Yes they are, but it really depends on which one you get.
I have a fairphone 6 with pmOS on my desk here right now.
And it is ready to be a daily driver, and i will soon fully switch over to it.
this post was submitted on 08 Jul 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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My Jolla phone with SailfishOs should be coming at the end of September, can't wait!
There isn't a daily driver with enough stock available that runs all android apps.
I have not used Google Play services on my Android phone since 2019, so I'm perfectly used to not having those.
That's fine but as an influx it has to be pre-installed and be exactly the same as Android.
Why is google play services an absolute necessity?
There are apps people potentially use that require it.
i mean sure there might be apps that people potentially use that require it, but do those apps have no alternatives and are absolutely necessary?
I'm sure they do, an example would be banking online instead of an app. But if the majority of users were willing to have any amount of friction from their current habits the world wouldn't be in it's current predicament.
Fair enough
It seems really phone-dependent, so it might strain the used market and raise prices of Google Pixels and OnePlus phones.
I think a lot of newcomers will struggle with getting microG running. TBH I still haven't figured it out and just kind of avoid apps requiring Play Services lol.
And, as always, Europe will fare better than the U.S.
At this point, what I'm thinking about is not using my phone as more than a phone+hotspot. Anything I want to run will be on a second device with me, which would be for everything else.
What that second device is.... currently up for debate. I was going to build a clamshell style palmtop, but honestly I just don't have the time. Maybe I'll get a PMOS friendly tablet?
Hmm I wonder if any of the open handhelds have SIM connectivity
As of right now, I think mobile Linux still needs some more time before it's ready for mass adoption. For the developers and tinkerers, it's a fun project and, depending on your needs, it can be usable as a daily driver as your main or side phone, but it's still a little unstable with many missing conveniences compared to the duopoly. App support is already good enough in my opinion, especially with Waydroid being a thing. As for device support, I think if you do want to try mobile Linux, get a well-supported device to start, like a used OnePlus 6 or Pixel 3a series, and just play around with it. I found it very fun, and there are lots of cool things you can do with mobile Linux too! I particularly enjoyed the lack of microtransactions in all the games...(Animatch, Ultimate Tic Tac Toe, Pentobi, a few desktop games are playable with mouse and keyboard)
A good alternative right now is to recommend a degoogled Android ROM for people who want to keep the openness of Android but don't want to go all in to Linux phones just yet. iodeOS, GrapheneOS, e/OS, and now CalyxOS (they're back!) are all great options that won't have the same restrictions as stock Android. Fairphones, Pixels, etc. are all great devices to be recommended for this purpose.
While I'm also asking for myself, I'm currently running Lineage OS with no Google apps or services, but eventually I think I'll be forced off of an Android-based system entirely.
Besides installing malware on devices with Google Play services, Google is also doing things like making AOSP less frequent updates and stuff like that too. Eventually, I'm figuring I'm just going to have to leave and go to a Linux phone entirely, whether I want to or not.
For me personally, the things that I absolutely need to work are the touchscreen, calling, texting, cellular data, microphone, speaker, bluetooth, and Wi-Fi.
From my testing with pmOS and a used OnePlus 6, one of the best supported devices + the potent SD845 chipset: touchscreen, cellular data, microphone, speaker, bluetooth, and Wi-Fi all work. I have not tested calling or texting, as I mainly focused on using its cameras, listening to music, and playing fun (awesome native Linux) games, and from reading the wiki, it will kind of work with some weird quirks (audio dropping out, that sort of thing). Pretty interesting though.
I enjoyed playing around with the cameras a lot, it was kind of a case where they were so bad they became good again, looking almost film-like with lots of grain and blooming
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Not even remotely, even if Mobile Linux was good and viable the grand majority of disgruntled Android users aren't switching. Thats if it was good and viable which it isnt even remotely. Hardware support is poor, the software experience is extremely bad (yes I have actually used postmarketos), and overall its just not something that people are gonna want to use.
On September 30th when people look for alternatives they will find nothing and give up, if there was a viable alternative google wouldn't be doing this
E/os is fine. I just bank on a laptop since I deleted MicroG. Nobody has to do that though.
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