I've been out of the loop for a couple of years on Linux phones. I'm poking around on blogs and Mastodon posts, but I figured I'd just ask:
Whats currently (as of January 2026) the most functional, stable, boring phone + OS combination?
I have a PinePhone from a few years ago and a couple Pixels to play around with.
(If you're comfortable with it and feeling generous, I would appreciate a boost for visibility)
@jbowen I looked through the options recently. I found things were worse than a couple of years ago. Even the KaiOS version of Firefox OS has failed. I thought it had a chance on Nokia phones.
@woo Have you browsed some of the 50+ responses to this message? There's actually quite a growing ecosystem for Linux on phones. It's just at an awkward point where it's close to being usable, but not quite there.
@jbowen As it was a couple of years ago, and a decade before that. Android is worse too. It's just a pipe to force AI slop into what is left of our brains now.
I had a Nokia N800 in 2007! It wasn't good enough and neither was BlueTooth to connect it to a phone. It claimed to have video conferencing, like the original Samsung Galaxy S did. Both lied. :-)
@jbowen I have a Nokia KaiOS phone. They lied about it supporting WhatsApp (in any meaningful sense.) I've considered using it as a 4G WiFi hub with a Linux laptop. We need laws to force hardware companies to provide equal driver support for FOSS. Google and Apple can kill competitors.
Pixel 3a + #PostmarketOS, or a recent Pixel device an any number of FOSS Android forks.
That's all I personally know.
@jbowen There are some companies which refurbish android phones, then put linux on them, there's a compatibility layer with that, helium or something, I forgot how it's called, one of those companies is called fury labs. Because those phones were initially android, and also because those didn't come from a single brand originally, they will have a bit sturdier hardware. As for phone level distros, I would recommend postmarket OS, I'm hearing from people that it's a good distro.
Note: Because screenreader accessibility on linux mobile doesn't exist properly yet, as in it works with a keyboard but the touchscreen doesn't have the proper gestures for it, I'm unable to test those myself, however I'm passing along what I know of the situation
@esoteric_programmer Thank you very much for passing along what you know! The Helium project tickles something in the back of my head...
I have yet to find anything which, for me, is a daily phone replacement.
The best I have so far (and it is pretty darned good) is postmarketOS on a OnePlus 6.
