android is linux and its great.
the problem is the google crud on top of it.
we have to fight google not android itself.
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neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Linux has become good enough to replace desktop operating systems.
Now, we are back at square one. I’ll be the first to inaccurately declare, “This will be the year of the Linux phone.”
android is linux and its great.
the problem is the google crud on top of it.
we have to fight google not android itself.
Android is Linux… sure.
But it’s not what anyone means when they say they want a Linux phone.
Looking at postmarketOS for my phone too, so sick of this shit
PostmarketOS is cool, but as an actual phone replacement it is tough.
I haven’t tried, but I took a closer look at their wiki yesterday:
IMHO they should focus their efforts on getting at least one actual phone working fully.
I want this project to succeed, but until then I use Sailfish OS, btw.
I’m looking at a Volla phone volla.online/en/
But I also have no experience of Linux in general yet so I have no idea if this is a good move.
I just really want to get away from android/apple/windows on all of my devices.
I want SteamOS for desktop, because quite frankly gaming is all I really use a desktop for anymore.
Didn’t know volla. Looks cool but expensive.
I don’t think steamos on desktop is a good idea, IIRC it targets specific hardware.
Maybe look into Bazzite if you get impatient waiting for SteamOS to become more widely available.
I’m going to second a recommendation for Bazzite. If you’ve used normal Linux before, it takes some getting used to the quirks of an atomic distro, but I’ve been using it for a month or two and love it!
Volla also has a (reliable, judging from reports) community version of SFOS
Android… is a Linux phone…?
Not really.
Behold, the Linux phone:
That looks far too polished with locked in specs for them to not have any prototype. I’d trust companies that have actually made a product that has a janky Linux implementation that’s improving, than one that doesn’t exist yet relying on crowdfunding.
Isn’t Android using a Linux kernel already?
Yes, but everything above it (including drivers) is custom-made and tightly controlled by Google.
Yeah, but the kernel is a low-level module that handles hardware, memory, and processes—it’s not what users interact with directly, so sharing the same kernel doesn’t make it all that similar as you’d think.
What makes Linux feel like ‘Linux’ to users is the stuff on top: the userland—bash, coreutils, package managers, X11/Wayland, etc. Android replaces almost all of that, so even though it uses the Linux kernel, it doesn’t feel like Linux.
Yes. IIRC it’s based on latest LTS kernel with Google patches. So it’s been “year of the Linux phone” for a while now.
It’s unfortunate that the slop they put on top of it is such a privacy nightmare. PostmarketOS is trying to change that and supports Plasma, Gnome, etc. But it’s early days yet and still rough around the edges from what I’ve been reading.
This is my fourth comment shilling SFOS here, but it just might be what you’re looking for. It is my daily driver.
That’s pretty cool, I’m working now, but I’m checking out its Android app compatibility.
If it can run my work stuff, I’ll be so happy.
I use Linux since debian 3.0 and I don’t think Linux is ready to replace desktop os yet. The universe has come up with bigger and more powerful idiots.
Linux had reached idiot parity with windows at least. Idiot proof OS is a fable that cannot be reached.
Maybe in “appliances” like the steam deck. There are still driver and software support issues. There’s a big “familiarity” gap. There’s a lack of pre-installed systems. We are not at parity yet.
You think there aren’t driver and software support issues in windows 11?
Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 23 hours ago
All I need is a good enough emulation of android apps to fool them (eg for banking).
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 23 hours ago
Sailfish OS has it.
Unfortunately the project has some closed source bits which, imho, aren’t an issue when you look closer. Maybe I’m naive but I trust this EU company.
I use it as my daily driver. It certainly is frugal compared to recent Android versions, but fully functional.
Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 21 hours ago
I used Maemo on my N900 <3.
I don’t wanna use Sailfish bcs of the phone support tho, I’m shallow af & I need my hardware :(.
(I also have a few other Sailfish issues, the source code/availability/package, the licencing - but I feel like all of those could/would change with some growth.)
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 21 hours ago
I understand. But I think it’s right that they concentrate on a few devices. There’s also something about SONY openly providing firmware iirc.
Ah, the N900…
GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca 16 hours ago
Sadly, SailfishOS is region locked. Being from North America, I can’t purchase their phones, or use the trial/emulation option, which really sucks because I like a lot of what I’m seeing there.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 44 minutes ago
There are a few happy US users on the forums. Maybe check out what they have to say.
I’m sure the company is perfectly happy with having these users. AFAIR the reason they don’t sell outside EU is that it would add hassle, mostly sales legalities.
I didn’t know you cannot buy the C2 in the USA, but I would recommend an Xperia X10 II or X10 III anyhow.
vala@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Us here in NA finally get to see what its like on the other side of the region locking coin haha.
neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 hours ago
Do you by chance know if WeChat and Facebook messenger work on it?
Those apps are critical for my work.
A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 34 minutes ago
Check the forums.
FWIW, Signal works perfectly, WA too.
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 20 hours ago
Can you get by with web access? That’s what I do and it’s fine.
IronKrill@lemmy.ca 15 hours ago
Depends who you bank with. Some desktop websites suck on mobile and some don’t even allow certain actions on desktop. For some ungodly reason Wealthsimple requires me to do almost everything via app. It’s one of the reasons I barely utilise their services.
hcbxzz@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Not for depositing checks
TheLastOfHisName@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Yup. I use my bank’s website on my phone. Works plenty fine for me.
rakeshmondal@lemmy.zip 18 hours ago
Unfortunately banking apps are only going to get harder to run on software uncertified by Google.
Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee 17 hours ago
Just monopoly things.
zqps@sh.itjust.works 17 hours ago
“Hello there.” - Play Integrity API