Google: 'Your $1000 phone needs our permission to install apps now'". Android users are screwed - Louis Rossmann
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Can a steam deck be turned into a phone?
probably doesn't have the necessary antennae
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i'm a musician, have a trained ear and even with mild tinnitus have yet to see any BT audio transmission that matches the fidelity of cables.
That aspect did pop into my head but I am not qualified to comment as I never use any wireless headsets, nor are my ears trained enough for fully appreciating hi-fi quality.
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You're pissed about it? Visit here: https://opencollective.com/postmarketOS
IMHO that's our best shot. Totally Google free, mainstream Linux kernel.
Don't worry as the current OEMs continue to lock down bootloaders and lock required drivers behind copyright and other restrictive licensing schemes they will ensure nice things like PostmarketOS at best remain fringe and never able to replace modern phones for daily usage.
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That’s convenient to swap a battery but I feel like my phone is more likely to get soaked than need a battery swap at any time in the next two years. The FP6 is IP55 rated.
Looks like FP6 battery is £45 and iPhone 14 is £60-£90 depending where you buy it. I know I can get that done in the next hour or two where I live, so I don’t see it as a big deal.
The replaceable camera feature is more compelling because a broken front iPhone camera can effectively brick the device.
My phone is IP68 and you can replace the battery. Does require removing some screws to get the case off but I think that would pretty much be required to waterproof it anyway.
Shame they discontinued Cat phones
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Can a steam deck be turned into a phone?
It won't do phone calls or SMS but otherwise sure why not. Just call/msg with matrix or discord
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Here you can see current state: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices
In theory it will just be another Linux able to run on everything Linux supports + Android hardware. Honestly I don't know if it will ever run on common modern phones but it should at least be possible to run it on more "open" phones like Fairphone or PinePhone.
These are the most supported devices, maintained by at least 2 people and have the functions you expect from the device running its normal OS, such as calling on a phone, working audio, and a functional UI.
If the above is where we are at still with PostmarketOS, it will be a decade or more before it is anything more than a curiosity. The table stakes of what people, even us tech nerds, expect from a smartphone fit for daily use is so much more than "it can make phones calls and the UI works" it is not even funny.
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if this happens my next phone either will be a linux phone (if I can find a dependable one with banking apps allowed) or iOS out of spite
Flip phone or free/very cheap phone. Certainly won't spend any real amount of money on android. Like £15 or so second hand them yeah maybe
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I think I am just done with the whole concept of the convenient prepackaged tech product, and especially staying "connected" with them.
For example, I stopped wearing a smart watch this summer and it's been a positive. I was the type to wear it 23 hours a day and track my sleep with it and everything. It turns out that not instantly seeing every notification or knowing the exact minute of the day are not a big deal, sans are even good for me.
Part of what I've also done is use my phone a lot less and my linux desktop a lot more. I use it as a mobile communication device and not my computer for everything. I guess the next time I need to replace it I'll either get an iphone since everybody in my family has one, or I'll see where these wonderful Linux phone projects end up.
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This defeats the entire purpose of me having android
Like I'm just going to switch to an iPhone now. Not because Apple is any better, but because I have more family with them.
They took away our SD cards, they took away our removable batteries, they took away our headphone jacks. Now they're taking away side loading apps, and that's it. I'm done. The death of android.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I'm glad I stopped expecting logic from you people.
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Purism scams their customers left, right, and center and have for effectively their entire existence. They should not be trusted, and their phone specs are basically from 2013 sold for $800.
So even if you're idealistic enough to pay $800 for a phone that'd be in a landfill if it didn't have hardware privacy features, Purism will take that trust you have in them and screw you over – delay you for as long as they need to/can/want with no recourse for a refund outside of maybe the courts. After which you hope you either get a functioning product or get good luck with a disorganized, opaque, scumfuck company like that.
You're not being honest. They struggled to deliver their ambitious mainline Linux phone on time during Covid yes, but they eventually delivered. The fact that they did is a huge win for the mobile Linux ecosystem becoming a real contender just when we need it. All their other products are just fine.
NXP i.MX family debuted in 2013; Intel i7 family in 2008. Their phone uses a 2017 i.MX 8M Quad, the same year they crowdfunded their phone. 2017 i7 computers are equally not from 2008..
It still today remains one of the best ARM processors with open source drivers without an integrated baseband. It means basically any flavour of Linux can install on the device, with a significant layer of protection from carrier conduited attacks. Other modules have similar tradeoffs between performance and interoperability/security.
Want better specs? We either need SoC companies to release more of their drivers open source, or more people to patiently reverse engineer closed source ones.
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Does it...work yet? Last I heard phone calls were dodgy...
It works well enough to use as a daily driver on Bookworm and Trixie (and some other distros) but would only recommend if you're ok with Linux, and either are a developer or don't mind some rough parts around the edges.
E.g. some carriers uses 2 APNs, one for internet and one for MMS. You can send/receive on both, but the router is not yet complete, so if you send/receive media or use a group chat via text, need to switch to MMS mode in settings to do so first, then switch back to internet. Not an issue on most carriers as they only have 1 APN, but an edge case for the ones that do have this configuration.
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I have two devices, one is my phone, and one only plays music. I only ever use my phone as my phone, and my music device as my music device in my car, and both run over Bluetooth.
It is a crapshoot as to which role my car will assign to which device. Sometimes I have to put my phone in airplane mode so that the car won't try to assign it the media player role in Bluetooth settings. I'm not impressed.
check the Bluetooth settings on your phone. on mine, I can disallow roles that a peripheral could get, like media audio, phone calls, etc
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I have two devices, one is my phone, and one only plays music. I only ever use my phone as my phone, and my music device as my music device in my car, and both run over Bluetooth.
It is a crapshoot as to which role my car will assign to which device. Sometimes I have to put my phone in airplane mode so that the car won't try to assign it the media player role in Bluetooth settings. I'm not impressed.
That has a lot more to do with the car itself.
If you ever want to talk about a shit OS...
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$1000 USD for a mobile phone...no thanks.
It used to be a pocket computer, now its just a mini-prison-cell.
If anyone is using currently using a flagship phone, when your phone dies and you need a replacement: consider just getting a cheap $100 android phone then spend the rest of the money you would've spent on a flagship on a portable PC instead
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Does anyone know anything about Furi Labs phones? I saw a comment about them on another post about Android alternatives https://midwest.social/comment/19568664
HongKong-based like Pine64, linux-based OS.
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Look up Australia's whitelisting system.
If you phone isn't manually approved, it won't be able to connect to a cell tower, not even for emergency calls.
not even for emergency calls.
That's wild.
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Phones that run Linux and have a headphone jack:
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FLX1
Fast, performant and cheap. You wanted all 3? Now you got it! The FLX1 from Furi Labs runs a fully optimized system called Furi OS, packing a lightning fast user interface, tons of storage, and a privacy centric approach like no other. FuriLabs is ready to protect your data and keep you connected and secure at all times. Long term support, removable battery, IP68 and an unmatched price point. Get your hands on one today. FuriLabs: planned permanence! Dimensions & Weights: Phone: 171mm x 82mm x 12mm : 280g Box: 180mm x 90mm x 28mm : 76g Total: 180mm x 90mm x 28mm : 356g See our shipping details. Read some reviews, also in the below tabs, or some external reviews.
FuriPhone FLX1 Linux Phone (furilabs.com)
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PinePhone
An Open Source Smartphone Supported by All Major Linux Phone Projects The PinePhone is a smartphone that empowers users with control over the device. It is capable of running mainline Linux, features hardware privacy switches, and is designed for open-source enthusiasts. Powered by the same quad-core ARM Cortex A53 64-Bit SoC used in our popular PINE A64 Single Board Computer, the PinePhone runs mainline Linux as well as anything else you’ll get it to run.
PINE64 (pine64.org)
2026 will be the year of the Linux phone!
I'd love for that to be the case, but without a lot more polish and the ability to run Android apps in some kind of sandbox I don't see it happening.
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Something kind of concerning I just found - there's an option for "limited distribution" which is "Intended for 'students, hobbyists, and other personal use.'" One of the differences is the following:
Has "capped number of apps and installs"(specific limits not disclosed)
Doesn't this imply there's going to be global tracking of what apps people are installing even through sideloading or APKs? I can't think of any other way to enforce this. They would have to know how many times people installed an app even when its not through any kind of app store or even from the internet at all.
They provide the OS, what makes you think that kind of tracking isn't already happening?
App stores provide the apks but then you'll use your phone's installer to actually, well, install the apks.
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