Linux

Yes, running OnePlus 6 with Mobile NixOS (actually mostly just NixOS with a couple modules from mobile NixOS). I will try to make the config public when I get it into a less rough state. It's... useable as a daily phone, but you have to be really into it to do it.

It's not like desktop Linux where if you're a tech enthusiast you can ignore a few rough edges and just use it like you would a more mainstream OS.

I had to flash a specific old version of OxygenOS, using almost undocumented tools, which could easily brick the phone if something went wrong, just for GPS to work. I have to recompile my kernel every time it updates. I had to write my own scripts for the hardware slider thing to work (which has a nice benefit of letting me use it for whatever I want; I want to make it switch between NORMAL and INSERT in my editor just as a laugh).

I just fat-fingered myself into a need for a new phone. I'd really like to get away from Android, but I've yet to hear anyone say any smartphone running Linux is ready for daily driving.

😢

I wanted PinePhone to work decently so I could daily drive it but when I got it it was already far behind from my old phone hardware-wise. PostmarketOS had run roughly. It was kinda usable but I couldn't manage to use Signal on it (it was a desktop app that time). GPS wasn't working either. 2 most important things for me. Battery life was also abysmal.

This was years ago though, PostmarketOS is probably much much better now. I sold that PinePhone so I don't know its current state. I wouldn't expect more from what I tried.

If I'm gonna get a Linux phone now, I want to see a good Android app emulation. At least until we get real alternatives. I still need a couple apps from Aurora Store. F-Droid apps have a better chance to be ported to Linux from Google Play ones anyway.

I daily drive a Librem 5. First thing to note is do not expect a well polished experience. Battery life is bad, only about 4 hours of light use, and 8 or so hours if left in suspend. It can do VoLTE, send SMS, use web apps and any apps coded with libadwaita or kirigami. Other desktop apps can be forced to scale on the display, but it won't be perfect.

I use Signal desktop as my main means of communication on the Librem 5. I have a spare normie phone for setup, but Waydroid is an option. I do use Waydroid for a few apps that have no web browser equivalent.

Idk, all I can say is, you have to really want it to live with it. I don't do gaming or heavy social media use or anything removed that, so it is just fine for me. But it's definitely not for everyone.

I'm using Sailfish OS on a Jolla C2 phone. The OS is great, very good native software and it also runs Android apps.

I just got myself a fairphone gen 6. I want to put postmarket OS on it, but had a kind of rough start. Haven't gotten it working yet :(

I have a Xiaomi Mi A2 that I ran ubuntu touch on. The camera didn't work, and it was based on ubuntu 16.04. They've dropped support for it now. It was not ready to be a daily driver.

I should be getting a poco x3 nfc in the mail tomorrow. It should have excellent support on both postmarketos and ubuntu touch. I don't expect it to be a daily driver, but I can't get the idea out of my head. I don't like where iOS and Android are headed.

Sony Xperia III with Sailfish OS flashed on it. Running Android emulation for a few apps like local public transport, K9 Mail. No Google.

Nice thing its easily programmable in Python / Guile / Rust. Plus has a FLOSS Linux app store.

I also have a Gemini PDA with a physical keyboard, which runs Sailfish as well. It's nice to use vim on it.

oneplus 6T and poco F1 on mobian and postmarketOS. SDM845 devices with 8 GB RAM and fast storage, about the peak of performance you can have nowadays for about $50 apiece. I'd encourage anyone to get a cheap device, fun to play around with and prepare for the day when it becomes viable. ubuntu touch is also possible, but since it's halium (like android + linux VM) it wants me to downgrade to Android 9 which is virtually impossible for me; the former two run full linux kernels and don't have that limitation - spotty hardware support, though.

performance is acceptable, the power to do almost anything you want, access whatever and whenever you want. I run it without broadband, just wifi. the cameras are unusable. since I keep the modem off, GPS doesn't work either. so it's a linux laptop with touch, basically. the apps are a shitshow, rarely will you find one that supports touch and adapts to the vertical zoomed-in screen.

but it's getting better, shit's way better now than it was only a year ago and eventually it'll get there.

as long as you're aware it's not an android alternative, you'll have a good time.

A bit late to the party here, but today I flashed Ubuntu Touch onto a Xiaomi Poco X3, and it's... well, it's rough.

All the base functionality seems to be there, calls should work (not sure because I didn't test them extensively), sms works, location/gps works, nfc is supported, camera is.. passable, battery life is certainly, and noticeably worse but that's a given - when on standby, the battery goes down roughly 8% every 5 hours, so approx. 27% per day on standby.

While I'm really glad to see how much Linux phone development sped up, they are still nowhere near daily driver status - even the phones built with Linux support in mind are not faring well from what I've seen. Even then, I'm keeping this Poco X3 because Android's days seem to be numbered.

I daily drive Ubuntu Touch on a Fairphone 5. It's not without quirks, but I like the experience. Many practical and nice native apps, Android app support through Waydroid, banking and things that would require Google Play verification I solve through the browser. Fairly good battery life, VoLTE is solved for the FP5 and some other models (which has been an issue with many Linux phones) and the community is very active solving issues and helping each other day and night.

If you are, you’re usually limited to progressive web apps. Not a bad thing, just something to be aware of. That’s the reason I had to give up when I tried. Not having a decent navigation software was really hard.

I wish... and I did try. You can see my post history but basically PinePhone and PinePhone Pro sitting neatly on the shelf.

They work. Sure, but between battery life or rather power management, lack of camera on the Pro, lack of MIPS on the base model to use Android apps via Waydroid, I had a lot of fun tinkering, but for me these are not daily drives.

For now I'm stuck with deGoogle Android thanks to /e/OS pre-installed by Murena on a CMF Nothing 1. It's neat thanks to F-Droid, Termux, KDE Connect, GadgetBridge, etc but overall I'd much rather be on Linux proper. If there is a path please do share.

I wish Ununtu Touch switched name, since its neither Ubuntu nor Canonical any longer.

FYI there's !linuxphones@lemmy.ml and !linuxphones@lemmy.ca if you're looking for more enthusiasts

I am also looking for a linux smart phone at the moment. I have not found many that don't seem to be sold out, or aren't quite there yet.

If I find anything promising I will edit.

What sucks is in the USA you need VOLTE for the phone to work, and I’ve not found a phone that clearly supports it

I went from Sailfish, to Ubuntu phone, back to Sailfish,
then bought a Pinephone due to the war,
not knowing if the Finnish company would survive
before going back to Sailfish.

Pinephone, despite it being the most linux of phones, used up too much battery power.
Ubuntu phones were already miles better.

I intend to get a Fairphone 5 or 6 and test-drive Ubuntu Touch on it, hoping to daily drive it... but it's all theoretical at this point. If I can't get a real Linux distro to do everything I want reliably, Lineage OS is my fallback plan. I believe in the Fairphone mission, so that'll be my next hardware purchase either way

Can you use Signal on a Linux phone? I know there's a desktop Linux client, but it relies on being activated from an Android or iPhone app to function, in my experience.

I used a Nokia N800 and later an N9. Both were painfully slow though otherwise pretty cool. Neither is usable now, due to the 3G mobile networks having been phased out in the US.

Surprised no mention here yet of a Pixel 3a? Both Ubuntu Touch and PostmarketOS seem to run best on it, so I've had it on my eBay search notifications for a while hoping to be able to toy with one. I really don't expect it to be daily driver material though.

I have a pinephone for wifi and my SIM is in a CatB40 that only does calls/sms.

I just ordered a pinephone, haven't received it yet. The pinephone is the best native option in the U.S right now but you can get some unlocked smartphones with better hardware and install Linux it's just a bit of a headache.

The general consensus is that it's pretty low power, being one of the only chipsets that has publicly available design docs for it. It's a mid tier 2015 era chipset. It a bit slow but works as a phone. You can probably emulate android apps in it.

Looking forward to oniro OS

I was using the nokia N900 since it was first released and then I'd buy new or used ones every couple years when it broke. Apparently some factory in China made a bunch of extras. That lasted about a decade.

Then when the librem5 was first announced I sent them some money. Funny enough that after that Pine64 both announced and finished developing their pinephone before the librem5 got released. So I got one of those and then one of the pinephone pros.

Eventually the librem5 came out and I've been using that since then. The functionality of the switches makes all the difference for me. That, and the extra thickness makes it more portable and easier to use and handle than the pinephones.

Nothing has come close to competing with the N900. That has been the best cell phone I have ever had by a lot.. since I got my first winmobile phone back in 2002. It was the perfect size and the keyboard was extremely functional. The stylus was super handy as well, although you typically never needed it, but it did make using more desktop type software on a small touch screen a lot more handy.

The impression that I get from modern linux smartphone developers is that almost none of them have any experience outside of the limited design model of iphone and android phones. So even if they are aware of the N900 and what they are, they don't have an understanding of what has been lost when Steve Jobs insisted that not having a keyboard was a "good thing" just because they wanted to cut manufacturing costs. Remember, this is the guy that use to insist that mice should only have 1 button. I'm an artist, I like aesthetics too, but functionality comes first when you are developing tools.

To summarize the strengths of the N900 outside of running linux: the small overall pocket friendly size, the fold out keyboard was easy to use when needed and out of the way when not needed. The stylus wasn't needed for software designed for the mobile platform, but it made all the difference when using software not made for the mobile platform. That and the hardware keyboard. When you got all that functionality built in, you don't have to fake it on an overly large screen that barely fits in your pocket. And that screen does a crap job of it.

Sorry about the rant. I've developed strong opinions on this topic over the last couple decades.

As for my current use... mostly I've moved away from using a smartphone as much. Its not healthy and isn't an efficient tool for doing computer stuff. And as I mentioned, they aren't that portable since they're so damn big now. They make them thin now, but that just makes them harder to use/hold and doesn't increase the room in your pocket any. I now find doing phone calls with a voip setup to be easier. I got everything routed through my email inbox and find that to be easiest.

Most people aren't going to agree with me on this. Most people first learned the iphone/droid model and they base their opinions on that.