I’m sure this is a very common post but please hear me out, I’m in a weird place and don’t want to make a poor decision when it comes to such a big purchase, let alone potentially three of them.
Until very recently, I was under the impression that Linux phones weren’t a thing. Had I known, I likely would have made this post several months ago and bought a different device for myself (I’m using a crazy overpriced Pixel bc I thought GraphineOS was the ONLY option for a safe and FOSS phone). I have two partners in the US who’s Androids are old and even falling apart on them. They can’t afford one Pixel, let alone two, but I’ve gotten them into Linux Mint and want to take this opportunity to rid their phones of proprietary software as well. So here’s the deal:
I have little to no knowledge of Linux phones. I don’t know if they have dedicated apps, or if all software is run through Android emulation, or even how different Android is from Linux itself (isn’t the former based on the latter anyway?). None of us need high-spec devices, we just want something that can:
- Play media files and use privacy respecting YouTube clients, stuff like that
- Send and receive texts/calls through Signal, Telegram, etc.
- Actually deliver notifications (GraphineOS is horrible for this in my experience)
- Use your average social media (Mastodon, Bluesky)
- Has expandable storage and preferably a headphone jack
- Isn’t total overkill and won’t cost a grand for useless features and specs
I don’t expect any phone to fit the bill perfectly, but if you guys know which device and OS I should try, I’m all ears. Speaking of operating systems, I’ll go looking around this community to try and find some individual pros and cons, but if anyone has experiences to share, please, please do. My plan is to find which pairing of device and OS is easiest to operate with the least drawbacks and get used to it myself. Being the techie of the trio, I wanna be able to help them if something goes wrong. Once we’ve made a decision, I’ll buy and set up another phone, then send them both to my partners so they can finally have new phones that are FLOSS, free of corporate spyware, and hopefully last them a good while.
I think Linux phones are something for enthusiasts still. If you found Graphene to have rough edges it’s not going to be much better in the world of Linux phones.
Android apps can run through a compatibility layer called Waydroid. Allegedly it works pretty well, but it’s not super convenient.
Personally I put my bets on a Fairphone 5. It’s currently running /e/OS, which is a French open source degoogle Android. Open source development for the Fairphone 5 is very active. If I were to install something closer to proper Linux on it now I would go for Ubuntu Touch (which uses the kernel from Android rather than mainline), but it seems like it’s also moving quickly towards supporting mainline Linux and PostmarketOS in a good way.
The phone should last a while as it’s repairable, and if they’re not ready for Linux phones it makes it easy to install /e/OS to get back to degoogled Android. And it has a large community of users/developers. So I think it’s a good option.
Then again, if the goal is a fully FOSS phone for casual users it’s possible waiting a little longer is not the worst idea.
Oh, I found Graphene excellent! It’s just the notifications are pretty essential and I cannot get them working outside of one app. That’s the only reason I criticized it.
Are the Jolla and the FLX1 harder to swap OSes on if needed, like you said? I’ll consider the Fairphone as I know it’s the most popular option, but I’ve also heard criticisms of parts not being available or software support being dropped. Few and far between but considering how much good press it’s gotten, I’d appreciate your take on that. That said I’m sure they wouldn’t mind using an app emulator as long as it’s functional. I’ve helped them get Windows games running through Wine on Mint and also got them the BizHawk emulator for old games and stuff, so they’re no strangers! haha
But hey, thanks so much for this, it’s really helpful.
You’re not going to find any other phone with better parts availability than the Fairphone, that’s for sure. You can check their store for parts yourself, for the oldest models there’s second hand. So it seems like an absurd argument. Software support is also longer than for any other manufacturer, though that doesn’t seem relevant to you.
Running windows games on Linux has gotten pretty easy with Valve’s investments. Waydroid is good, but in order for a lot of apps to work (typically banking an similar apps) one needs Google Play Services, which you wouldn’t want to install. MicroG is an open source alternative that fills some of the gap and is good enough for me, but it’s not 100%.
Another thing is map apps. There’s sadly nothing yet that can quite compete with Google maps if you just want to see the best Chinese restaurants in your area and get some pictures and user reviews to make your mind up. It’s the only Google service I haven’t managed to let completely go of.