I have been out of the loop for a while with the development of Linux/GNU based OSes on phones. However, with seeing how companies (like reddit) can change the rules as they wish, I want to see if completely switching to Linux is possible.
Long story short… what are the current phone providers that have Linux as an OS, or what is the best way to run Linux on an off-the-shelf phone?
As a side-question, is Nextcloud still the next best option for a complete service alternative to Google/iCloud?
Thank you!
GNU/Linux on Phones are far from Android, but we slowly getting there. So if you want a better experience, just buy a phone that can run a community Android distribution like LineageOS.
But if you are an advanced user and really want to use GNU/Linux on your phone, then I would recommend buying a PinePhone Pro + Pine keyboard (there is a bundle on their website). The keyboard is needed because it extends the battery life (without it the battery life is horrible) and compensates good swipe touch keyboard typing (we currently don’t have a touch keyboard with swipe feature). I daily drive this phone on ArchLinux with Plasma Mobile and I satisfied with the result.
Why would you want a Linux phone. Linux, especially on phones is insecure! Go with an Android phone
Why is it insecure? The only part about insecurity and Linux was only X11. We have Wayland now which is more secure than Android and Windows afaik.
People dislike my comment and providing no arguments. Here explained why Linux is insecure: https://twitter.com/DanielMicay/status/1180064036609826821 and https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/linux.html
Twitter link is broken or smth can’t see it. Its hard to trust this page, especially because I don’t know what they mean with “data”, which data do they mean? And especially because they never mentioned wayland I dont see this as the newest security analysis.
I don’t want to say that Linux Desktop is secure, but I don’t know how secure it is with wayland.
Generally the way you get the Software makes Linux in practice by accident more secure as no users manages to get insecure packages through official repositories or other sources except tarballs not from github. Even tho github can also be insecure but its still more security compared to an random .exe or unsecure Edge browser.
I am daily driving my PinePhone Pro running manjaro (Plasma Mobile) for about a year now. I can say, it is definitely daily driveable with some exeptions/limitations:
- The Battery life is horrible, like 3 h max usage from a battery. But since the batteries are cheap and can easily be swapped, I just have 4 of them to get through the day
- The camera is working in the sense, that it can make pictures. If you want nice pictures, bring a separate camera
- From time to time, cellular network connectivity drops out for short moments
Other than that it is pretty much functioning as a real phone. Of curse there are not that many apps. Telegram works natively and flawless, but whatsapp needs to be used via Whatsapp Web. For syncing all my documents and files I use nextcloud which works without any problems (once set up)
There is also the non Pro Version of the PinePhone, which is much slower, but has a better camera software and longer battery life (and is cheaper)
I also daily drive PPP. But I use the Pine keyboard to extend the battery life.
I’m currently using a PinePhone Pro as my daily driver and if you want something to play around with that’s definitely an option (though the PinePhone is probably a little more stable and less tinkery).
If you care less about it being a “free” phone built specifically for Linux and just want something that works, then rooting some older phone with good support will probably provide a better experience.
pinephone. but i just use it for fiddling around as too much stuff does not work.
