I was going through Pine64’s page again after I found the latest KDE announcement. With that said, I seem to see a lot of issues with firmware on the Pine, whilst the Librem is just plain out of budget for me. Was interested in how many people here run a Linux mobile as a daily driver, and how has your experience been?

I’m considering purchasing the Pine but I’d like a better screen, more RAM and a better CPU. Don’t know if I should wait for a new model to be released (are they even planning to do that? Is the company active?). I will only really use it to browse the Web, and might even look to desolder a couple of parts that I know I won’t use.

Thanks.

Edit: I am willing to watch content and use banking apps from the browser. Do you think it’ll be fit for me?

Edit 2: overall, I am much saddened about the state of affairs regarding private computing on the go. I desperately hope that Linux on mobile takes off, even though its incubation looks disheartening at the moment. Thank you everyone for your comments.

  • xarexyouxmadx@lemmy.world
    43·
    11 months ago

    I looked into this for myself but I was told a lot of what has already been said here and decided to go with a pixel + graphene OS .

    I’m probably sticking with this type of setup until there’s a proper Linux phone that can be easily used as a daily driver.

    I think the key is patience. One day I think we’ll have something that will be able to daily drive Linux that won’t feel like you’re using the alpha release of android.

    • Pantherina@feddit.de
      151·
      11 months ago

      I mean GrapheneOS is probably the most secure OS on the planet and also privacy friendly. Android is annoying sometimes but its pretty okay and the security standards are veeery high

      • xarexyouxmadx@lemmy.world
        5·
        11 months ago

        True. That’s why I chose graphene in the end. Ib liked the idea of the multiple user profiles to sandbox certain activities to a disposable profile and the fact that if I need Google play I can sandbox that as well by running it as a regular system app on it’s own profile…

        So far it’s been pretty good. I think my only complaint is I can’t get my Chromecast devices to connect. I got my Google TV to connect but all Chromecast devices refuse to pair for some reason but that pales in comparison to the headaches I’d get trying to daily drive a Linux phone. But I’m big on Linux (I use it as a daily driver on my computer) so I’m patiently waiting for a daily driver worthy Linux phone. 🤞

        • Pantherina@feddit.de
          4·
          11 months ago

          Things are going in the right directions, somewhere.

          • immutable Systems
          • security optimized, permission models etc
          • TPM encryption
          • HEADS Bios with hardware key as storage

          But its far from the security of a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS.

          • xarexyouxmadx@lemmy.world
            3·
            11 months ago

            If you want to save money on a pixel I’d recommend taking a look at swappa(dot)com Even if you don’t want a used one they do have people selling pixels new sealed in the box for usually pretty good deals. I think the cheapest new in box option is a pixel 6a. Or 6 pro.

            You can also find new pixel 7, 7 pro, the 8 and the 8 pro.

            I’ve been buying and selling devices there for years and never had a problem as a buyer or a seller.

      • themelm@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        11 months ago

        Graphene also is way easier to use their google play sandbox then messing around with microg and shit on lineage. I’d love to see the sandbox stuff ported to lineage or similar but I imagine its pretty baked into graphene. Since I care a little about privacy but also just want my phone to be rooted so I can do whatever I want with it. Oh well maybe someday.

        • Pantherina@feddit.de
          2·
          11 months ago

          You can root GrapheneOS, no problem. Its just not as secure anymore and the bootloader cant be locked, banking apps will not work anymore, Android Attestation, Safetynet etc

        • Pantherina@feddit.de
          2·
          11 months ago

          You can root GrapheneOS, no problem. Its just not as secure anymore and the bootloader cant be locked, banking apps will not work anymore, Android Attestation, Safetynet etc