I'm impressed with the rate of progress in the Linux distros for smartphones due to these devices, especially the Pinephone as it's more accessible.
But I honestly expected few major phone manufacturers to join these development effort in some manner after seeing the fate of Huawei with Android or specifically Google Play Services/OHA(Open Handset Alliance), I'm surprised it didn't happen yet or perhaps it's because of OHA it's not happening.
Tizen didn't work out for smartphones although it seems to be gaining market share in wearables, why not direct the smartphone investment part of it to PostmarketOS, UBPorts etc. I presume Linux Foundation has to play a role in it.
Huawei now is pushing their mikro-kernel based OS, nothing to do with Linux, Harmony OS.
Ironically it used to be a research project demoed a few times at FOSDEN and US gave them a reason to bring it into production.
Tizen is also being used in Samsung's smart TVs.
LG has WebOS and Sharp Aquos.
And then there is ChromeOS as well.
Basically, GNU/Linux desktop has proven to not be something that general public even considers when it comes with strings attached about FOSS politics and little UI/UX that those people actually care about, without the apps all their friends use.
There is no doubt on the issue of chicken-and-egg problem with the app ecosystem, but wouldn't it be the only problem or even say the major problem to address if the manufacturers get on to supporting mainline Linux for smartphones instead of developing a completely new operating system from the scratch.
That leads to the same problem that killed Netbooks, besides the XP price dumping, and also plagues the PC and Android eco-systems, differentiation.
Mainline GNU/Linux isn't something that makes average consumer pick vendor A or B when looking for a new device at the shopping mall.
And the hardware alone also doesn't sell, it must be the whole vertical experience on how software + hardware work together to bring that experience into existence.
I think the differentiation issue would persist no matter what OS a smartphone manufacturer come up with at this point if it is open-source, which it should be in order to get more manufacturers on board for getting apps developed for it and thereby risking fragmentation.
> And the hardware alone also doesn't sell, it must be the whole vertical experience on how software + hardware work together to bring that experience into existence.
This is exactly why Librem 5 is more promising as Purism develop both hardware and software.
As well as Sailfish OS, which is supported on a number of Sony devices among others. Development of the OS is happening at a faster clip now due to the support of the Aurora (Avrora) OS developers. Huawei is considering shipping phones with Sailfish in the future as well.
But I honestly expected few major phone manufacturers to join these development effort in some manner after seeing the fate of Huawei with Android or specifically Google Play Services/OHA(Open Handset Alliance), I'm surprised it didn't happen yet or perhaps it's because of OHA it's not happening.
Tizen didn't work out for smartphones although it seems to be gaining market share in wearables, why not direct the smartphone investment part of it to PostmarketOS, UBPorts etc. I presume Linux Foundation has to play a role in it.