5 ms·

Unfortunately for that idea, I would like my phone to actually just function normally, and have support for programs that Android uses. You are making perfect t

by alexb_ 4y ago

Unfortunately for that idea, I would like my phone to actually just function normally, and have support for programs that Android uses. You are making perfect the enemy of good here.

fsflover 4y ago
I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver (and waiting for Librem 5 to replace it) and avoid all proprietary Android apps. But you in principle can install them with Waydroid or Anbox. See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32396685 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32396685.
- commoner 4y ago
  WayDroid is more usable than a lot of people would expect. Here's a demo from 10 months ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOgI8PRt9w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOgI8PRt9w
- memling 4y ago
  > I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver What OS? Does MMS work out of the box for you?
  - fsflover 4y ago
    Mobian. I'm not using MMS; according to [0], it's in beta state. [0] https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=pinephone https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=pinephone
    - bornfreddy 4y ago
      Can you share the current state with regards to basic functions (phone calls, SMS, mobile data)? Does it work reliably?
      - fsflover 4y ago
        Phone calls and SMS work fine (but I don't use them much), mobile data also (and I do use it a lot). Rarely, typically during the use of mobile data, the modem disappears. Reboot always helps. Telegram and Firefox are somewhat slow but generally work reliably. Even calls on Telegram work (with the sound coming from the speaker). Noscript helps a lot. Calendar is not very usable. Heavy usage with high brightness can drain full battery in a couple of hours, but suspend lasts more than 24 hours.
        tpoacher 4y ago
        I have a pinephone pro sitting idly until I find the time to install an OS to try on it. I'm keen to try sailfish, I had a jolla in the past and really liked it. At the same time, I'm weird enough that I want to use the terminal on it wherever possible! For calendar I was thinking of using calcurse.
      - arcanemachined 4y ago
        Pinephone users don't tend to mention that the phone is about as powerful as a Galaxy S3. So keep that in mind.
        HidyBush 4y ago
        The Galaxy S3 could do everything back in the day, it was and still is plenty powerful. Banking apps, messaging apps, social networks, web browsing, etc. Of course it won't do fancy real-tike Snapchat filters and AI image recognition, but if Android 4.4.x was indefinitely maintained I would have zero problems using one today.
- mixedCase 4y ago
  > I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver Just in case you're not aware, because you seemingly are trying to convince other people: That fact alone indicates that what you're willing to trade off exceeds by an order of magnitude what the average user requires their main phone to do. And that even extends to the average tech-oriented user.
  - fsflover 4y ago
    I am speaking to the HN audience here and expect that most people have more technical knowledge than ordinary people. Also, I acknowledged that today AOS might be superior, but it's important to support alternatives, because it will have problems long term, because it's controlled bu Google and heavily relies on proprietary code.
- thomaszander 4y ago
  You can wait for the Librem 5 for a very long time, they haven't shipped any significant software update for a long time for mine and its in the state that if you turn on auto-suspend (i.e. don't always go at full 100% CPU) it freezes and needs a hard reboot. Linux on phone is still very much in the enthusiasts-only phase. Not for me, not for most. And I'm saying that as someone that is a KDE/Linux geek! Maybe that will change, but for now the e.foundation OS has most definitely a large potential audience that those phones are not going to be able to fill just yet.
  - fsflover 4y ago
    I am well aware of the state of Librem 5 shipping. Every time they get the CPUs, they ship another banch of the phones: https://forums.puri.sm/t/estimate-your-librem-5-shipping/11272 https://forums.puri.sm/t/estimate-your-librem-5-shipping/112.... Last I checked the forums, Librem 5 works for 10-12 hours on one charge, without suspend. This is mostly fine with me: it should survive a working day and one can buy a spare battery for emergencies. The work on suspend did not stop. Yes, I am undoubtedly an enthusiast.
pessimizer 4y ago
If you're using "function normally" as a euphemism for "be android," then you're misusing "perfect as the enemy of good," because if you wouldn't be satisfied with a non-Android phone, you certainly don't consider it perfect.
Kbelicius 4y ago
Check out sailfishOS. Not a fork of android but you can get andorid app support on it. You can even get microg on it and use the banking apps (worked for me). The problem is that, officially, they support only a small number of sony models.

by alexb_ 4y ago

Unfortunately for that idea, I would like my phone to actually just function normally, and have support for programs that Android uses. You are making perfect the enemy of good here.

fsflover 4y ago

I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver (and waiting for Librem 5 to replace it) and avoid all proprietary Android apps. But you in principle can install them with Waydroid or Anbox. See also: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32396685 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32396685.

commoner 4y ago
WayDroid is more usable than a lot of people would expect. Here's a demo from 10 months ago: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOgI8PRt9w https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dyOgI8PRt9w
memling 4y ago
> I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver What OS? Does MMS work out of the box for you?
- fsflover 4y ago
  Mobian. I'm not using MMS; according to [0], it's in beta state. [0] https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=pinephone https://wiki.mobian-project.org/doku.php?id=pinephone
  - bornfreddy 4y ago
    Can you share the current state with regards to basic functions (phone calls, SMS, mobile data)? Does it work reliably?
    - fsflover 4y ago
      Phone calls and SMS work fine (but I don't use them much), mobile data also (and I do use it a lot). Rarely, typically during the use of mobile data, the modem disappears. Reboot always helps. Telegram and Firefox are somewhat slow but generally work reliably. Even calls on Telegram work (with the sound coming from the speaker). Noscript helps a lot. Calendar is not very usable. Heavy usage with high brightness can drain full battery in a couple of hours, but suspend lasts more than 24 hours.
      - tpoacher 4y ago
        I have a pinephone pro sitting idly until I find the time to install an OS to try on it. I'm keen to try sailfish, I had a jolla in the past and really liked it. At the same time, I'm weird enough that I want to use the terminal on it wherever possible! For calendar I was thinking of using calcurse.
    - arcanemachined 4y ago
      Pinephone users don't tend to mention that the phone is about as powerful as a Galaxy S3. So keep that in mind.
      - HidyBush 4y ago
        The Galaxy S3 could do everything back in the day, it was and still is plenty powerful. Banking apps, messaging apps, social networks, web browsing, etc. Of course it won't do fancy real-tike Snapchat filters and AI image recognition, but if Android 4.4.x was indefinitely maintained I would have zero problems using one today.
mixedCase 4y ago
> I'm using Pinephone as a daily driver Just in case you're not aware, because you seemingly are trying to convince other people: That fact alone indicates that what you're willing to trade off exceeds by an order of magnitude what the average user requires their main phone to do. And that even extends to the average tech-oriented user.
- fsflover 4y ago
  I am speaking to the HN audience here and expect that most people have more technical knowledge than ordinary people. Also, I acknowledged that today AOS might be superior, but it's important to support alternatives, because it will have problems long term, because it's controlled bu Google and heavily relies on proprietary code.
thomaszander 4y ago
You can wait for the Librem 5 for a very long time, they haven't shipped any significant software update for a long time for mine and its in the state that if you turn on auto-suspend (i.e. don't always go at full 100% CPU) it freezes and needs a hard reboot. Linux on phone is still very much in the enthusiasts-only phase. Not for me, not for most. And I'm saying that as someone that is a KDE/Linux geek! Maybe that will change, but for now the e.foundation OS has most definitely a large potential audience that those phones are not going to be able to fill just yet.
- fsflover 4y ago
  I am well aware of the state of Librem 5 shipping. Every time they get the CPUs, they ship another banch of the phones: https://forums.puri.sm/t/estimate-your-librem-5-shipping/11272 https://forums.puri.sm/t/estimate-your-librem-5-shipping/112.... Last I checked the forums, Librem 5 works for 10-12 hours on one charge, without suspend. This is mostly fine with me: it should survive a working day and one can buy a spare battery for emergencies. The work on suspend did not stop. Yes, I am undoubtedly an enthusiast.

pessimizer 4y ago

If you're using "function normally" as a euphemism for "be android," then you're misusing "perfect as the enemy of good," because if you wouldn't be satisfied with a non-Android phone, you certainly don't consider it perfect.

Kbelicius 4y ago

Check out sailfishOS. Not a fork of android but you can get andorid app support on it. You can even get microg on it and use the banking apps (worked for me). The problem is that, officially, they support only a small number of sony models.