this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2025
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Linux Phones

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Roughly how long will it take the fairphone 6 to reach the level of support the fairphone 4 is at now?

I’m debating getting one to tinker with

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[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 7 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Impossible to say unless you want to do it yourself πŸ˜…

The basic Linux kernel patches will be in the next release, and then it depends on when the mobile Linux distros upgrade the kernel.

But I think entusiasm for the FP6 is relatively low in the mobile Linux space, as they removed usb3 and display out from the hardware. I suspect the FP5 will remain the best supported one.

[–] mariob@liberdon.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

@poVoq @matterofact yep. Very poor choice to drop DisplayPort feature. Basically, you loose convergence. I was betting on a Linux phone that I can leave my laptop at home and convert my phone into one. Fairphone 5 will remain ahead still.

[–] matterofact@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

That’s interesting. I thought the return to a more typical snapdragon chip might make it more popular than the 5

[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The FP5 SoC is a industrial IoT chip, so there is actually longer term support from Qualcomm which is IMHO better for Linux use.

Interesting, I thought it might be more complicated to develop for but idk what I’m talking about when it comes to that πŸ˜…

[–] mariob@liberdon.com 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

@matterofact @poVoq to be honest it will make it more popular amongst normies. Especially given that Android is a pathetic experience as a desktop, so they would not care about it. However, amongst Linux enthusiasts won't be as popular.

[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 days ago

Apparently Android 16 improved desktop experience a lot by back porting some of the Samsug Dex features.

[–] DrDystopia@lemy.lol 2 points 6 days ago

Depends on what you mean by level of support. If you mean hardware, it will never get USB3 or display out. This will make it less attractive as a linux phone, which means it will get less support from the tinkerers.

If you mean community support, after reading a few topics on the Fairphone forums, probably never. To put it in perspective, I know I wouldn't accept a hypothetical free FP5 to FP6 upgrade.