PinePhone Devs Finally Decide on a Default Distro - OMG! Ubuntu!
www.omgubuntu.co.uk
If you've been patiently waiting to learn which mobile Linux system the PinePhone will ship with, you're in luck! PINE64 has announced Manjaro ARM running

“We are very pleased to announce that the PinePhone will ship with Plasma Mobile on a Manjaro ARM base from this point on. We have a long-standing relationship with Manjaro and KDE Community, and both projects have supported us and our efforts since the dawn of PINE64,” writes Pine64’s Lukasz Erecinski in a February update.

This is good news as it means there is a single distro that will at least be standardised on and receive all the attention needed to ensure stability and compatibility. I use Manjaro myself on my desktop computer, and I’ve favoured KDE for a long time too. KDE Connect will bring some good integration between mobile and desktop too.

See https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2021/02/pinephone-picks-manjaro-with-plasma-mobile-as-default-os

#technology #opensource #mobile #linux #manjaro

  • SirLotsaLocks
    71·
    4 years ago

    I think kde is a great choice for this. It’s customizable, it has a solid library of kde apps that have been ported or created for a mobile environment, it has an existing large community and like you said it has kde connect, which could allow for a more unified desktop/mobile experience.

  • xe8
    4·
    4 years ago

    That’s great. Personally I don’t use KDE, and haven’t even received my Pinephone yet, but it’s great that they’ve picked a default distro - and it sounds like Manjaro / KDE teams have earned it.

    I’ll start with Mobian but will try a few distros.

    I think it’s important to focus on a single distro / user experience to get it to a standard where it can be used as a daily driver.

  • AgreeableLandscapeM
    3·
    4 years ago

    IMO, as long as I can install whatever I want, it doesn’t matter what the default is.

    • Ephera
      5·
      4 years ago

      Yep, not a fan of Manjaro, but I would flash the OS myself anyways.

  • Werwolf
    31·
    4 years ago

    KDE Plasma is a great choice. I thought that Phosh would be the shell chosen, because there’s Purism team developing it. But Plasma is definitely a very good option. KDE Connect works great with Android. I’m sure that they’ll make it work even better in Linux phones

    • Ephera
      4·
      4 years ago

      Hmm, I feel like Plasma Mobile fits better to the PinePhone:

      • You’re probably buying the PinePhone as a secondary device, and so it not being yet-another-Android/iOS (which is what Phosh feels like to me), is probably a selling point.

      • It’s marketed as a tinkerer’s device, so the tinkerer UI is a good fit.

      • They market it as a community effort, so choosing the community-developed UI over the company-developed UI makes sense. And probably also just gives them a certain form of independence.

      • PureTryOut
        1·
        4 years ago

        Interesting, most people seem to think Plasma Mobile looks more like Android than Phosh does. That’s not a bad thing imo, it’s what most people are familiar with so they can get used to it quickly.

        • Ephera
          1·
          4 years ago

          Yeah, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. For Purism, it’s probably a selling point to be relatively similar to existing platforms, because with that price tag, customers are more likely to buy it as a replacement for their existing phone and then it’s really good, if it works similar.
          But if you’re buying a PinePhone as a secondary device, which makes a lot more sense with its price tag, then you’ll be a lot more willing to discover a fresh UI. Since if you’re struggling with the UI, you can go back to your Android/iOS device easily.

          But I also wasn’t just talking about looks. I also imagine that Phosh isn’t very customizable (prejudice, because GNOME isn’t very customizable).
          And even if the default experience is similar, you may want a very customizable UI just for playing around and because you expect something to be different/better from your OSs so far.

          And if it isn’t clear yet, I should also point out that I know practically nothing about the things that I’m saying here. I’m still saying them, because I have that perspective of a potential customer.

  • mindfuloftech
    21·
    4 years ago

    I am not exactly a poweruser of Linux (I have an ubuntu server and have played around with distros on various machines) but I am definitely a fan of this decision. My time with Manjaro + KDE on my desktop was defintely the best linux experience I ever had.

    Can not wait to dump Android and move on :)

  • kelbot
    21·
    4 years ago

    I was happy with this decision as well. I’m impressed with how much plasma mobile has improved the last few months and I’m a fan of kde and plasma in general.