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Will Linux phones stay around this time?

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Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#161

Post by matkoniecz »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #139

I'd be shocked if it took off. The FOSS development paradigm seems to be allergic to good UI design, and this is far more important for people on mobile than desktop.

It seems to me that the root cause is that OSS is often developed by people already using it. They are used to weird interface and not benefiting from it being usable by newbies.

So there is much smaller motivation to improve it.

And even if someone new joins project they will be often also used to weird interface once they contribute.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#162

Post by colordrops »

Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #155
colordrops wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, Android is mature and secure, but it's not private . No one seems to talk about this much, but there are a few Android "features" that had to be designed by sociopaths. The main one for me is the complete lack of control of network traffic. Other than a VPN loopback app, which is pretty janky, there is no way to disable network traffic per app. Even with a VPN loopback, there is no way to only allow network traf…

By the way, my colleague has some crappy Huawei phone, which previously killed background apps [1], but this week received an update that changed the behaviour to simply disabling them from accessing the internet. [1]: https://dontkillmyapp.com

Hmm, maybe it's time for a huawei. I have a oneplus and had the hardest time unlocking my Tesla for a while because OnePlus's OxygenOS kept killing the Tesla app in the background. Really stupid.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#164

Post by fit2rule »

shmerl wrote: post #150
j-james wrote: post #114

I don't understand the desire for a Linux phone as so described in the article as a daily driver. The Android platform represents an enormous amount of work that encompasses a more secure base kernel, an unparalleled selection of applications designed for mobile usage and written in a memory-safe language, fantastic sandboxing and user privacy features leagues ahead of any desktop operating system, and great diversit…

Android deviated from the rest of the Linux ecosystem for reasons that are irrelevant today and never tried to close the rift when it could. So no, I'm not thrilled about Android. Give me a system that uses Wayland, not SurfaceFlinger.

This. People seem to be overlooking the fact that Android is an utterly repugnant ecosystem to develop for, and we can do much, much better.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#165

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

AussieWog93 wrote: post #139

I'd be shocked if it took off. The FOSS development paradigm seems to be allergic to good UI design, and this is far more important for people on mobile than desktop.

If it worked well enough, and was stable enough, I think a lot of tech enthusiasts might make the switch. Same we we put up with Linux distros.

A friend has a pine phone and it’s just not good enough as a daily driver. Forget UI. It needs a reboot regularly.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#166

Post by f6v »

diminish wrote: post #153
AussieWog93 wrote: post #139

I'd be shocked if it took off. The FOSS development paradigm seems to be allergic to good UI design, and this is far more important for people on mobile than desktop.

On the other hand, I think designers aren't that into contributing to FOSS - traditionally designers have been more on "paid" side of computation.

I think the absolute majority of developers aren't contributing to FOSS either.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#167

Post by sergeykish »

j-james wrote: post #114

I don't understand the desire for a Linux phone as so described in the article as a daily driver. The Android platform represents an enormous amount of work that encompasses a more secure base kernel, an unparalleled selection of applications designed for mobile usage and written in a memory-safe language, fantastic sandboxing and user privacy features leagues ahead of any desktop operating system, and great diversit…

Same argument applies to Windows vs Linux. Same story.

Synergy opens amazing smartphone hardware to Linux — DCI-P3 color space, high refresh rates, variable refresh rates. Sandboxing, user privacy features, we need this on desktop too.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#169

Post by f6v »

vincnetas wrote: post #130
perardi wrote: post #35

So how would a Linux phone possibly gain momentum? I have no idea how it solves any job to be done for almost anyone. Does it have the apps I want, including for my bank? Does it have a great camera? Does it have fantastic battery life? Right now, the answer to all of that is definitely not , and it becomes a chicken and an egg problem, where you don’t have the investment to build all that. And don’t give me the obvi…

Interesting situation here. Whats the name for oposite chicken-egg problem. You mention that linux phones do not support banking apps and google even being antonym for privacy, has still increasing user base. But we are in situation where you must use google to be able to use banking apps. Vicious cycle? For banking aps to work you must install them from play store. To be able to use play store you must agree with go…

> If google dicides your evil, you will not be able to use banking app anymore :(

It's like driving a car: there's a tiny probability to get killed, but everyone is driving nonetheless.

Re: Will Linux phones stay around this time?

#170

Post by jcelerier »

j-james wrote: post #114

I don't understand the desire for a Linux phone as so described in the article as a daily driver. The Android platform represents an enormous amount of work that encompasses a more secure base kernel, an unparalleled selection of applications designed for mobile usage and written in a memory-safe language, fantastic sandboxing and user privacy features leagues ahead of any desktop operating system, and great diversit…

> The Android platform represents an enormous amount of work that encompasses a more secure base kernel, an unparalleled selection of applications designed for mobile usage and written in a memory-safe language, fantastic sandboxing and user privacy features leagues ahead of any desktop operating system, and great diversity in the hardware market.

but it's so freaking slow. I own a oneplus 8 pro and compared to my old Jolla it's an exercise in frustration, nothing in the UI is smooth.

> an unparalleled selection of applications

78% of which are competing chat apps (no kidding, I have to have ~8 different chat apps installed)

> designed for mobile usage and written in a memory-safe language, fantastic sandboxing and user privacy features leagues ahead of any desktop operating system,

I'll be honest I'd trade all that for "less lag" without even thinking twice about it

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