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Just curious, what's the real advantage here of a manufactured Linux phone over just booting Ubuntu Touch on a compatible model, provided it were in a more matu

Just curious, what's the real advantage here of a manufactured Linux phone over just booting Ubuntu Touch on a compatible model, provided it were in a more mature state?

maze-le 8y ago
It has hardware kill-switches for Bluetooth, WLAN, microphone the camera and the GSM/Baseband controller (this is the killer-feature for me -- pun indended). Replacable parts (screen, camera, battery, data-storage) -- allowing you to repair your own device, when it fails, thus being independent from mainline manufacturers.
madez 8y ago
You cannot run "Linux" on your "Linux phone" as in going to kernel.org, downloading the source, compiling it and installing it.
- ac29 8y ago
  There are a handful of devices that can run mainline kernels via postmarketOS: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices That being said, the project is still early, almost nothing supports cellular data, SMS, or phone calls.
  - 0815test 8y ago
    Yes, thing is, the amount of work that seems to be needed to bring up a mainline kernel "properly" on even one of the most open and best-documented SOC's in industry (the one Purism chose for this phone) is already a bit scary as shown by the OP post. Now imagine multiplying that by the zillions of phone models that Cyanogenmod used to support or that LineageOS still supports today. That's basically the scope of work that pmOS has to manage... It's not very easy.
    - madez 8y ago
      Most devices are basically unusable because they lack documentation and specification. It can be painstainkingly and slowly reengineered, but when is that done, if ever? I think the easier way is to spend money on devices with proper documentation. More and more the most important question I have when I consider to buy a device is whether the mainline kernel is supported and can be installed. If not, I move on.
jstanley 8y ago
In addition to the things the other replies stated: Ubuntu Touch is discontinued, and was never really good enough to suggest for daily use with a straight face (source: I used it daily for about 6 months).
- jammygit 8y ago
  I liked Ubuntu touch while I used it. The only reason I switched was the missing apps: anki, authy, a couple of others.
- slothtrop 8y ago
  But it's not. It's now community supported.

Just curious, what's the real advantage here of a manufactured Linux phone over just booting Ubuntu Touch on a compatible model, provided it were in a more mature state?

maze-le 8y ago

It has hardware kill-switches for Bluetooth, WLAN, microphone the camera and the GSM/Baseband controller (this is the killer-feature for me -- pun indended). Replacable parts (screen, camera, battery, data-storage) -- allowing you to repair your own device, when it fails, thus being independent from mainline manufacturers.

madez 8y ago

You cannot run "Linux" on your "Linux phone" as in going to kernel.org, downloading the source, compiling it and installing it.

ac29 8y ago
There are a handful of devices that can run mainline kernels via postmarketOS: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices That being said, the project is still early, almost nothing supports cellular data, SMS, or phone calls.
- 0815test 8y ago
  Yes, thing is, the amount of work that seems to be needed to bring up a mainline kernel "properly" on even one of the most open and best-documented SOC's in industry (the one Purism chose for this phone) is already a bit scary as shown by the OP post. Now imagine multiplying that by the zillions of phone models that Cyanogenmod used to support or that LineageOS still supports today. That's basically the scope of work that pmOS has to manage... It's not very easy.
  - madez 8y ago
    Most devices are basically unusable because they lack documentation and specification. It can be painstainkingly and slowly reengineered, but when is that done, if ever? I think the easier way is to spend money on devices with proper documentation. More and more the most important question I have when I consider to buy a device is whether the mainline kernel is supported and can be installed. If not, I move on.

jstanley 8y ago

In addition to the things the other replies stated: Ubuntu Touch is discontinued, and was never really good enough to suggest for daily use with a straight face (source: I used it daily for about 6 months).

jammygit 8y ago
I liked Ubuntu touch while I used it. The only reason I switched was the missing apps: anki, authy, a couple of others.
slothtrop 8y ago
But it's not. It's now community supported.