Feel like we should be able to install these OS on whatever device we want, same as PCs. Why lock a phone so much?
this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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Linux Phones
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The Discussion on Linux-based Phones.
Benefits:
- Hardware freedom.
- Perfect operating-system competition.
- Full utilization of specs.
- Phone lifespan raises to 10+ years.
- Less e-waste.
Linux Mobile Distros:
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Linux Mobile Hardware:
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Because corporations would struggle to siphon an immense amount of personal data if they didnt control the software.
Cause on ARM you don't have a bios and some other reasons why you need an OS specifically for each device
Previous generations really dropped the ball on this
Edit: The not resolving it so phones would be same as PC's
There are loaders for arm devices. They may not be typical bootloaders like for computers but they're not all that different. Like tow-boot or u-boot.
Eh, the BIOS is ultimately just some code on a ROM chip, it working the way it does was a design decision by IBM, it wasn't because of the CPU they used. There's nothing technical standing in the way of making a PC-like ecosystem based on ARM chips.
The reason phones don't have this is because they're (almost) always fully integrated systems where you don't ever swap out any of its parts for different ones, so there's no incentive to create a flexible system, both on the hardware and software side, that can deal with different hardware on-line over just baking in all the hardware-specific stuff off-line.
If nothing has changed since the time I looked into it, because every device (camera, display, SIM) basically needs its own driver wrote for it and it's the decision of the one ordering the designing of the phone to release it or not
I desperately want to use mobile Linux on my phone, but I am legally blind, and so at an absolute minimum I require system magnification. Having both system magnification and a screen reader would be better, but at the absolute minimum I must have magnification before I can even consider the idea of going to a system like this. But I desperately want to, so please, somebody.
Would be cool to see them expand support to Fairphone 4/5 as well.
Edit: FP5 in the works apparently: https://github.com/pocketblue/pocketblue/pull/130
We need the hardware groups to be built up. New Open Source OEM's made.
That and new unionized IP Provider companies. Anything that goes back to the hands of the people is a good thing
Also this sounds amazing for Fedora to come to phones. Want to see Linux Mint, Pop OS Cosmic, and Bazzite to get same treatment eventually
sounds socialistic/communistic......... I love it.
Can be that too. It can also be unionized cooperatives for unionized democracy. Anything that helps us all live better lives is good
So where to be at as an actual user, hardware and OS wise.