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Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

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Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#21

I'm typing this comment from a Poco F1 I set up with postmarketOS and Phosh earlier this week and so far it's very promising. Will write up a proper review next week. Much better than the Pinephone so far.

This sounds very interesting. Can you elaborate a bit further?

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#22

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

Vanilla Android or AOSP might kinda have “Linux Spirit” but I’m not sure what gets shipped on most consumer devices does… lots of random things locked down (including boot loader, sometimes), crapware all over the place, drivers and kernel changes that aren’t upstreamed making it difficult to install anything but carrier/manufacturer-flavored Android, etc.

I think most people rooting for “smartphone Linux” are looking to be able to swap and customize OSes on their phones and tablets as easily as they do on their x86 PCs without futzing around with device specific ROMs and the like.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#23

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

The android operating system is not open soruce.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#24
Before answering that question I'd ask: why would we want that?

My answer is no, it didn't work on the desktop, it won't work on the smartphone, for more or less the same reasons.

As much as I like Linux and FOSS, Linux is just a bad OS for the average consumer.

For hackers, makers, DYI enthusiasts, etc. Linux is wonderful, however, what's the market size for a Linux smart phone for this people? I bet it's tiny.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#25

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

Android is Linux but it has nowhere close to the fully open source freedom of a traditional Linux workstation. This is why I carry a tiny linux laptop.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#26

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

The android operating system is not open soruce.

https://source.android.com/docs/setup/start/licenses

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#27

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

When I think of a Linux phone, I really want something that supports a full GNU/Linux desktop as convergence.

The Steam Deck does this perfectly!

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#28

Arch Linux ARM can be installed on Android with Termux I run scipy and numpy on my phone with it. A bit painful because I can only see about six lines of code at a time but I wrote a few thousand lines of ML code with vim on my cell phone in the last two months. https://github.com/SDRausty/termux-archlinux/

Termux is a godsend on Android, and remains The Only App Which Does Not Specifically and Precisely Suck (though EinkBro is giving it a good run for its money).

Termux still has a host of limitations and weaknesses which are imposed by the Android environment itself, including being capriciously killed by the OS, lack of multiple users, blocked access to most of the filesystem, and a relatively limited (though impressively growing, I have to admit) set of utilities. At last check, this includes X11 utilities and at least some of TeX, both quite formidable.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#29

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

Google created an Android userspace that requires Google services to do anything meaningful. This violates everything Linux stands for.

Re: Is there hope for Linux on smartphones? [video]

#30
post #25

It's mentioned already, but: Android. Discounting Android as "Not Linux" enough is a mind boggle to me. Perhaps not "GNU" enough, but certainly the spirit of Linux -- customized for the particular needs, stable, fast, works on a plethora of hardware, etc.

Android is Linux but it has nowhere close to the fully open source freedom of a traditional Linux workstation. This is why I carry a tiny linux laptop.

Phones are not PCs/general-purpose computers. Do you want your TV to be a general purpose computer as well? (Having put my family through a Media Center PC and TV remotes with keyboards/trackpads for several years, I don't recommend it.)
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