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You don't have to use Android. I've been using various GNU/Linux phones for the last 17 years, so being able to do `gcc -o main main.cpp && ./main` on a phone i

You don't have to use Android. I've been using various GNU/Linux phones for the last 17 years, so being able to do `gcc -o main main.cpp && ./main` on a phone is just natural to me. Back in 2008, as a teenager, I could choose to spent my first earned money to get me either one of the first GNU/Linux phones on the market or the first Android phone, and I feel that as the time goes it only validates my decision.

vallassy 1y ago
I've been looking at Linux phones for a while, and now the latest 'sideloading' lockdown from Google has pushed me to seriously consider getting off Android. What phones do you use or recommend for someone who has a little Linux experience?
- matheusmoreira 1y ago
  Smartphone Linux is a total mess. Even postmarketOS does not have a single fully supported and maintained device it can point to and say "buy this, you can run fully featured Linux on it". Very sad. The best option seems to be running Termux on GrapheneOS on the latest Pixels.
- pabs3 1y ago
  Maybe start with GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel phone, its a privacy/security focused Android fork. Otherwise for full Linux, take a look at shipping-with-Android devices that are semi-supported by postmarketOS, Mobian etc. Or go with vendors focused on non-Android Linux like Pine64 PinePhone, Purism Librem, Furilabs, Liberux and maybe some I forgot. The Debian Mobile wiki page has a whole lot of other links but I stopped maintaining it. https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone/ https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://furilabs.com/ https://furilabs.com/ https://liberux.net/ https://liberux.net/ https://wiki.debian.org/Mobile https://wiki.debian.org/Mobile
  - az09mugen 1y ago
    May I add this link to your interesting list : https://volla.online/en/ https://volla.online/en/
    - pabs3 1y ago
      Volla OS looks like an Android fork, so more like GrapheneOS than postmarketOS/etc.
      - az09mugen 1y ago
        When buying the phone you can choose to have it with Ubuntu Touch instead of Volla OS. There is also multi-boot.
        seba_dos1 1y ago
        Ubuntu Touch is still an Android-based OS (they used to have a variant that didn't rely on Android, but discontinued it).
        az09mugen 1y ago
        Thanks for that precision, I didn't know about that fact. For those interested : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/ContainerArchitecture https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/ContainerArchitecture
nunobrito 1y ago
What is your feedback in regards to battery? Android have been exhausted in development to optimize battery usage but I'm reading linux phones don't really care that much so you end up with a dead phone in less of a day. Has a power user, what has your experience been on that topic? I'd switch my phone to linux on a heartbeat because android apps seem compatible enough nowadays to run there too but battery is always the pressing limitation. My thanks in advance.
- seba_dos1 1y ago
  I'm using a Librem 5 and its battery life is good enough for me - it lasts pretty much exactly what's needed for me to get through a typical day, so I often get home with the battery almost but not entirely flat. When I know that I'm going to be using it more intensively or need it to last longer, I'll usually just put a spare battery into my backpack, but I rarely actually need to use it when these days you can just charge up in a train or tram. That's not a universal property of these devices though - N900 that I used previously could easily last a few days.
  - Imustaskforhelp 1y ago
    Having a spare battery or being able to change battery seems like a fever dream for people on new android devices. I am seriously interested in linux phones... like I am interested in either getting a grapheneos phone or somehow looking through my old garage of parents phones to see if any phone can be linux'd I don't want to spend money right away but I am also a teenager, but the thing that's kinda stopping me from spending is that terminal can already be done through things like termux and the question I am asking myself is: is it good enough I have written back to back comments about it on why I think running android on linux using waydroid seems more performant than vice versa but I am curious. Are there any recommendations that you have for me? I want to get linux on my phone but I am pretty sure that there are no second hand linux phones and I think it might cost me a lot of money (well for my country) anyway and I feel like the issue for me not being able to tinker is monetary of sorts.
    - 1y ago
flykespice 1y ago
The only stopper for most of us fully moving to Linux phones are banking apps... I am interested to hear how you deal with that as a full linux phone user
- pabs3 1y ago
  Attestation stuff means you probably can't run them even on non-Google versions of Android, so probably get a cheapo second phone for the banking apps. https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-guide#apps-banning-grapheneos https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-gu...
- seba_dos1 1y ago
  I have barely any reason to use a banking app when almost everything on my account can be done via Web, but when I do want to use BLIK I run the app in Waydroid.
  - flykespice 1y ago
    The problem is most bank here for you to log in the Web, you need to install the bank mobile app so you can fetch the security key required to authenticate.
    - seba_dos1 1y ago
      Fortunately this hasn't been an issue for me. Sounds like you should ask your bank what a person with no Android or iOS device should do to access their services then. If that doesn't help it may be worth contacting a parliamentary representative.

vallassy 1y ago

I've been looking at Linux phones for a while, and now the latest 'sideloading' lockdown from Google has pushed me to seriously consider getting off Android. What phones do you use or recommend for someone who has a little Linux experience?

matheusmoreira 1y ago
Smartphone Linux is a total mess. Even postmarketOS does not have a single fully supported and maintained device it can point to and say "buy this, you can run fully featured Linux on it". Very sad. The best option seems to be running Termux on GrapheneOS on the latest Pixels.
pabs3 1y ago
Maybe start with GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel phone, its a privacy/security focused Android fork. Otherwise for full Linux, take a look at shipping-with-Android devices that are semi-supported by postmarketOS, Mobian etc. Or go with vendors focused on non-Android Linux like Pine64 PinePhone, Purism Librem, Furilabs, Liberux and maybe some I forgot. The Debian Mobile wiki page has a whole lot of other links but I stopped maintaining it. https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone/ https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/ https://furilabs.com/ https://furilabs.com/ https://liberux.net/ https://liberux.net/ https://wiki.debian.org/Mobile https://wiki.debian.org/Mobile
- az09mugen 1y ago
  May I add this link to your interesting list : https://volla.online/en/ https://volla.online/en/
  - pabs3 1y ago
    Volla OS looks like an Android fork, so more like GrapheneOS than postmarketOS/etc.
    - az09mugen 1y ago
      When buying the phone you can choose to have it with Ubuntu Touch instead of Volla OS. There is also multi-boot.
      - seba_dos1 1y ago
        Ubuntu Touch is still an Android-based OS (they used to have a variant that didn't rely on Android, but discontinued it).
        az09mugen 1y ago
        Thanks for that precision, I didn't know about that fact. For those interested : https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/ContainerArchitecture https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/ContainerArchitecture

nunobrito 1y ago

What is your feedback in regards to battery? Android have been exhausted in development to optimize battery usage but I'm reading linux phones don't really care that much so you end up with a dead phone in less of a day. Has a power user, what has your experience been on that topic? I'd switch my phone to linux on a heartbeat because android apps seem compatible enough nowadays to run there too but battery is always the pressing limitation. My thanks in advance.

seba_dos1 1y ago
I'm using a Librem 5 and its battery life is good enough for me - it lasts pretty much exactly what's needed for me to get through a typical day, so I often get home with the battery almost but not entirely flat. When I know that I'm going to be using it more intensively or need it to last longer, I'll usually just put a spare battery into my backpack, but I rarely actually need to use it when these days you can just charge up in a train or tram. That's not a universal property of these devices though - N900 that I used previously could easily last a few days.
- Imustaskforhelp 1y ago
  Having a spare battery or being able to change battery seems like a fever dream for people on new android devices. I am seriously interested in linux phones... like I am interested in either getting a grapheneos phone or somehow looking through my old garage of parents phones to see if any phone can be linux'd I don't want to spend money right away but I am also a teenager, but the thing that's kinda stopping me from spending is that terminal can already be done through things like termux and the question I am asking myself is: is it good enough I have written back to back comments about it on why I think running android on linux using waydroid seems more performant than vice versa but I am curious. Are there any recommendations that you have for me? I want to get linux on my phone but I am pretty sure that there are no second hand linux phones and I think it might cost me a lot of money (well for my country) anyway and I feel like the issue for me not being able to tinker is monetary of sorts.
  - 1y ago

flykespice 1y ago

The only stopper for most of us fully moving to Linux phones are banking apps... I am interested to hear how you deal with that as a full linux phone user

pabs3 1y ago
Attestation stuff means you probably can't run them even on non-Google versions of Android, so probably get a cheapo second phone for the banking apps. https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-guide#apps-banning-grapheneos https://grapheneos.org/articles/attestation-compatibility-gu...
seba_dos1 1y ago
I have barely any reason to use a banking app when almost everything on my account can be done via Web, but when I do want to use BLIK I run the app in Waydroid.
- flykespice 1y ago
  The problem is most bank here for you to log in the Web, you need to install the bank mobile app so you can fetch the security key required to authenticate.
  - seba_dos1 1y ago
    Fortunately this hasn't been an issue for me. Sounds like you should ask your bank what a person with no Android or iOS device should do to access their services then. If that doesn't help it may be worth contacting a parliamentary representative.