I'd LOVE an open, Linux-based phone. But I also need a phone that does video calls, has a working browser, messenger etc. One that works with at least a good bunch of most common apps.
Is that likely to ever happen? Or is this a very interesting project, but really aimed at tinkerers, or people who don't use WhatsApp etc.
[0] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme...
Even with some linux support (which I haven't checked lately) it was a hard pass to support the slide.
We also don't even have this with desktops or laptops today. CPUs are still proprietary and running closed-source software. On mobile it's even more locked down, where I can almost guarantee you will never have open software running on baseband controller or SIM card on any public network like Verizon.
Depending on what you mean by 'native', you might find Waydroid[0] interesting. It only does containerization, not emulation.
And also: While yes, Linux on the desktop isn't too successful, it is at a state that you can daily drive with it for all tasks. Maybe you won't get the MS Office suite running, but there are alternatives.
I think the Linux mobile niche will go into the same direction. It won't be successful, if measured by raw numbers, but it will be successful in that it will provide a functional alternative for those willing to do it. It won't ever run WhatsApp, but it will run usable alternatives.
> Depending on what you mean by 'native', you might find Waydroid[0] interesting. It only does containerization, not emulation.
The big difference is that at that time desktop machines had pretty standard hardware, and hardware was largely interoperable, whereas with mobile these guys basically have to develop hardware, set the standard, and software developers have to develop the software specifically for the hardware. It's a lot harder, but if you look at the pace of things since librem and pine started, the development of this is moving at a faster pace than desktop Linux did.
The current Pinephone has almost all of that right now (desktop firefox run very well, messaging works - MMS too -, video calls works in the browser).
> One that works with at least a good bunch of most common apps.
That's on the "most common apps" devs to do the work, and they are very unlikely to do so.
You could use something like Waydroid on the Pinephone to run some Android apps in a stable-ish way (SailfishOS has a similar feature).
Last I tried zoom with 4 people on my PBP, it was stutter city.
Probably rewarding work, too.