4 ms·

Because manufacturing mobile phones is hard and expensive. Companies have large teams of hardware and software people will incentivized to develop phones and lo

Because manufacturing mobile phones is hard and expensive. Companies have large teams of hardware and software people will incentivized to develop phones and lots of them fail. The best we’ve got so far are exactly custom android builds like grapheneOS or lineage that replace software on phones other companies build. Apparently google doesn’t like that, though, so they’re going to continue to make AOSP worse and worse to protect their spyware. The best case currently probably varies between something like grapheneOS on a pixel phone or lineageOS which is less privacy focused but has a much wider range of supported devices.

nologic01 3y ago
> Because manufacturing mobile phones is hard and expensive I appreciate that, but in 2021 there were like 1.8 billion phones manufactured and sold. Are you saying that none of those existing manufacturers can afford or is interested to offer a FOSS mobile?
- LegitShady 3y ago
  What advantage does offering a FOSS based phone offer them?
  - nologic01 3y ago
    A small but loyal customer base to start with, and a platform that can develop in directions that a duopoly would never have an interest in.
    - fsflover 3y ago
      Purism is targeting exactly that, and they had to increase the price of their phone from $600 to $1300 due to the problems I mentioned in another comment.
- euniceee3 3y ago
  Check out the Volla phone. Then look at the price and imagine a retail scenario where a person is going to purchase a "no name" FOSS phone or a Samsung. The scale of the marketing is unfathomable. I agree with you. But you are assuming everyone in the world thinks logically, let alone understands why FOSS is a better option.
  - nologic01 3y ago
    > But you are assuming everyone in the world thinks logically, let alone understands why FOSS is a better option. I know and I have accepted this argument for a long time. But as things get ever more commoditised and the unease with the existing arrangements keeps monotonically growing the silence is kinda deafening. If we could somehow get a basic white-label device going the magic of FOSS would work its miracle eventually. Think of modern linux desktops and servers. They are not for everyone but they are indispensable in their niche. Thanks for the Volla tip. Will check it out.

nologic01 3y ago

> Because manufacturing mobile phones is hard and expensive I appreciate that, but in 2021 there were like 1.8 billion phones manufactured and sold. Are you saying that none of those existing manufacturers can afford or is interested to offer a FOSS mobile?

LegitShady 3y ago
What advantage does offering a FOSS based phone offer them?
- nologic01 3y ago
  A small but loyal customer base to start with, and a platform that can develop in directions that a duopoly would never have an interest in.
  - fsflover 3y ago
    Purism is targeting exactly that, and they had to increase the price of their phone from $600 to $1300 due to the problems I mentioned in another comment.
euniceee3 3y ago
Check out the Volla phone. Then look at the price and imagine a retail scenario where a person is going to purchase a "no name" FOSS phone or a Samsung. The scale of the marketing is unfathomable. I agree with you. But you are assuming everyone in the world thinks logically, let alone understands why FOSS is a better option.
- nologic01 3y ago
  > But you are assuming everyone in the world thinks logically, let alone understands why FOSS is a better option. I know and I have accepted this argument for a long time. But as things get ever more commoditised and the unease with the existing arrangements keeps monotonically growing the silence is kinda deafening. If we could somehow get a basic white-label device going the magic of FOSS would work its miracle eventually. Think of modern linux desktops and servers. They are not for everyone but they are indispensable in their niche. Thanks for the Volla tip. Will check it out.