this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2023
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20
Throwing in the towel on mobile Linux (drewdevault.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] pumpkin 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I am still hopeful Linux is the future of mobile devices. I really dislike that on android 5 years of feature updates is really good and only the best phones can strive for this, where as a 10 year old laptop or desktop computer can usually run Linux without any problems and expect both security and feature updates as long as you want. Not even mentioning the limited choice in software that works in an android environment.

I currently use Sailfish which isn't what most people mean by mobile linux and does have a lot of problems, but hopefully my sailfish device I have now will see me through until mobile linux is at the point I feel like I can move across.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You can run Linux on computers much older than 10 years. The kernel still supports the Intel 486, which was released in 1989. The developers only recently started talking about dropping support for it.

It's ridiculous that a typical smart phone is e-waste within a couple of years.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Phones right now are where computers were about 15-20 years ago.

Just getting to the point where you can keep one for more than a couple years before it's too old and slow to do anything.

[–] pumpkin 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I think it probably depends what you want out of your phone (and this goes for computers too). Most "budget" phones are more than sufficient for my usage which is light internet browsing, calls/texts, podcasts, alarm clock, calendar and a few other things. I don't really game or watch videos or other things on my phone so usually what happens is the phone stops getting supported before reaching the end of its life.

Before my current phone (which is fairly new), I used my last phone for 5 years and only gave up on it because it had stopped receiving software updates. I plan to keep my phone at least as long providing Sailfish keep supporting it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I find your comment a bit confusing when reading it from my moto g4, with almost 7 years of use.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Never considered anything other than Android, but it's an excellent idea. It's a shame none of the options are good. Anyone have any insight as to why things suck?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'd say wildly variable hardware configurations with poor driver support.

The situation would improve if hardware vendors would upstream the code, but I just don't see it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As much as Alphabet sucks ass, I have had very good results with Nexus/Pixel devices and LineageOS. All the hardware seems to be supported right down to high-framerate mode on the camera on the Pixel2.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Google seems to be the exception, as they are working to upstream the Android kernel work as much as possible. This is a smart move, because it saves them money by reducing the work needed to keep Android in sync with Linux.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

Lack of funding. Throw enough money at this problem and it will be solved.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have a PinePhone and the article is on point.

My understanding is: Android is here for many years now. When it was just released I got the HTC G1 and it was only barely better than what Mobian + Phosh present right now. Add to that many years of polishing by some of the most powerful corporations out there and you end up with Android as it is today.

Mobile Linux made unbelieveable progress. It is, in my opinion, almost as usable as a dumb phone as first Androids were. The problem is as others have pointed it out, we need people working tirelessly on thankless polishing of everything around it. It's hard without throwing money at that issue.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Mostly agreed. Although I would say G1 was (relatively to its time) more advanced and stable than mobile Linux phones. It aged quickly, and the hardware felt somewhat underpowered (similar to what probably PinePhone owners feel right now); but it never had a problem to work as a phone or had serious stability issues.

Yes, I am aware we're comparing apples to oranges, and that Google had enough resources to make it work well enough. Still, they probably didn't make it work overnight, and neither should we expect mobile Linux could do that.

Disclaimer: while I did not use G1, I used Samsung Galaxy i7500 which had the same specs (minus the keyboard), and the experience I described is based on using it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It can be just as well my memory telling me that G1 was worse than it actually was 😉

My, possibly unpopular, opinion about PinePhone's hardware is that it's more than fine, its just us that are wasting resources left and right. Sure, SXMO works like a charm, but one could say that it's because of how minimalistic it is. But try flashing SailfishOS (unfortunately not fully OSS) and see how snappy and fluid it is - and it's not short of animations in its UI. Heck, even Ubuntu Touch is pretty performant!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Even tho not fully free, there is SailfishOS, that looks usable. Haven't tried it tho.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

As others have said, it's a mixture of being very early in development, wild differences in underlying system components, lack of funding and lack of support from manufacturers. If a large corporation wirh ties to amartphone manufacturers stood behind mobile Linux and threw enough money at the problem, it could become as good as, if not better than Android in a few years time. Not that it would happen, I'm just saying.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

A reasonable article I feel. I am looking forward to trying mobile Linux on a secondary phone, but it's likely a long way off from being ready as a daily driver for most people.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Some say it's better not to use cellphones at all.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

It's frustrating that we're still not there (with even one daily-drivable phone), but it's getting closer and closer.

I also think it's possible to get a lot of value from these devices in the meantime- when used as pocketable tablets. I have to carry a light backpack around pretty often anyway, so it's easy enough to just throw an old Android in there for calls / SMS and tether a OnePlus 6 (with pmOS) to it for everything else.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I can definitely see where you're coming from and I have similar experiences. I got fairly fed up with the fact that the modem often doesn't come up again after suspend on the pinephone. And if you disable sleep like I often do, you often find a dead battery. Despite all the great work of so many people, I'd have hoped for some more stability in the ecosystem by now.

I also took up a spare Android phone unfortunately, but I'm really fighting with its interface, I want my sxmo !

(cross-post from Mastodon)

[–] cujo 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I was so excited about giving LineageOS a spin, but then I remembered my G Pixel is carrier locked... So I was going to buy a Fairphone, because hey, sustainability and repairability! But then I realized Fairphone only ships to Europe... Sad days. I may just have to pick up an older, used, unlocked android device. Maybe a G Pixel 3a, I loved the design aesthetics on that thing. Man, I miss my 3a...

EDIT: $150 new on Amazon for the black, 64gb model? Shiiiit. I may not even have to go used. 😂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Unless one of those Linux OS's can run Android apps through emulation with the same speed and reliability as an android device its probably not practical yet.

Have you tried the French edition /e/ OS? I'm on it ATM and it has a few good integrations like an app store that gives apps an privacy respecting rating and better calendar, contacts and tasks connectability with nextcloud

I've heard a lot of people have a good experience with GrapheneOS as well on the Google Pixel phones as well. Might be my next phone and OS to try