You know what, value releasing a Linux phone is actually plausible. Like, they could totally do it. Lots of people would like it, they could whether a new market with an idea they would be willing to play to that the establishment absolutely refuses to…
Dude, you joke but this is a plausible path the Linux phones going mainstream.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Steam Deck: Already runs Linux.
GabeCube: Confirmed it will run Linux.
Steam Frame: Confirmed it will run Linux.
Obviously Valve has made no overtures whatsoever towards making a phone. But if they did, what on Earth would lead you to believe that it wouldn’t run Linux?
Amir@lemmy.ml 6 days ago
There being zero ecosystem for Linux phones, unlike the desktop.
You’d need an Android runtime layer.
sabin@lemmy.world 6 days ago
How many things to you really use your phone for anyway.
Personally all I need is the basic things like a camera app, maps, authenticator, web browser, pdf reader, note taker, clock, etc.
It’s really not that much
Omgpwnies@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Banking/financial apps are the biggest sticking point that I keep hearing about. They won’t run on a non-Google Android, let alone an AOSP container in Linux.
Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
If a phone can’t do banking it’s literally a worthless brick and so unprofitable that a company would have to be actively suicidal to try to produce it at literally any scale above the absolute minimum.
That or it would have to be so absurdly expensive per unit that no one would buy it.
Or spec it so pathetically weak that even the most die hard of nerds wouldn’t want it.
There’s always selling it at a fat loss of course. But selling hardware isn’t like just doing a rom. So this can’t be as shitty or jank as android roms with no formal customer support behide it.
Which means a very high cost in software and support.
PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 6 days ago
They’re famous for making (or at least greatly improving) such comparability layers.
Steam os can run Windows apps.
There is talk of steam frame (with an arm processor) running x86 apps.
So I say there would be a fair chance that we’d get decent compatibility/ Although idk if they actually would want to get into that market.