Linux phones are still behind android and iPhone, but the gap shrank a surprising amount while I wasn’t looking. These are damn near usable day to day phones now! But there are still a few things that need done and I was wondering what everyone’s thoughts on these were:
1 - tap to pay. I don’t see how this can practically be done. Like, at all.
2 - android auto/apple CarPlay emulation. A Linux phones could theoretically emulate one of these protocols and display a separate session on the head unit of a car. But I dont see any kind of project out there that already does this in an open-source kind of way. The closest I can find are some shady dongles on amazon that give wireless CarPlay to head units that normally require USB cables. It can be done, but I don’t see it being done in our community.
3 - voice assistants. wether done on device or phoning into our home servers and having requests processed there, this should be doable and integrated with convenient shortcuts. Home assistant has some things like this, and there’s good-old Mycroft blowing around out there still. Siri is used every day by plenty of people and she sucks. If that’s the benchmark I think our community can easily meet that.
I started looking at Linux phones again because I loathe what apple is doing to this UI now and android has some interesting foldables but now that google is forcing Gemini into everything and you can’t turn it off, killing third party ROMS, and getting somehow even MORE invasive, that whole ecosystem seems like it’s about to march right off a cliff so its not an option anymore for me.
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Someone did do some work on reimplementing the Android Auto Client Server API.
Just needs time and interest.
God i wish I was smart enough to contribute to these things
It’s not too late, I have faith in you
Are those actually the only things you find lacking? If so that’s really good, practically the same as using LineageOS without any Google services.
I don’t use any of the stuff you mentioned and might have to consider Linux mobile as a daily driver if it’s that good. Especially if Google kills custom ROMs, it sounds like the people already running them would feel right at home switching to Linux mobile.
More importantly, how’s the app situation? Can people generally expect most of the desktop GTK or Qt apps they’re familiar with to be usable on a phone form factor? Is there a reliable way to run Android APKs on regular Linux now? At the very least F-droid apps?
Yes most native applications are responsive and adapt to mobile.
GTK has it built into it’s widgets. But some third party apps on GTK/QT may not adapt.
The capability is there though.
To answer your question about Android apps, there is an application called Waydroid that can run on Linux phones. This essentially emulates Android and you can install apps on there. Some Play Store apps require access to Google Play Services, and even though MicroG tries to emulate it without being as privacy invasive, it is not perfect and some apps won’t run well or even at all.
I only use it for a few things that do not have any way to access through a web browser.
Yes, you can even run android apps on Linux mobile using waydroid or something similar. So even if you need your stopgap android apps while waiting for Linux equivalents, waydroid has your back.
As for me, I plan on using PWAs as much as possible.
Huh? Is that it for the major “issues”?
Don’t get me wrong, everyone has different needs and wants, and so this might not work for everyone. I was hesitant at first to let go of mobile tap to pay, but I’ve been going strong for a year now and just take my wallet with me everywhere anyway. I have an older car so I literally can’t even use Auto/Car Play, and I was never a voice assistant type of person ever.
My biggest needs are being able to use most of the apps I use, having easy communication with my family, and security and privacy (leaning more towards security). If I could find suitable alternatives to the apps I use, and texting isn’t an issue (especially with iPhones, my family all uses them), then I’d gladly hop on over to Linux phones. I know someone is working on “WINE” for Android, and if that was doable and integrated well on Linux phones, I’d be set.
Gonna spend time researching now 🧐
When customs ROMs and most FOSS apps are killed next year on Android, we’re all going to find out very quickly how much the trap has closed around us.
Same reason I loved to Linux on desktop, something that used to be cool and open and at least work mostly has enshittified beyond repair. I’m not going to let the bastards get me if I can help it.
By tap to pay, you mean things like Apple pay and Google pay? We don’t have that on degoogled androids, let alone on Linux phones…
But they are still incredibly useful. I do and will put up with a fully-googled phone just for that convenience.
do they come with a surcharge on every payment?
I’ve never seen a surcharge for tap to pay in the US. I’m not sure about elsewhere, but whether I’m tapping my car, my phone, or my watch I have never seen any surcharge from the retailer, my banks, or from Google.
Whatever you personally think about these features, you’ll never convince the general public to do without them. We need widespread linux phone adoption as table stakes to affect our mobile world.
1 - tap to pay. I don’t see how this can practically be done. Like, at all.
Yeah, better go back to carrying pieces of plastic with you at all times. Bonus: you can leave your phone home and still pay for things.
I dont use my phone to pay, I use my watch and have for years. Everywhere. And it works fine the few times I’ve left my phone behind.
That’s fine if your bank provides tap-to-pay plastic, but not all do, so you end up more vulnerable to skimmers.
Each contactless payment generates a transaction-specific, one-time code, that is extremely effective in reducing counterfeit fraud.
https://usa.visa.com/pay-with-visa/contactless-payments/contactless-payments.html
Better yet, cash
Yea but with cash you have to carry a fat wallet around and are limited to a finite amount of your money. I get that it has its advantages, but it has disadvantages too.
Actually I don’t need any of those things you mention. It may be a mistake to assume that Linux phones should imitate Google/Apple phones.
It’s not that I want an imitation, but I do want certain functionalities to be available
Obviously this is subjective, but I use android auto all the time and something similar for a linux phone would be really nice for me. Don’t dismiss them just cause you wouldn’t use them
My thoughts exactly reading this list. I don’t use any of those as-is and have zero interest. I do agree Linux phones seem a bit behind at the moment, but as soon as they’re on par with say GrapheneOS, then we’re golden.
Dunno. GPS and map apps seems pretty important for something more mobile than a laptop.
That’s about the connection to Car Play, not GPS
Doesn’t GPS work on Linux phones? As for map apps, OpenStreetMaps based apps are free and more acurate than google (atleast in my region), the only thing that might be lacking is realtime traffic information.
I don’t really see any of these as deal breakers, because I think the state of Linux phones in 2025 isn’t about being “finished” or “perfect,” it’s about being part of a bigger journey. Every limitation mentioned is just a reflection of where things stand right now, not anything permanent. What kinda excites me is that Linux phones are built around openness, community, and the freedom to adapt, qualities you don’t really get with mainstream options. Sure, there are missing features, rough edges, and some compromises, but none of that outweighs the value of having a device that puts you in control…
While I appreciate that, I really want the freedom to use it that way I want to, not the way others are happy with. It’s open, which makes that theoretically possible, but I’m no Linux dev. I can’t create missing features. So I need to work with what people smarter than me came up with.
I think problem number 1 might be solvable if GNU Taler succeeds in europe as the digital euro backend. https://taler.net/
Of course this would only apply to people in the EU, but who knows, others might follow.
Never heard of it. I’m not from Switzerland, but what is this exatly and how can I support it?
Switzerland has GNU Taler. They launched it there a few months ago, lucky for you. Check its website: https://taler-ops.ch/de/
You just kind of need to wait for merchants to use it. Could become mainstream somewhere around 2028.
From wikipedia:
GNU Taler is a free software-based microtransaction and electronic payment system. Unlike most other decentralized payment systems, GNU Taler does not use a blockchain. A blind signature is used to protect the privacy of users as it prevents the exchange from knowing which coin it signed for which customer.
The wallet is like cryptocurrency wallets in that when you lose it (lose your cryptographic keys or phone), you lose all the money inside of it. So you must keep it safe like your own physical wallet. It works with NFC, so it can replace Google Pay or Apple Pay or whatever.
It also works offline, which is awesome. Though you do need to be online sometimes to refresh your digital money or they expire and become unspendable. The expiry is set by the GNU Taler operator.
Do keep in mind that receivers are NOT anonymous. Only senders are anonymous. This is by design and is there to apply tax to merchants and also combat fraud, etc.
You can learn how it works by reading their docs: https://docs.taler.net/
The FAQ is also a good thing to read: https://www.taler.net/en/faq.html
I need none of that. Can I run OsmAnd?
- Would require banks and such to cooperate. Good luck with that, Microsoft and Google will just pay banks to keep us out
I switched to GrapheneOS like 4 years ago and at first I was bummed that I could no longer tap my phone to pay. But it’s fine. I still go out with my wallet in my pocket, so it’s no problem to just tap my bank card really… I’ll take privacy over convenience thanks
I havent taken my wallet with me in years. I prefer tap to pay as it is more secure than a physical card which can get lost or stolen.
Hahahahahaha. No.
Eh, both are about the same level of security, as long as you take the correct actions.
Lose a card? Freeze/Deactivate it and call your bank.
Lose your phone? Use Google/Apple/FindMyDevice (Degoogled) to either find it, or nuke whatever data you had on your phone (hopefully you made backups).
This is the most unhelpful kind of comment where you basically shame someone for having preferences. Why people feel the need to make their callousness public instead of just shutting up, I never know.
Security can be measured objectively. It’s important to call out misinformation.
How is a disposable token locked behind passwords and/or biometrics, remotely erasable, unique between each vendor a transaction takes place in inferior to……a string of unchanging digits in a physical card?
You didn’t “call out misinformation.” You laughed at a differing opinion. That’s not an argument. That’s a noise.
Seriously, the Linux community has tons of helpful, super smart people, but mixed in with them are these obnoxious snobs like you that just embarrass the rest of us.
The android auto equivalent for cars would be something I’d be interested in, that’s the only reason I had to reenable google on my phone. I don’t see any open source software that do it.
True, but getting a dash-mounted phone holder isn’t that different
All I need is a smartphone that can run all my daily drives. Browsing, messaging, socials, banking, utilities and games. Especially with companies pushing that everything be done through an app instead of available through a browser. The problem is very few companies bother to develop Linux versions of their software.
All I need is a phone that can connect to mobile networks and run a web browser with decent battery life and form factor. Maybe i could run a linux phone.
Oh I’m already having those arguments about installing apps. It’s one of the many reasons I’m leaving T-Mobile soon actually. If I have to call in I will but I don’t trust apps at this point and they are frankly unnecessary in almost every case.
