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Comment by mikece | Hacker News Reader

I'm most interested in the Librem 5 from the point of view of Privacy: I don't consent to Google or Apple tracking me just because they made the phone/OS on the phone I bought. I just hope essential apps like Wire, Signal, KeePassXC, FastMail, ProtonMail and MySudo are quickly available for the Librem

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Why not run something like AOSP with only open source software from F-Droid and a personal firewall? I did something like that back when CopperheadOS was around.

OT, sorry, but still desperately trying to fill the CopperheadOS void - what are you running?

Not sure what device you have, but Rattlesnake OS [0] might be suitable. You can also build LineageOS for many devices and forgo installing Google Apps Framework.

0. https://github.com/dan-v/rattlesnakeos-stack

GrapheneOS exists now, from the same developer that worked on CopperheadOS after he took a bit of break and got going again.

https://www.reddit.com/r/grapheneos

Thanks very much!

For convergence...one OS on different devices: https://puri.sm/posts/converging-on-convergence-pureos-is-co...

Also I think they have a goal to integrate an android emulator, so you can still run F-Droid apps.

They intend to integrate anbox so can run android apps in it...but that feature is not built in just yet: https://forums.puri.sm/t/is-it-possible-to-use-android-apps-...

I wonder what it would take to port electron apps to the platform

The platform is basically Debian (with important customizations, of course), so if you do not care much that the app will look "out of place" and will be sluggish because of electron, then there is no substantial work involved.

Electron apps on my Librem 5?? Filling up RAM and draining the battery at the speed of light? No thanks.

Just curious, what's the real advantage here of a manufactured Linux phone over just booting Ubuntu Touch on a compatible model, provided it were in a more mature state?

It has hardware kill-switches for Bluetooth, WLAN, microphone the camera and the GSM/Baseband controller (this is the killer-feature for me -- pun indended). Replacable parts (screen, camera, battery, data-storage) -- allowing you to repair your own device, when it fails, thus being independent from mainline manufacturers.

You cannot run "Linux" on your "Linux phone" as in going to kernel.org, downloading the source, compiling it and installing it.

There are a handful of devices that can run mainline kernels via postmarketOS: https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices

That being said, the project is still early, almost nothing supports cellular data, SMS, or phone calls.

Yes, thing is, the amount of work that seems to be needed to bring up a mainline kernel "properly" on even one of the most open and best-documented SOC's in industry (the one Purism chose for this phone) is already a bit scary as shown by the OP post. Now imagine multiplying that by the zillions of phone models that Cyanogenmod used to support or that LineageOS still supports today. That's basically the scope of work that pmOS has to manage... It's not very easy.

Most devices are basically unusable because they lack documentation and specification. It can be painstainkingly and slowly reengineered, but when is that done, if ever? I think the easier way is to spend money on devices with proper documentation.

More and more the most important question I have when I consider to buy a device is whether the mainline kernel is supported and can be installed. If not, I move on.

In addition to the things the other replies stated: Ubuntu Touch is discontinued, and was never really good enough to suggest for daily use with a straight face (source: I used it daily for about 6 months).

I liked Ubuntu touch while I used it. The only reason I switched was the missing apps: anki, authy, a couple of others.

But it's not. It's now community supported.

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