For the last few weeks, I’ve been running CalyxOS. It is the latest in Free/Open Source mobile phone operating systems that I’ve used. This post is a summary of my experience using FLOSS mobile OSes and what my experience can tell us not only about phones, but Free/Open Source OSes in general.
An excellent rundown of the various options in this space, and I’m tempted to see if I can make this step in the near future too. Cutting Google out of my mobile phone would be quite, quite welcome.
Oh the irony of CalyxOS. “We want to get away from Google” supports only Google Pixel devices. The problem is, I will never buy a Google device until they include a microSD slot.
What`s wrong with microSD?
Mapping the SD card in to the filesystem gives very inconsistent performance due to the randomness of SD cards that consumers use. Google dropped them because of this.
O think the real reason is that they want people to use Google Drive & co.
That’s it.
That’s the main reason, also SD cards are a support nightmare.
javiercero1,
Neither google nor apple have done a good job with file organization, and I’d argue that’s the primary cause of storage pain points for mobile. To this day mobile file management is limiting, painful, and obtuse. Yeah yeah there’s always “an app for that”, but the lack of standard tools and dialog boxes has left every application handling things differently. Contrast this with save/open dialog boxes on windows, which are easy to use, dramatically improve consistency, and are highly functional: you can easily access files on any media, use network drives, etc. Mobile device functional regressions compared to computers are painful and It can be so much easier and faster to just transfer everything to a computer and back rather than trying to get things done on mobile. On the one hand some mobile fans will argue mobiles are the wrong tool to manage files with, but on the other hand these devices could have handled things so much better.
I agree with jgfenix and Kochise, I think the primary reason our mobile platforms suck at file management/local network access/etc is because they want to get people hooked on their services instead.
No, the real reason is that Google wants to bill you monthly or yearly for that extra space, which they can then scan and harvest as much as they want while pretending the user is getting the better deal. Couple that with cloud performance being even less consistent than SD due to the variability of mobile and wifi networks, and that performance excuse falls apart right quick.
e offers alternative cloud services (NextCloud-based) too: https://e.foundation/
I couldn’t find the link to the original article, so here it is: https://blog.emacsen.net/blog/2021/08/23/floss-mobile-os-aug-2021/
The AOSP-derivative operating systems are great if you want to reduce your surveillance-footprint while staying as close to the mainstream as possible. The services mentioned in the article (F-Droid, MicroG, Aurora) are all phenomenal. But these stacks will always be playing a game of catch-up with Android.
That makes the “Linux-based” OSes (as the article puts it) — UBPorts, postmarketOS, PureOS, Mobian — the more interesting options as far as I’m concerned. They may make for a more disruptive switch, but they’re also where a lot of interesting things are happening.
I think regulation and open standards are where it should be. Too many of the tech companies are abusing their power or doing stupid things. I don’t care much of Linux because outside of a very small sweet spot it’s too much friction and I don’t want to deal with a million garbage interfaces. As for Android I’m not convinced Google want to sort out its driver layer or bloat or decent hardware functionality once and for all because they’re part of the conspiracy to keep us buying stuff.
If developers want people to support alternative OS they have to bake in portability at step one so targetting a arbitrary platforms becomes as easy as flicking a switch. I’m not going “all in” on another OS just to see it turn into a dead end and get stuck and have to change again and relearn everything again and in some cases pay for everything again. They also have to get over the “we’re not supporting older versions because” which Android encourages for phones which IHV’s and Google decide they’re not going to support past an arbitrary cut off point.
I think honestly, the best way to do this all is to be a mobile developer with android experience and tons of free time on your hands. Fdroid is great, but missing a few things and some apps don’t always work. Fixable! Sure, if you have the time to do it. Simple fixes are often much more complicated than they really should be, but it was provided for free so you can’t complain too much…
What I really like about the article is how Serge Wroclawski seems to understand the difference between geeks and users. Small bumps that geeks are willing to ignore become complete road-blocks for regular users. His points about the Aurora Store violating Google’s ToS, and the difference between commercial and open mapping services, really ring true.
Anyway, nice article, I enjoyed reading it.
Samsung decided to disable the front camera on one of its new phones if the phone bootloader was unlocked. I understand they are vague as to why but suspect “security” is the excuse as the front camera is tied into facial recognition. Then there are banks disabling access to their apps if you use a “rooted” phone. Then on the PC there is Microsoft peddling secure boot ad bona fide alternative OS having to go begging for a key.
try the stear prime
you will never come back
Why doesn’t SailfishOS get more love? It has the potential to be big but doesn’t seem like they can get it over the finish line.
I just read an article regarding CalyxOS about couple of weeks ago. I just can’t find it anymore.