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> closed the book on mobile Linux for the time being This is a disappointing assessment but not totally surprising given how the odds are stacked against mobil

> closed the book on mobile Linux for the time being This is a disappointing assessment but not totally surprising given how the odds are stacked against mobile linux happening at scale. Having a polished, user-friendly, fully functional mobile linux is maybe the the single most disruptive element one could insert into the modern tech landscape. But it would take some major funding and support to get there. It a strange time for open source personal computing. A compelling case can be made that with all the advances in ML etc even the Linux desktop is more relevant than ever as the primary platform for "local AI" that empowers users. But the user base for desktops is shrinking and it may take a long time before that is reversed. In contrast there is no excuse for not having a genuine third option in the mobile space when the user base is literaly billions. Lets hope that "for the time being" is a really short period.

eternityforest 3y ago
I think it would be easier by far to port more things to Android than make Linux work. A third Mobile OS would create more fragmentation, and could drive more things to either be web-first, or make "Everything is an app" less viable. Plus, Android is batteries-included. Everyone who works on Linux likes modularity, they will fight hard against adding the thing that makes Android great, which is that there's API levels and every devices with a given level is more or less the same. I'd much rather see a FOSS Android fork that can run AppImages or something, or just one of the tech companies doing a grant program for writing FOSS apps on Android.
kaba0 3y ago
> Having a polished, user-friendly, fully functional mobile linux But we have it, it’s the biggest mobile OS even. Also, it is absolutely unreasonable to expect any one company to produce apps for 3 platforms. So anything that is not out of the box compatible with one of the big ones is dead in the water.
xet7 3y ago
When using Ubuntu Touch, having 6 GB RAM like in my OnePlus 3T makes a big improvement. Usually reports from problems are from smartphones that have too little RAM. Browser etc apps like RAM.

eternityforest 3y ago

I think it would be easier by far to port more things to Android than make Linux work. A third Mobile OS would create more fragmentation, and could drive more things to either be web-first, or make "Everything is an app" less viable. Plus, Android is batteries-included. Everyone who works on Linux likes modularity, they will fight hard against adding the thing that makes Android great, which is that there's API levels and every devices with a given level is more or less the same. I'd much rather see a FOSS Android fork that can run AppImages or something, or just one of the tech companies doing a grant program for writing FOSS apps on Android.

kaba0 3y ago

> Having a polished, user-friendly, fully functional mobile linux But we have it, it’s the biggest mobile OS even. Also, it is absolutely unreasonable to expect any one company to produce apps for 3 platforms. So anything that is not out of the box compatible with one of the big ones is dead in the water.

xet7 3y ago

When using Ubuntu Touch, having 6 GB RAM like in my OnePlus 3T makes a big improvement. Usually reports from problems are from smartphones that have too little RAM. Browser etc apps like RAM.