> I wonder if making a shell on top of Android (for compatiblity with other devices) would make community larger But then it would just be another Google-phone

> I wonder if making a shell on top of Android (for compatiblity with other devices) would make community larger But then it would just be another Google-phone, based on a Google-controlled codebase. We have enough of those phones and "OSes" already. I respect the Pine64, PinePhone and the surrounding communities for trying to make an actual, real Linux-phone based on a real Linux base. I even bought a PinePhone myself to play with. It's definitely not there yet in terms a full replacement of my iPhone, but at the same time I can see all the pieces starting to come together: It's a real phone, with an open bootloader, running real Linux (with systemd, PulseAudio, whatever your distro rolls with) and a custom shell made for touchscreen phones. It's just what it needs to be. It just lacks some polish, that's all. And the community feels really vibrant, akin to the early Linux hacker-scene you had back in the 90s, where everyone is trying to do their part to help deliver something new and different. For better, it's like a full deja back to those days. I love it!