I have an unused Windows tablet from 2021 running some Core M processor or other that I want to put Linux on and start using again. It doesn’t have a keyboard so I would have to actually use it as a tablet and not a laptop. Is there a distro built around one of the mobile desktop environments that also runs well on x86? (Last time I tried Linux mobile it was pretty much only for ARM and I never got it to work well on even an x86 virtual machine.) Or is regular GNOME deskrop still my best bet for a tablet?
Mobian has an amd64 image available. If you are looking for a “tablet” tablet experience rather than just desktop gnome with an on screen keyboard then that is going to be your best bet.
In terms of DE I would stay with GTK enviroments because GNOME circle has created a pretty extensive environment of apps that feel native there. Both PHOSH and GNOME mobile offer basically the sane experience so you should try them both and see, which you like more in the details
https://mobian-project.org/
Edit: here is the install guide: https://wiki.debian.org/Mobian/x86