Five years ago, Linux phones looked like they were poised to become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly that has an iron grip on the mobile phone industry. Sadly, after a brief flash of activity and community engagement with the release of the Purism Librem 5 and the PINE64 PinePhone in 2020, the Linux phone market has generally stagnated. This stagnation occurred partly because of the problems at Purism and PINE64, but also because the available Linux SoC’s weren’t up to the task of running a modern smartphone, and the hardware industry wasn’t providing any good alternatives with good free/open source drivers. In addition, Plasma Mobile and Phosh were still inchoate mobile interfaces at the time, and there wasn’t a good distro option to run these interfaces on Android kernels with a normal integrated mobile SoC. The poor performance of the PinePhone and Librem 5 and the problems with the PinePhone Pro and the Librem 5 refunds sapped people’s enthusiasm and willingness to take a chance on the next Linux phone.
Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?
Linux phones now have the hardware and software to succeed, but it is an open question whether they will become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly.

Key takeaways
Linux phones faced stagnation due to hardware and software issues but may now have potential as a niche alternative to Android and iOS.
- Linux phones struggled with hardware and software limitations in 2020.
- Recent improvements may allow Linux to become a viable niche option in the mobile market.
- Small companies already sell Linux PCs, suggesting a similar path for Linux phones.
Summarised automatically by AI from the original article by Hacker News. AI can make mistakes, so check the original for details.
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