> People often talk about "the Year of Linux on the Desktop," but what about "the Year of Linux on the Smartphone"?
Ironic to start with it, given that "The Year of Linux on the Desktop" is a running joke, essentially playing on the fact that it probably won't happen anytime soon.
> A premium smartphone that officially supports Linux mobile, something like the Google Pixel 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Is the argument here that what's missing to Linux on mobile is official support from Google?
> A Chromium-based mobile browser
Of all the things missing on Linux on mobile (and there are more than enough), this does not sound like one. Firefox is fine. The low battery efficiency and the lack of many important apps is much more of a problem.
> Banking and government apps.
And most other apps, too.
And the security model. Because for Linux on mobile to become mainstream, it would have to be used by normies.
Don't get me wrong: I really love the efforts made by projects like PostmarketOS. But before starting the joke of the Year of Linux on mobile, it would have to get to a point where it is actually usable there.
grigio•4mo ago
> Ironic to start with it, given that "The Year of Linux on the Desktop" is a running joke, essentially playing on the fact that it probably won't happen anytime soon.
Sure, Linux Desktop/Mobile will never be an alternative for all until it is preinstalled and top apps are developed for it.
> Is the argument here that what's missing to Linux on mobile is official support from Google?
No, it was just to mention a reference hardware
> Of all the things missing on Linux on mobile (and there are more than enough), this does not sound like one. Firefox is fine. The low battery efficiency and the lack of many important apps is much more of a problem.
Most of modern web sites are just tested for Chromium, but also Firefox is fine if it became well optimized in Linux Mobile.
> And most other apps, too.
The essential apps are already almost there, just need more optimization for mobile UI.
Most of apps in the Play Store are just wrapped web views. It's more a quality issue than a quantity issue.
palata•4mo ago
> Most of modern web sites are just tested for Chromium
Again I find it ironic to cheer for Linux on mobile and at the same time not support Firefox.
Firefox is pretty much on par with Chromium. I can switch between Firefox, Chromium and WebKit and just do everything I need to do. I have been playing with PostmarketOS, and I clearly cannot do a fraction of what I do with my Android. So if we're cheering for challengers, we may as well respect Firefox :-).
> No, it was just to mention a reference hardware
I don't think there is a chance this ever happens. Who would want to spend that much resources into it?
Really, I think by far the best chance to get an alternative OS is to build on top of AOSP. Like GrapheneOS does.
> The essential apps are already almost there
If by that you mean you can run a browser on Linux, sure. But I don't count this as apps.
Bender•4mo ago
won't happen anytime soon
I used to think that but I could see Valve changing that with time when enough gamers are able to switch without all the past stereotypical issues assuming they work out all the kinks. My understanding is they are making decent progress. Adding to this more influencers are trying out Linux. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of this. Once enough people move to Linux it will be a much bigger target for malware and other shenanigans, but I can see a path via gamers to popularity.
The next challenge will be making it viable in all work places and be able to smoothly run all of the ancient proprietary applications. The incentive for executives I could envision for the work place is sandboxing the ancient applications to improve the security posture even if it's mostly check-boxes at first until proper capabilities are set or limited. Less down-time from ransomware and more people working once the kinks are worked out one organization at a time.
grigio•4mo ago
Yes, the SteamOS/Valve of Linux Mobile needs to come
palata•4mo ago
I love the SteamDeck, but I don't consider it a mobile phone. It can be a decent Linux Desktop, I think, and it's great for games.
But that is a very different use-case than a mobile phone. Android/iOS are very much optimised to behave like smartphones, e.g. in terms of battery usage and security model. People complain about not having root access, while installing read-only Linux systems on their desktop.
Really, the best shot we have at an alternative OS is to build on top of AOSP. And there you could actually convince OEMs to support you. At least I hope GrapheneOS eventually gets there.
Bender•4mo ago
Have GrapheneOS devs opened it up so it can run on something other than a Pixel?
palata•4mo ago
Well it's open source. And you can use AOSP, or LineageOS, or CalyxOS, or /e/OS.
I used /e/OS before moving to GrapheneOS (when I changed phone), and /e/OS runs on tons of devices, but they just don't get full updates. So you end up running with a device that hasn't received vendor security updates for years, which is worse than just using Stock Android.
At least GrapheneOS does not support many devices (for good reasons), but the ones they support, they support really well.
palata•4mo ago
Ironic to start with it, given that "The Year of Linux on the Desktop" is a running joke, essentially playing on the fact that it probably won't happen anytime soon.
> A premium smartphone that officially supports Linux mobile, something like the Google Pixel 6, 7, 8, or 9.
Is the argument here that what's missing to Linux on mobile is official support from Google?
> A Chromium-based mobile browser
Of all the things missing on Linux on mobile (and there are more than enough), this does not sound like one. Firefox is fine. The low battery efficiency and the lack of many important apps is much more of a problem.
> Banking and government apps.
And most other apps, too.
And the security model. Because for Linux on mobile to become mainstream, it would have to be used by normies.
Don't get me wrong: I really love the efforts made by projects like PostmarketOS. But before starting the joke of the Year of Linux on mobile, it would have to get to a point where it is actually usable there.
grigio•4mo ago
Sure, Linux Desktop/Mobile will never be an alternative for all until it is preinstalled and top apps are developed for it.
> Is the argument here that what's missing to Linux on mobile is official support from Google?
No, it was just to mention a reference hardware
> Of all the things missing on Linux on mobile (and there are more than enough), this does not sound like one. Firefox is fine. The low battery efficiency and the lack of many important apps is much more of a problem.
Most of modern web sites are just tested for Chromium, but also Firefox is fine if it became well optimized in Linux Mobile.
> And most other apps, too.
The essential apps are already almost there, just need more optimization for mobile UI. Most of apps in the Play Store are just wrapped web views. It's more a quality issue than a quantity issue.
palata•4mo ago
Again I find it ironic to cheer for Linux on mobile and at the same time not support Firefox.
Firefox is pretty much on par with Chromium. I can switch between Firefox, Chromium and WebKit and just do everything I need to do. I have been playing with PostmarketOS, and I clearly cannot do a fraction of what I do with my Android. So if we're cheering for challengers, we may as well respect Firefox :-).
> No, it was just to mention a reference hardware
I don't think there is a chance this ever happens. Who would want to spend that much resources into it?
Really, I think by far the best chance to get an alternative OS is to build on top of AOSP. Like GrapheneOS does.
> The essential apps are already almost there
If by that you mean you can run a browser on Linux, sure. But I don't count this as apps.
Bender•4mo ago
I used to think that but I could see Valve changing that with time when enough gamers are able to switch without all the past stereotypical issues assuming they work out all the kinks. My understanding is they are making decent progress. Adding to this more influencers are trying out Linux. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of this. Once enough people move to Linux it will be a much bigger target for malware and other shenanigans, but I can see a path via gamers to popularity.
The next challenge will be making it viable in all work places and be able to smoothly run all of the ancient proprietary applications. The incentive for executives I could envision for the work place is sandboxing the ancient applications to improve the security posture even if it's mostly check-boxes at first until proper capabilities are set or limited. Less down-time from ransomware and more people working once the kinks are worked out one organization at a time.
grigio•4mo ago
palata•4mo ago
But that is a very different use-case than a mobile phone. Android/iOS are very much optimised to behave like smartphones, e.g. in terms of battery usage and security model. People complain about not having root access, while installing read-only Linux systems on their desktop.
Really, the best shot we have at an alternative OS is to build on top of AOSP. And there you could actually convince OEMs to support you. At least I hope GrapheneOS eventually gets there.
Bender•4mo ago
palata•4mo ago
I used /e/OS before moving to GrapheneOS (when I changed phone), and /e/OS runs on tons of devices, but they just don't get full updates. So you end up running with a device that hasn't received vendor security updates for years, which is worse than just using Stock Android.
At least GrapheneOS does not support many devices (for good reasons), but the ones they support, they support really well.