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Linux phones are more important now than ever

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Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#261

Post by sharperguy »

VariousPrograms wrote: post #116

As someone willing to put up with all manner of nonsense (overpriced/underpowered hardware, clunky UI, endless troubleshooting), battery life on mobile Linux devices alone prevents me from using them in the real world. Is there a single Linux phone/tablet that can last an 8 hour day of actual use? Librem/Pinephone/Juno can't. My uConsole can't. Different category, but my MNT mini laptop lasts like 4 hours and can't b…

This is a big part of why Android was developed in the first place. The operating system and application architecture that makes sense on desktop just doesn't make sense on mobile. Despite the many problems Google's restrictive APIs which you are forced to use can cause for developers, they are also highly optimized for power usage.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#262

Post by frankzander »

globular-toast wrote: post #198
frankzander wrote: post #195

What I don't get (plz help me) is why out of a sudden this vendors close up their phones and why is Google going this way? What's their intend?

More money. More power. Greed. Don't ever underestimate human greed. It doesn't matter what people have or where they are, they will always want more. We only have what we have now because of a few very peculiar people like Richard Stallman, but now it's just a bunch of normies in control.

I've always assumed that there is some money related intend behind this. But I can't figure out what money reason it is.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#263

Post by frankzander »

shaky-carrousel wrote: post #242
frankzander wrote: post #195

What I don't get (plz help me) is why out of a sudden this vendors close up their phones and why is Google going this way? What's their intend?

I think it's an unintended effect of Europe regulations. Google saw Apple exploring what's the bare minimum to comply with EU regulations regarding openness. And Google is setting their bar there.

What does it have to do with the regulations? Does they forbid open phones?

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#264

Post by benterix »

jeffparsons wrote: post #17

My Android phone prevents me from taking screenshots if an app author doesn't want me to. My Android phone prevents me from recording phone calls at the request of my carrier, even though it's totally legal for me to do so in my jurisdiction. I'm not loving where this is all going.

Fortunately we still have the analog loophole.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#265

Post by ttkari »

maheart wrote: post #126
VariousPrograms wrote: post #116

As someone willing to put up with all manner of nonsense (overpriced/underpowered hardware, clunky UI, endless troubleshooting), battery life on mobile Linux devices alone prevents me from using them in the real world. Is there a single Linux phone/tablet that can last an 8 hour day of actual use? Librem/Pinephone/Juno can't. My uConsole can't. Different category, but my MNT mini laptop lasts like 4 hours and can't b…

>Is there a single Linux phone/tablet that can last an 8 hour day of actual use? What's "actual use"? Furi FLX1 has the best battery life I've seen on a Linux phone. Idling, it last 3+ days. I'm sure it could survive 1 whole day of "actual use". I also think almost any (official) SailfishOS device would last a day of actual use.

I have a Sony Xperia 10 III with SailfishOS and it easily does 48 hours on a charge when I'm not doing a lot of screen time. Also on days when I use it for tracking / navigation on 6-8 hour bicycle rides it easily lasts for the entire day and then some. I think this is not bad for a device that has been in daily use for almost three years and still has the original battery.

I'm running a couple of messenger clients and a web browser (Fennec under Android App Support as the native one is sadly a bit behind the times currently) all the time. The only thing I've noticed to eat a ton of battery is having wifi enabled when outside the range of my own networks, it seems the scanning the phone does in the background to look for known wifi networks is not energy efficient at all.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#266

Post by heikkilevanto »

verisimi wrote: post #199
frankzander wrote: post #195

What I don't get (plz help me) is why out of a sudden this vendors close up their phones and why is Google going this way? What's their intend?

It's not sudden, and it's about control. You probably don't remember a time when you could switch/remove batteries from your phone. All manufacturers removed this ability.

That was one very good reason for me to choose a FairPhone. (Almost?) everything is user replaceable. It has been in my pocket for a could of years and I have not needed to replace anything yet. But I do like having the option.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#267

Post by takluyver »

akagusu wrote: post #48
christophilus wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree. They're useless until they can call, text, and do video / camera reliably. With enough adoption, the rest will come, but they won't ever get adoption without nailing those basics.

Adoption will come only and only with essential apps people use every day.

And those apps get developed only if there are enough users. Catch 22.

Microsoft didn't manage to make Windows Phone a viable competitor against Android & iOS, and they're about an order of magnitude bigger than any Linux-focused company. I hope the conditions shift and an open phone OS can take off, but I don't know what would enable it.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#268

Post by e-v »

tmtvl wrote: post #247
meiuqer wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by 'Belgium is not a nation state', if i may ask?

Belgium may be used as a stand-in for Brussels, i.e. the European Union.

I think the author of the post was referring to the fact that Belgium is a multinational state, comprised of Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#269

Post by bjord »

rickdeckard wrote: post #225
frankzander wrote: post #195

What I don't get (plz help me) is why out of a sudden this vendors close up their phones and why is Google going this way? What's their intend?

Less conspiratorial answer: Bootloader unlock removal: It's actually not happening all of a sudden. The dam-breaking moment is more that Samsung, the number #1 Android vendor, decided to stop supporting it. The vendors stop maintaining bootloader-unlocking methods because the cost/benefit profile to develop/maintain/support that feature and its consequences is simply not sufficient, all while several of the biggest c…

sounds like Firefox OS would've been right up your alley(?)

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#270

Post by shellfishgene »

anticorporate wrote: post #49
akagusu wrote: post #5

Linux phones are useless for common people until they can run government and bank apps.

I've heard this argument before and yet I've never understood it. What government apps do people run? Why do you need to access your bank account on your phone? Is this some payments model that's just not common in my country where we still use physical credit cards for everything?

This might be an extreme example, but with Saudi Arabia's Absher app you can do almost everything related to government services, IDs and passports, car and driving licenses, visa, all kinds of permits etc. Other countries may have similar apps.
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