6 ms·

I certainly feel like migrating to a PinePhone in near future but where can I view the list of the apps available anyway? The most important app I need (I woul

I certainly feel like migrating to a PinePhone in near future but where can I view the list of the apps available anyway? The most important app I need (I wouldn't even need a smartphone otherwise) is Telegram - it's the major way we communicate in the company and in the family. Is it there?

fsflover 6y ago
The list of apps depends on the operating system. There are >13 OS available [0]. On Debian, which I prefer, Telegram works very well. [0] https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePhone#Operating_Systems https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePhone#Operating_System...
- thdrdt 6y ago
  I seriously consider going away from Android (Google). Is Linux a viable option as mobile OS? I've got a feeling that it is almost as a 'dumb' phone. You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. Or would going to something like LineageOS be a better option?
  - fsflover 6y ago
    > I've got a feeling that it is almost as a 'dumb' phone. You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. GNU/Linux phones are full personal computers in your pocket. They can do everything a computer can do: terminal, desktop Firefox, games, convergence (external screen, keyboard, mouse) etc. See my other links about Librem 5 in this thread.
    - pjmlp 6y ago
      Some of my Android devices as well, I just don't bother doing it.
      - fsflover 6y ago
        No previous phones provided real convergence (not just connecting the external screen, but using desktop apps). This is also not all differences. See here for more details: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Frequently-Asked-Questions#15-how-innovative-is-the-librem-5 https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Freque....
        pjmlp 6y ago
        My point was "They can do everything a computer can do".
        fsflover 6y ago
        This is not everything though if you cannot use desktop apps, connect keyboard/mouse/screen and install any OS.
        pjmlp 6y ago
        Just use Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and cast to the screen, done. Windowed Android apps running on full screen are desktop apps. As for install any OS, then I guess Apple platforms aren't computers.
        fsflover 6y ago
        Android apps on a big screen are not desktop apps [0]. Can you run desktop Firefox with all plugins there? Can you run native GNU/Linux applications in a terminal? Can you use the latest Linux kernel? [0] https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Frequently-Asked-Questions#213-how-well-will-convergence-work-to-use-the-librem-5-as-a-desktop-pc https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Freque... > As for install any OS, then I guess Apple platforms aren't computers. They are not general-purpose computers: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24866279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24866279.
    - chriswarbo 6y ago
      Yep. I've been doing this for over a decade on my OpenMoko. Getting a PinePhone for Christmas though!
  - linmob 6y ago
    No, there’s a lot more. Also, some Android apps work via Anbox. I have been blogging (https://linmob.net https://linmob.net) about this since June and created a bunch of videos. If you have more specific questions, feel free to email me.
  - ryukafalz 6y ago
    >Is Linux a viable option as mobile OS? As someone in the US, I would have to say no, for one reason: None of the mobile Linux distros yet support group texts (reliably, anyway). If someone sends you a group text, you won't see it. (The only distro that seems to have partial support for it is Ubuntu Touch, and there it seems incomplete; sometimes I would receive group messages and sometimes not. I missed a few important ones this way.) This is probably only relevant to those in the US as I understand MMS is not as prevalent elsewhere.
    - ptx 6y ago
      > This is probably only relevant to those in the US as I understand MMS is not as prevalent elsewhere. I've heard this a few times in connection with the Pinephone, but we certainly do use MMS in Europe. I seem to recall, assuming my memory is at all reliable, that when the iPhone first launched, Europeans were complaining about the lack of MMS and Americans were saying it wasn't a problem because everyone should just use e-mail.
      - ryukafalz 6y ago
        2007 was a different time. (A time when almost nobody had smartphones - how foreign is that from today's perspective?) Have a look at the plan available in the US for the iPhone at the time: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2007/06/26AT-T-and-Apple-Announce-Simple-Affordable-Service-Plans-for-iPhone/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2007/06/26AT-T-and-Apple-Anno... 200 SMS messages (MMS counts here too), unlimited data. Now look at today's: https://www.att.com/plans/wireless/ https://www.att.com/plans/wireless/ Even the cheapest plan has unlimited SMS and effectively unlimited MMS as a result. Whether it's used more because it's included or whether it's included because it's used more (probably a bit of both)... I don't think 2007 is a useful reference point for what people expect from their phones today.
        ptx 6y ago
        The cheapest plan on that page is $30. I get unlimited MMS on my $17 plan in Europe, so I don't see how the pricing would make MMS more prevalent in the US than in Europe. Do you have a reference supporting the idea that MMS is mostly relevant to the US and not the rest of the world? It doesn't match up with my experience, but maybe my family and friends are atypical.
  - squarefoot 6y ago
    > You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. Well, thankfully it's not the case. The heart is a ARM processor with plenty of code already ported to run on it, and the surrounding hardware isn't that different from many single board computers that already run complete Linux distributions. As an example, Firefox, GIMP and Libreoffice -the real ones, not dumbed down versions- already do run on the Pinephone. https://liliputing.com/2019/11/pinephone-smartphone-can-run-desktop-linux-apps-also-makes-phone-calls.html https://liliputing.com/2019/11/pinephone-smartphone-can-run-... Keep in mind that the video is one year old, meaning old phone model with less RAM, very young OS and likely no code optimization for apps to run on a phone rather on a desktop PC. Actually I wouldn't be surprised at all if one year from now we would have more software available for the Pinephone compared to Android. Sometimes it's just a matter of recompiling (huge argument in favor of Open Source). As another example, if Lazarus (lazarus-ide.org) would run on it (it already does on the Raspberry PI and many other ARM boards), one could develop native GUI apps directly on the phone. Probably not comfortable, still possible. The only problem in my opinion would arise from the unavailability of phone specific apps, particularly closed ones or those depending on proprietary servers whose owners wouldn't give a damn about recompiling their client and are particularly anal retentive wrt allowing 3rd party apps accessing the services, for example Whatsapp. In that case one would have to attempt to emulate a different platform in which run the original proprietary app, which very likely would make things too slow to be useable.
    - Mediterraneo10 6y ago
      With regard to Whatsapp, it should run on Anbox (Android emulation for PinePhone), because Whatsapp does not require Google Play Services and runs on vanilla Android.
      - squarefoot 6y ago
        Do you have any data on performance? Having Whatsapp run at acceptable speed on Linux phones would represent a great bump for their acceptance among normal users.
- tsm 6y ago
  Do you daily-drive Debian?
  - fsflover 6y ago
    Yes, I do. However I have to switch off my phone when not using it to get through a day, or use a second battery (which is fine for me). A night takes about 50% battery when it's on. Improvements are very much expected.
    - squarefoot 6y ago
      That would be a problem for those of us who would rather have a thick phone (I'm perfectly fine with 2 centimeters, no kidding) with great battery life (== early morning to late night at high load), rather than a credit card thin one that needs to be recharged too often. Might be a further development in which users can purchase a thicker rear cover with bigger or additional batter(y|ies) and snap them in place of the original one.
      - fsflover 6y ago
        You can design a thick back panel with a large battery for the PinePhone (it's in the works). Alternatively, consider Librem 5: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 (battery life info: https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-4500mah-battery-upgrade/ https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-4500mah-battery-upgrade/).
squeezingswirls 6y ago
I don't know about other OSes but it's available on UBPorts, and it works fine. https://open-store.io/app/teleports.ubports https://open-store.io/app/teleports.ubports
ognarb 6y ago
There is a list available: https://mglapps.frama.io/ https://mglapps.frama.io/
- linmob 6y ago
  Or you check out my fork of that list that has even more apps: https://linmobapps.frama.io https://linmobapps.frama.io
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
Telegram is installed by default on Mobian (an attempt to bring pretty vanilla Debian to the Pinephone, but running the Phosh UI).
linmob 6y ago
Telegram Desktop works fine when tweaked as described on the Mobian wiki. For other apps may be https://LINMOBapps.frama.io https://LINMOBapps.frama.io can help you to get an idea.
swiley 6y ago
Check for AArch64 binaries if you want to run something closed. Personally I would avoid that, so in that case it's mostly whatever is in the distro you're using plus maybe whatever the developers responsible for the port added. (ex: postmarketOS is based on alpine, but includes some extra stuff like gnome maps and phosh.)
padraic7a 6y ago
Telegram is available for Ubports Ubuntu Touch.

fsflover 6y ago

The list of apps depends on the operating system. There are >13 OS available [0]. On Debian, which I prefer, Telegram works very well. [0] https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePhone#Operating_Systems https://wiki.pine64.org/index.php/PinePhone#Operating_System...

thdrdt 6y ago
I seriously consider going away from Android (Google). Is Linux a viable option as mobile OS? I've got a feeling that it is almost as a 'dumb' phone. You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. Or would going to something like LineageOS be a better option?
- fsflover 6y ago
  > I've got a feeling that it is almost as a 'dumb' phone. You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. GNU/Linux phones are full personal computers in your pocket. They can do everything a computer can do: terminal, desktop Firefox, games, convergence (external screen, keyboard, mouse) etc. See my other links about Librem 5 in this thread.
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    Some of my Android devices as well, I just don't bother doing it.
    - fsflover 6y ago
      No previous phones provided real convergence (not just connecting the external screen, but using desktop apps). This is also not all differences. See here for more details: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Frequently-Asked-Questions#15-how-innovative-is-the-librem-5 https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Freque....
      - pjmlp 6y ago
        My point was "They can do everything a computer can do".
        fsflover 6y ago
        This is not everything though if you cannot use desktop apps, connect keyboard/mouse/screen and install any OS.
        pjmlp 6y ago
        Just use Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and cast to the screen, done. Windowed Android apps running on full screen are desktop apps. As for install any OS, then I guess Apple platforms aren't computers.
        fsflover 6y ago
        Android apps on a big screen are not desktop apps [0]. Can you run desktop Firefox with all plugins there? Can you run native GNU/Linux applications in a terminal? Can you use the latest Linux kernel? [0] https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Frequently-Asked-Questions#213-how-well-will-convergence-work-to-use-the-librem-5-as-a-desktop-pc https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Freque... > As for install any OS, then I guess Apple platforms aren't computers. They are not general-purpose computers: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24866279 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24866279.
  - chriswarbo 6y ago
    Yep. I've been doing this for over a decade on my OpenMoko. Getting a PinePhone for Christmas though!
- linmob 6y ago
  No, there’s a lot more. Also, some Android apps work via Anbox. I have been blogging (https://linmob.net https://linmob.net) about this since June and created a bunch of videos. If you have more specific questions, feel free to email me.
- ryukafalz 6y ago
  >Is Linux a viable option as mobile OS? As someone in the US, I would have to say no, for one reason: None of the mobile Linux distros yet support group texts (reliably, anyway). If someone sends you a group text, you won't see it. (The only distro that seems to have partial support for it is Ubuntu Touch, and there it seems incomplete; sometimes I would receive group messages and sometimes not. I missed a few important ones this way.) This is probably only relevant to those in the US as I understand MMS is not as prevalent elsewhere.
  - ptx 6y ago
    > This is probably only relevant to those in the US as I understand MMS is not as prevalent elsewhere. I've heard this a few times in connection with the Pinephone, but we certainly do use MMS in Europe. I seem to recall, assuming my memory is at all reliable, that when the iPhone first launched, Europeans were complaining about the lack of MMS and Americans were saying it wasn't a problem because everyone should just use e-mail.
    - ryukafalz 6y ago
      2007 was a different time. (A time when almost nobody had smartphones - how foreign is that from today's perspective?) Have a look at the plan available in the US for the iPhone at the time: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2007/06/26AT-T-and-Apple-Announce-Simple-Affordable-Service-Plans-for-iPhone/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2007/06/26AT-T-and-Apple-Anno... 200 SMS messages (MMS counts here too), unlimited data. Now look at today's: https://www.att.com/plans/wireless/ https://www.att.com/plans/wireless/ Even the cheapest plan has unlimited SMS and effectively unlimited MMS as a result. Whether it's used more because it's included or whether it's included because it's used more (probably a bit of both)... I don't think 2007 is a useful reference point for what people expect from their phones today.
      - ptx 6y ago
        The cheapest plan on that page is $30. I get unlimited MMS on my $17 plan in Europe, so I don't see how the pricing would make MMS more prevalent in the US than in Europe. Do you have a reference supporting the idea that MMS is mostly relevant to the US and not the rest of the world? It doesn't match up with my experience, but maybe my family and friends are atypical.
- squarefoot 6y ago
  > You got your calculator and SMS app but that's about it. Well, thankfully it's not the case. The heart is a ARM processor with plenty of code already ported to run on it, and the surrounding hardware isn't that different from many single board computers that already run complete Linux distributions. As an example, Firefox, GIMP and Libreoffice -the real ones, not dumbed down versions- already do run on the Pinephone. https://liliputing.com/2019/11/pinephone-smartphone-can-run-desktop-linux-apps-also-makes-phone-calls.html https://liliputing.com/2019/11/pinephone-smartphone-can-run-... Keep in mind that the video is one year old, meaning old phone model with less RAM, very young OS and likely no code optimization for apps to run on a phone rather on a desktop PC. Actually I wouldn't be surprised at all if one year from now we would have more software available for the Pinephone compared to Android. Sometimes it's just a matter of recompiling (huge argument in favor of Open Source). As another example, if Lazarus (lazarus-ide.org) would run on it (it already does on the Raspberry PI and many other ARM boards), one could develop native GUI apps directly on the phone. Probably not comfortable, still possible. The only problem in my opinion would arise from the unavailability of phone specific apps, particularly closed ones or those depending on proprietary servers whose owners wouldn't give a damn about recompiling their client and are particularly anal retentive wrt allowing 3rd party apps accessing the services, for example Whatsapp. In that case one would have to attempt to emulate a different platform in which run the original proprietary app, which very likely would make things too slow to be useable.
  - Mediterraneo10 6y ago
    With regard to Whatsapp, it should run on Anbox (Android emulation for PinePhone), because Whatsapp does not require Google Play Services and runs on vanilla Android.
    - squarefoot 6y ago
      Do you have any data on performance? Having Whatsapp run at acceptable speed on Linux phones would represent a great bump for their acceptance among normal users.
tsm 6y ago
Do you daily-drive Debian?
- fsflover 6y ago
  Yes, I do. However I have to switch off my phone when not using it to get through a day, or use a second battery (which is fine for me). A night takes about 50% battery when it's on. Improvements are very much expected.
  - squarefoot 6y ago
    That would be a problem for those of us who would rather have a thick phone (I'm perfectly fine with 2 centimeters, no kidding) with great battery life (== early morning to late night at high load), rather than a credit card thin one that needs to be recharged too often. Might be a further development in which users can purchase a thicker rear cover with bigger or additional batter(y|ies) and snap them in place of the original one.
    - fsflover 6y ago
      You can design a thick back panel with a large battery for the PinePhone (it's in the works). Alternatively, consider Librem 5: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 https://puri.sm/products/librem-5 (battery life info: https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-4500mah-battery-upgrade/ https://puri.sm/posts/librem-5-4500mah-battery-upgrade/).

squeezingswirls 6y ago

I don't know about other OSes but it's available on UBPorts, and it works fine. https://open-store.io/app/teleports.ubports https://open-store.io/app/teleports.ubports

ognarb 6y ago

There is a list available: https://mglapps.frama.io/ https://mglapps.frama.io/

linmob 6y ago
Or you check out my fork of that list that has even more apps: https://linmobapps.frama.io https://linmobapps.frama.io

Mediterraneo10 6y ago

Telegram is installed by default on Mobian (an attempt to bring pretty vanilla Debian to the Pinephone, but running the Phosh UI).

linmob 6y ago

Telegram Desktop works fine when tweaked as described on the Mobian wiki. For other apps may be https://LINMOBapps.frama.io https://LINMOBapps.frama.io can help you to get an idea.

swiley 6y ago

Check for AArch64 binaries if you want to run something closed. Personally I would avoid that, so in that case it's mostly whatever is in the distro you're using plus maybe whatever the developers responsible for the port added. (ex: postmarketOS is based on alpine, but includes some extra stuff like gnome maps and phosh.)

padraic7a 6y ago

Telegram is available for Ubports Ubuntu Touch.