Hi there, kind of surprised that a 2026 device which offers desktop functions through a hub, comes with a usb 2.0 bandwidth through its usb-c.
I mean this prevents using the graphical capabilities of the phone itself. The hub uses a dedicated weak igpu called displaylink.
This is a red flag for me sadly :(. Everything else seemed pretty great.
I've been running custom Android ROMs for over a decade, and Linux as my daily laptop driver for almost as long. I have to say this testimonial sounds more alluring to me than installing one mobile distro or other that may or may not work with all my phone's hardware, depending on device model.
The price is a turnoff, but I understand if the project doesn't have the muscle to negotiate it further down. Then there is the puzzling FuriOS (is an angry operating system supposed to appeal to buyers?) instead of one of the established Linux phone distros/spins. AFAICT it's Droidian under the hood, but the rebranding seems weird to me.
The comments from others here don't seem super encouraging, but I still think the end user review up top shows that FLX is closer to ready than most projects I've seen?
instead of one of the established Linux phone distros/spins. AFAICT it’s Droidian under the hood, but the rebranding seems weird to me.
I think they've made modifications specific to the hardware (including stuff they legally can't release due to the OEM); from what I've seen, you can't just flash any OS to it, because of this. There's been some success, I've heard, with SailfishOS and UBports but you just don't get the same guarantees of just-working due to the hardware.
I still think the end user review up top shows that FLX is closer to ready than most projects I’ve seen?
That's been my impression (it's been a while since I've run Mobian or PostmarketOS but I do own an FLX1s); battery lasts the whole day with regular usage, the Android emulations works with a lot of app.s, etc. It doesn't mean there aren't pain points (sadly); I've heard that calling and bluetooth headsets don't work (I don't use them, though, so I can't say directly) and noise cancellation is still a work-in-progress so people on the other end may hear themselves if you're using speaker phone. But they're also continuing development to continue improving things so it's not like these things are necessarily set in stone. Basically, better but not perfect; there's still painpoints.
I have the same reservations that I have with all companies/capitalist entities but they do seem to contribute back, where they can (like I mentioned, some things are out of their hands due to the OEM). https://furilabs.com/blog/swipe-keyboard/ mentions their extensions they've made to some open-source swipe models for keyboards; those improvements go back to the community. So, even though I bought the phone, I continue donating to Mobian and PostmarketOS; I see it as yet another front in our attempt to bring Linux to mobile.
This version has no longer esim right? Only physical?
I'm a bit irked they went through the easier/lazier route of building Debian on top of the Halium android layer.
@iturnedintoanewt @tomenzgg You can use an eSIM adapter like the one from JMP - looks exactly like a SIM card.
Not much choice with the hardware available for a reasonable price.
What irks me more is that they basically killed Droidian with their FuriOS fork, when they could have continued contributing upstream.
Also, it's still possible to insert a physical eSIM and provision that one.
Community about running GNU/Linux on phones. Projects like Ubuntu Touch, Plasma Mobile, PostmarketOS, Mobian etc. Either on former Android phones or hardware like the PinePhone.
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