as an alarm clock + media player these days).

Lineage itself is still active.

Older devices do eventually have support dropped by Lineage, but depending on which version of the G7 you have it looks like it may still be supported (note that discontinued devices are filtered by default, so you have to change the filter setting to see previously supported devices): https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 1 points 9 hours ago
[–] Canuck@sh.itjust.works 7 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)
[–] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 5 points 23 hours ago (3 children)

Already on Graphene. I might have to take one of my spare Pixels and restore it to stock since I need Play Services to use my local transit apps, but that will only have absolutely minimal data on it to operate those.

[–] psycotica0@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 hour ago

Thinking about Graphene right now. If you've got time, I'd be curious to know if you've had any downsides, regrets, or drawbacks. It sounds like maybe this transit one, but in another comment it sounded like actually there's already a solution to that? Why don't you like that solution? I'm not criticizing you, I actually don't know what the solution is or what its drawbacks might be. Have you had any other issues with proprietary apps? As much as I don't use them for most things, I do use them sometimes when I have to.

[–] KSPAtlas@sopuli.xyz 5 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

GrapheneOS has Google play services sandboxing, so the services can only do what you give them permission to

[–] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 2 points 16 hours ago
[–] passenger@sopuli.xyz 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

You could make a profile with play services and that app

[–] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 8 points 20 hours ago

Of course I could, and that's how I'm doing it right now but I really don't want Google software on my daily driver phone at all if I can help it, y'know? I don't have to use the apps every day, just every now and then.