An interesting discussion about a new Linux phone that will somehow be in the same space as Jolla/SFOS:
Looks relatively similar to other Mer efforts, relying on libhybris, and will run a custom Debian based on Phosh, with a Waydroid container for compatibility with some Android applications.
someone wrote at your link itās based on droidian, so also dependent on android. but maybe thatās false information. from the screenshots it really seems like postmarketos
oh, it seems to be halium based
Good review but once again no testing of basic telephony/texting, daily usage.
So, unless/until that works SFOS is still better.
i have a port somewhat working for the FLX, though it had some unique issues that need resolved before its released
Someone in HN said GNOME and Plasma are evolutionary dead ends for mobile. I kinda agree these are a lot less elegant than Mer (SFOS and Nemo). FuriOS is based on Phosh (GNOME), so that makes it less attractive from an UI perspective than SFOS.
The major problem right now seems that no Linux mobile platform offers what MeeGo was offering around 15 years ago: a mainstream browser (Firefox), VoIP (SIP, Google Talk and Skype), and offline Maps (Nokia).
SFOS offers these items, but it requires piggybacking too much on Android. Having Android compatibility is good for edge cases, but the core of the platform should be native.
looks interesting, a little too overpriced Iām afraid, but Iām curious about how well it performs.
That Register article is about their old phone, FLX1. This thread, HN, is about their new phone, FLX1s.
Isnāt SFOS on the Pinephone native without relying on Android?
I think you may be conflating two things, the ability to use android and the Hardware Abstraction Layer. The latter is about the only chance we have at being able to run on many phones since it is the part that getās us access to hardware that is locked behind blobs. Those blobs are usually closed because they are āIPā and subject to licensing terms. Now, for us, HAL is a backdoor around the IP locked foo, even if itās means weāre stuck with non-free stuff. At least we have a means of using the hardware.
Iāve just discovered the new phone is a ādowngradeā from its predecessor, I found the details here for anyone interested: FLX1S is a new Linux phone that's... mostly a downgrade from the FLX1 - Liliputing
Yeah, it was intentional. The problem at userspace level is more concerning IMHO, as the free Linux stack (minus F-Droid, counts as Android) is lacking some cornerstone applications, like usable VoIP for many open protocols.
Hardware issues and blobs are a consequence of outsourcing too much to China. Without a significant volume of orders, itās going to be really impossible to get detailed specs and manuals to write drivers. But, as you say, at least we can use hardware.
Most of the āopen protocolsā are industry intellectual property traps. To be ācertifiedā as supporting VoIP (ie. get the sticker) you will need to pay a license to use the term on a product (or be sub-licensing).
The problem with intellectual property, patents, is much older than the mass outsourcing of production to china. Western electronics manufacturing has been playing this game since the 1960s at volume. Companies like TI and Philips had cross licensing deals to produce the same designs or where themselves sub-licensing from RCA. In one sense itās been good since, for CMOS for instance, you could be sure to get chips and every was sharing the designs.
Although Iām a child of the GPL I do see how industrial production ramped up in the last half of the last century and itās a bit difficult to argue against itās success. The best arguments are ones like the stealth win of linux/bsd on the server (and android) by virtue of offering the freedom, flexibility & low costs. I remain hopeful that enough intelligent companies with chops (Proxmox, for example) will increase the mind and marketshare.
True, I was referring to informal non-enterprise-y VoIP. Perhaps VoIP was a confusing term. Iād be content with being able to make XMPP and Signal calls with a native application.
Iām just chasing the N9 experience, which was perfect at the time. Replicating that in SFOS shouldnāt be that hard. The same open OS is there. Native maps are there too.
We just miss a good native mainstream browser like Firefox, and some mainstream chat and calling protocols. Itās nearly there. Of course, using Android emulation this already works fine.
Damn, I couldāve sworn I read an article about the FLX1s.
So howās this one wrt telephony, volte, texting?
I donāt have one, but from watching youtube videos and reading their blog I think their original FLX1 is fine using volte for calls, and for texting. I think they are releasing the new version, FLX1s in batches, so you could wait and see what the reviews are like for batch 1.
You might have seen it at Sailmates? Actors | Sailmates
I saw that reference after posting here.
Wait, SFOS already supports 5G? On which devices?
On Xperia 10 III weāve had 5G support since the 4.6 Sauna release.
5G does work on the new Xperias (IV, V) pretty well