In fact, it is Linux-based devices that dominate the smartphone market. Some people will think of such a statement, while others will be filled with pride for Linux in the style of The Sound of Music - The Hills are Alive . Next, I will provide interesting facts confirming that 85% of smartphones are really based on the Linux kernel, and I will also present a number of promising new products in this market.
Often in the course of communication with professionals outside the workspace, they ask me: "What are you doing?" When I say that I work as a Linux systems analyst, many people react like this: “I don’t really like Linux, because you cannot open or edit Word documents in it” * or “You mean a desktop OS where everything is in text and there is no graphical interface? ”** and even so“ Linux? What's this?". In response, I usually make a malicious grimace with the question ... "Do you know that you yourself are using a smartphone running Linux right now?"
Yes, in fact, as many of you know, Android and Chrome OS distributions are originally based on the Linux kernel .
Android- Linux
As the developers themselves say Google: " Android is built on the open Linux Kernel " (link contains video). Since Android 11, this OS is based on the LTS (Long Term Support) Linux kernel, namely versions 4.19 and 5.4.
More specifically: “Since 2019, every time Linus Torvalds posts a new release or pre-release, the Linux master branch is merged with the Android master branch. Until 2019, Android kernels were built by cloning a fresh LTS kernel and adding Android patches to it. The new communication model avoids significant port forwarding and Android patch testing efforts by doing it all step by step. " - source.android.com
There are very An informative video (albeit in 240p), revealing the architecture of Android, in which a Google engineer explains that when used in the base of Android, the Linux kernel architecture is being finalized. There is also a more recent video in better quality, which answers the question: " Is Android really, in fact, Linux ?" The head of Google's open source business unit, Chris DiBona , describes Android as "a Linux desktop dream come true ."
After making sure that Android smartphones really run on Linux, you can briefly familiarize yourself with some research data, as well as learn about promising new device models and some related software.
Market research
In November 2020, IDC published a study showing that Android systems dominate the smartphone market. According to the data collected, about 261.1 million devices were sold during the last quarter, 85% of which are based on Android.
According to Gartner and Statista, this platform currently occupies 86% of the global market. Take a look at the graph below showing the two major players in the industry - Android and Apple iOS.
Promising Linux smartphones
If you are interested in smartphones based on the Linux kernel, then I advise you to take a closer look at the models described below, as well as related software.
Librem 5 - security and privacy
Purism , known for developing Linux laptops with a focus on privacy and free software, successfully crowdfunded the new Librem 5 smartphone. The developers raised $ 1 million more than planned.
The Librem 5 smartphone is based on Debian Linux and comes with mechanical hardware switches by default to ensure safety and privacy. The operating system is GNU / Linux with free software support. - puri.sm
Pinephone - power to users
The PinePhone is a smartphone from the Pine64 company that developed the Pinebook Pro . The main idea is to give the user complete control over the device. This is achieved through the use of mobile operating systems based on standard Linux and equipping the case with 6 equipment switches available under the back cover. In addition to this, the structure is assembled with screws, which simplifies subsequent repairs and upgrades. - pine64.org
F (x) tec Pro¹ - the owner of a full QWERTY keyboard
Pro1 is a touchscreen smartphone with a horizontal slide-out keyboard. It is designed and manufactured by F (x) tec based in London. This device is a better alternative to the Moto Mod Livermorium keyboard . So far, the Pro1 community has already helped develop a Linux-based OS, and support for Sailfish is planned soon. - fxtec.com
Ubuntu Touch for smartphones and tablets
Touch ubuntu (formerly Ubuntu Phone) - is a mobile version of Ubuntu operating system, originally developed by Canonical's Ltd . It is currently being developed by the UBports community . It is designed mainly for touch-sensitive mobile devices, namely smartphones and tablets. This platform is completely independent and exclusively supported by the community.
Here is a list of devices at various stages of support for this OS, which also includes Fairphone 3 . More mature devices allow for convenient system installation using UBports. For those in early support, the installation is usually done manually. - ubuntu-touch.io
Plasma Mobile - From the creators of KDE Plasma
Plasma Mobile is a variant of Plasma for smartphones. It is currently available for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 5x, as well as PinePhone and postmarketOS-supported devices. Plasma Mobile works on the Wayland protocol and is compatible with Ubuntu Touch applications. On December 1, 2020, KDE and Pine64 announced the possibility of pre-ordering PinePhone - KDE Community Edition. - plasma-mobile.org
What's the core in your Android?
You will need root access to gain extended access to Linux , but for the sake of sports interest, I suggest you just look into the standard Android system to find out which version of the Linux Kernel you have installed. In most Android smartphones, it can be viewed in the Settings -> About device section (sometimes you need to click on the Android version).
If you have root rights, you can usually install “ Termux ”, then launch it and enter.
uname -a
In response, the command will return something like this (on a OnePlus device ):
Of course, a rooted device with terminal access provides a lot of cool features. For example, using top or htop, you can monitor the state of applications, and through the command line, you can install packages, remove applications, start services, etc.
Conclusion
The android army continues to take over the smartphone market . The main reason is that they are based on open source software, giving power users and engineers the freedom to research, develop and make new technical breakthroughs.
I hope that the smartphones listed in the article will manage to take a significant share in the market. Other notable Linux handheld devices include the NecunOS NE_1 , Fenniy , Cosmo Communicator, and Volla Phone .
Finally, I will add that I will be glad if as many users as possible get acquainted with Linux, who will appreciate its benefits and join the unique community.
Give freedom and power to users!
Footnotes
* In fact, Linux supports viewing and editing Word files, Excel spreadsheets and others, and not only on desktops, but also on tablets and smartphones.
** There are many more GUI options for Linux than for any other operating system. For example, Gnome , KDE , Xfce and many, many others.
