5d ago

I genuinely can't wait for Mobile Linux to become a thing

still better than ios lol

74 comments

Nah, /e/os and GrapheneOS rule!
- I'm an /e/os user and all I can say is even though it sucks the least among its competition, it STILL SUCKS! Not to downplay the immense effort put in by the devs and maintainers of course. Providing a privacy-respecting phone OS to ordinary people isn't just a good deed, it's necessary for a vibrant and diverse digital society. But still, we can all strive for better.
  
  Define, "sucks"
  
  By the way, do you know of any other OS except for GrafinoS that does not bundle any MicroG or other tether to Google? I like /e/os, but MicroG bothers me. Can it be uninstalled?
- GrapheneOS has been working flawlessly for me for years. Highly recommend!
- Just one problem. Both are still dependent on Google and Android-based. How sustainable is that security model when a company has the say-so over whether you get to flash your custom firmware next year, or the next year, or maybe the year after that?
  
  Right! just look how locked down android has become since the early/mid 2000's.
  You don't even have full control of your sd card anymore (if you're lucky enough to actually have a phone with an sd slot.)
- Check out crDroid. I do not know how it's like to daily drive it, but afaik it's highly customizable.
- Yep, they put in a lot of effort into the security and open source stuff, but at least on Graphene, the bundled apps are severely outdated aosp apps, they don't even support material you, meanwhile current aosp apps do support it, as can be seen on Lineage. The calculator app looks straight from Android 5 or probably earlier.
  
  I honestly couldn't care less about how the calculator app looks, and I'm sure you could find a more "modern" one on fdroid. The real problems are things like google pay not working (not a deal breaker imo, but would be nice to have)
  
  Lineage has its own forks of most apps

Tfw your Phone has no ROM and the stock one is trash.
- I am currently considering switching to a 3rd custom rom on my xiaomi since both of the ones I have tried while better than the stock one by miles, seem to have no activity surrounding them (one was last updated almost 2 years ago and the one I am currently on has been updated in october).
  Just sucks that its notsuch a mainline phone rhat gets lota of custom ROM support.
  
  If it is LineageOS you can always pick up the build by yourself and create your own images you can flash. Follow the Build for yourself Link the the respective device page.
  Main problem will be getting the binary blobs needed for your device as it requires a rooted device or a trusted source.

Gabe please make Linux mobile phone.

idk I enjoy LineageOS

Honestly I want Linux VOLTE so bad, the dream is to run sailfish os
- I run SailfishOS and Australia mandates VoLTE now. It works.
  
  Oh nice, I’m in America and stuck on Verizon for work. I really was hoping to see VOLTE hit the OP6T

I want this too but I don't get how you can call something like LineageOS dogshit.
It works perfectly.
I'm a desktop user mostly but my phone feels like the more polished experience
- For sure. One or two super paranoid banking apps but literally everything else works great with microg.
  
  I've even ditched microg a few years back.
  Depending on your usage it might not be an option, but for me it didn't make any difference
- Sounds like OP was using an unnofficial miui port or smth like that

But Linux for mobile exists, it is just not popular. For instance you can install Ubuntu Touch on certain phones.
- This one right here, officer! They did it!
- Yeah, like the Nexus 5. Not anything you'd want to actually use today.
  
  I looked into Ubuntu Touch last week as a potential alternative to Graphene on my Pixel 9.
  The most recent Pixel it supports is the 3.
  So Graphene it is then...
- If only Arch Linux ARM existed... ;(
  
  I don't expect Arch Linux ARM to have wider support than Ubuntu Touch or postmarketOS.
  The later 2 projects aim to support Android devices, while (based on my understanding) Arch Linux ARM mainly targets SBCs (single board computers), like Raspberry Pi.
  Arch Linux ARM nowadays, probably, also serves as a base for Asahi, but this does not help with Android device compatibility.

Be the change you want to see in the world.
-- Daffy Duck

still better than ios lol
Yeah android has termux, termux is amazing, I run emacs in it and have all the power of org mode on my phone!
- Yeah I am thinking of just don't care about phones. Just the cheapest second hand thing I can get for calls, sms, ssh, vlc.
  Maps would be nice, OsmAnd crashes frequently (out of memory?) on the tablet I got second hand.

https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-community-phone
- Came here to say the same thing. I'm very happy with sailfish OS since the first jolla phone came out (10+ years). I'm certainly not a power user though.
  
  I had a great time (save for bugs) playing with a Sailfish OS 2(?) phone way back. Glad they're still kicking.
- Costs so much though. Thinking about what a phone even needs to do for me, what other handheld devices could work instead?
  Steamdeck perhaps? Then a brick phone for calls/sms. Not too sure what would work as a lower spec and cheaper alternative to a Steamdeck and runs Linux though.

Phosh has a great UI, I genuinely love it -- I'm just not thrilled by my phone's battery life when running any mobile linux
- Make a /system symlink and copy the drivers over?
  
  different kernel version, no?

achtually, every Android phone is using the Linux kernel
- achtually, every Android phone is using the Linux kernel
  Yes and support for GNU/Linux applications is currently in beta.

Graphene rules
- I'm currently trying to decide between private and repairable. Pixel with Graphene or an HMD Skyline. Wish Fairphone was an option.
  How's picture quality with Graphene? How big a downgrade is it from the one packed on the stock pixel?
  
  I only use the camera for casual pictures and it's fine. It's still the same lenses and sensors after all. The camera app obviously isn't as all singing all dancing as stock but perfectly functional, has all the features you'd expect.
  
  It pains me to say, but the stock Google camera app is by far and away the best option I've yet found on Graphene. Which has to pair with the Photos app, or you can't actually do anything with the photos it takes.
  However, you don't have to sync either with Google (though you do have to sign in), you can set Graphene to only allow them access to the folder they need (while they think they have wider access), and you can turn off network permission.
  
  You can use the stock Google Pixel camera app without Play Services or internet access, it will produce the same photos. Tje only thing that won't work is the small image preview at the bottom left with the last image you took, clicking on it will just tell you that Google Photos is not installed.
  The GrapheneOS camera app is probably the best FOSS (sleek/minimal) camera app I've ever used, image quality isn't quite at stock Pixel level, but still pretty good, actually.

We need custom hardware imo.

Where would you even find a phone without a locked bootloader to even try this on other than a pixel, because, a google phone, to degoogle, really ? lol!
- Volla phone has unlocked bootloader and ships with android or linux, some even have nativ dualboot
  https://volla.online/
- Interesting you should ask. It turns out that LineageOA has an entire page giving you options of compatible devices...
- I have fairphone, it comes with unlockable bootloader. Don't get the new ones tho, they suck. 3+ was the last good model before they drank the koolaid and removed the headphone jack.

I’m only using iOS because android is worse. Neither of them make me happy. IOS is just less terrible than Android.
The problem with a Linux phone is that there’s no market for it, and developing one is only possible if you fundamentally change what a Linux phone means thereby ruining it but getting profitability and therefore carrier support and manufacturer profitability.
We don’t get what we want. They do.
- Basically this. I use my phone as a tool and Linux phones don’t have the toolset for me to be satisfied. Like NFC payment, online banking and GPS tracking. Android does have the toolset but I’d like to keep my phone 5 years and longer. Currently rocking an iPhone 14 Pro and I plan on changing it with the iPhone 20 or 30 or however they call that one on 5 years.
- There's also LineageOS after support. Still immutable done bad, but the toolset works.

me too

74 comments