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Ask HN: Why not use old smartphones as a "Raspberry Pi"?
Anyone doing it?
How hard is it to get Linux onto an iPhone?
What are some caveats - as somebody who uses a Raspberry Pi as a home server for many apps and has thought about expanding, what should I know about using a smart device for a server?
- 2Gkashmiri 2y agotermux would get you most of the way there but will it auto start on boot, will it run continuously and all that? i am not sure
- al_borland 2y agoWhile some people have gotten Linux to boot on old iPhones, I don't think it's anywhere close to being a Raspberry Pi replacement at this point.
- _akhe 2y agoCan you elaborate on why? If both devices run the same OS wouldn't it just come down to hardware needs? I ask because I'm seriously considering trying with an iPhone 12 but wonder if something glaring will get in the way or make it not ideal.
- al_borland 2y agoThe hardware support isn’t there. The iPhone is not an open platform, so it will take a long time before there is anything worthwhile. Apple moving to their new chips on the desktop helps, but it will be a long road, and it’s questionable how much of that development will make its way back to old iPhones. Unless you’re interested in joining a community trying to develop Linux on the iPhone, it’s really not worth it. There are thousands of better ways to go.
- _akhe 2y agoYeah I generally agree - kinda like the Hackintosh days. Aside from novelty, it ended up being better to just build what you need from scratch for a lot cheaper, and with better support. Thanks!
- compressedgas 2y agoSmartphones lack nearly all of the kinds of IO interfaces supported by a Raspberry Pi.
- beardyw 2y agoExactly. The big thing that seems to have been forgotten about the Pi is all those exposed pins. It was designed that way, not just as a small computer.
- talldayo 2y agoFWIW, supporting 5W GPIO can be done entirely over USB power. The iPhone can do this, Apple just would really rather you not use their phone that way.
- GianFabien 2y agoBut you already have cameras, screen, GPS, magnetometer, WiFi, IMU. To equip a RPi with only a subset of those would add considerably to the cost. You can even easily interface any Arduino for additional GPIOs via OTG and USB.
- _akhe 2y agoYeah, I love the Pi for this reason, most upgrades are a matter of ordering the parts, like building a PC back in the day. Sometimes I look at my web server though (rpi 4), with its small size and touch screen already looking like a smartphone, and wondering if I could have just used an iPhone to host these sites & APIs on. iPhone 12 Apple A14 Bionic @ 2.99 GHz 1 Processor, 6 Cores 5.60 GB Raspberry Pi 4 ARM BCM2711 @ 1.50 GHz 1 Processor, 4 Cores 1.77 GB I think iPhone always outperforms Raspberry Pi: https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/4581331?baseline=4572205 https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/compare/4581331?baselin... Which makes sense since it was $1000 and the Pi was $35.
- GianFabien 2y agoOld smartphones are often free, especially Android ones. I get mine from friends, family and of course my superseded units.
- zer00eyz 2y agohttps://devices.ubuntu-touch.io https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io Is your goal to "run a server at home" or "run a server on an old phone" One is an enabler the other is a hobby in its own right...
- _akhe 2y agoI run a server on a Raspberry Pi at home, but since I have an iPhone 12 with a lot better specs than the Pi I wondered why not just run it on that (with Ubuntu ofc not iOS).
- GianFabien 2y agoI've used old Android smartphones with DroidScript and QPython as a music server, lighting controller, time-lapse camera. More recent smartphones I simply use WebAPI functionality. I've tried using some old iPhones, but I find them too locked down. Perhaps I gave up too quickly, jailbreaking might have opened up more opportunities.
- beardyw 2y agoIn my experience phones are not built to do a lot of concurrent processing but have a really good screen! Horses for courses.
- _akhe 2y agoI figured it might not make the most sense, but I can't help but wonder if the hardware is good enough for static sites & APIs.
- nathants 2y agopostmarketos is a good place to start.
- _akhe 2y agoThis is awesome, thanks!