Some Linux phones are already on the market, such as the Pine64 PinePhone and Purism Librem 5. Their hardware is almost open source, so mobile Linux distributions started to grow around them.
The phone Linux operating systems discussed below do not include Android.
Common traits of Linux phone distributions include having a package manager, using a mainline kernel, emphasizing privacy and freedom, and even running desktop Linux software. Most Linux phones, like Android phones, use ARM processors.
If you do not want to buy a Linux phone, you can try flashing a Linux phone distribution onto an old Android phone. Some distributions work hard to bring Linux distributions to old phones. But if you want the whole freedom package, it is best to start with hardware that is friendly to phone Linux distributions.
This article discusses the characteristics of several phone Linux distributions. The numeric order only reflects my personal preference.
For more systems, see: PinePhone Software Releases
If you are looking for apps, see: Recommended useful Linux phone apps
1. Mobian#
- Official site: https://mobian-project.org/
- Based on Debian
An unofficial porting project. It inherits Debian’s huge package collection, and Ubuntu users should be familiar with APT package management.
The phone version of GNOME also supports a Chinese interface language.
Besides development for the PinePhone, Mobian has a very small number of porting projects for other devices.
2. postmarketOS#
- Official site: https://postmarketos.org/
- This distribution focuses on porting itself to all kinds of Android phones, and currently supports more than a hundred old phones.
- Based on Alpine Linux
In the official Q&A, postmarketOS explains why it chose Alpine Linux as its base: because the system is small. Its package manager is APK, and postmarketOS can also use packages from the Alpine Linux repositories.
One thing to note is that Alpine Linux is lightweight, but it uses musl libc. Even though it supports running docker, compiling glibc programs (the library used by most Linux distributions) can run into problems unless someone ports them.
The project provides a tool called pmbootstrap, making it easier for users to build their own preferred flashing packages or start porting work.
Although it supports many Android phones, the devices with relatively good actual support and nearly fully working hardware are only the dozen or so listed as “Official” and “Community.” Everything else is “Testing,” including devices that can at most boot into the system. Still, because postmarketOS has been ported to so many devices, it has accumulated a lot of data. Its Wiki has many reference resources for phone hardware and kernels.
3. Manjaro ARM#
- Official site: https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php/Manjaro-ARM
- Based on Manjaro
The goal of desktop Manjaro is to provide an easy-to-use Arch Linux. It uses rolling updates, and its package manager is pacman.
Most devices officially supported by Manjaro ARM are single-board computers or open source devices released by Pine64.
4. Ubuntu Touch#
- Official site: https://ubuntu-touch.io
- This distribution focuses on porting itself to all kinds of Android phones, and currently supports dozens of devices.
- Based on Ubuntu LTS
This is one of the phone Linux distributions that appeared very early. Canonical started developing it in 2013 to enter the phone and tablet market. In 2017, the company abandoned it, and the Ubports community took over maintenance.
By design, Ubuntu touch is closer to Android and uses OTA system updates. The system partition is read-only by default. Using APT to update packages may crash the phone, and OTA updates will overwrite changes to the system partition.
For users who want to use desktop software, Ubuntu touch includes Libertine. It recommends that users run desktop software only inside a chroot container, with software sourced from the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS repositories.
The desktop environment is “Lomiri” (Unity), controlled by gestures. When connected to an external display, it can transform into a desktop mode. The system interface has translations for many languages, and common input methods are also provided, so the interface design is fairly complete. Unfortunately, this desktop environment cannot be used by other Linux distributions.
For apps, Ubuntu touch initially tried to build its own software ecosystem. The most common apps were Web APPs, and it also had its own software store, “Open Store.” The official website provides developer documentation.
Today, Ubuntu touch devices maintained by Ubports make heavy use of Halium Project and libhybirs technologies, allowing the system to use part of the Android driver stack and lowering the difficulty of porting.
5. Arch Linux ARM#
- Official site: https://archlinuxarm.org/
- Based on Arch Linux
Arch Linux is a very minimal system. It uses rolling updates, and its package manager is pacman. During installation, users are expected to partition disks themselves in a text interface and install system packages according to their own needs. It mainly supports x86 computers.
Besides single-board computers, the ARM port also supports ARM-based Chromebooks and open source hardware sold by Pine64.
For the PinePhone, it is currently maintained by the Dreemurrs Embedded Labs team. They publish prebuilt system images on Github. Packages are almost always up to date, and images with Phosh or Plasma Mobile preinstalled are available. If you want something more hardcore, you can download the “barebone” version too.
6. PureOS Mobile#
- Official site: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/pureos-mobile/
- Based on Debian
Developed by Purism, it is divided into a desktop version and a mobile version preinstalled on the Librem 5 phone. It emphasizes privacy and security, and its default desktop is based on GNOME.
Because it only includes free software, it is one of the few distributions endorsed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF, maintainers of the GNU Project).
7. Sailfish OS#
- Official site: https://sailfishos.org/
A phone system as old as Ubuntu Touch. Its development has been winding, and today it is sold to specific government markets and maintained by the Finnish company Jolla. So using the full feature set requires buying a license. It supports only a small number of Android phones.
The system is compatible with Android apps, and its package manager uses RPM.
There is also an open source branch called Nemo Mobile.
8. openSUSE#
- Official site: https://en.opensuse.org/HCL:PinePhone
An enterprise-oriented distribution. It is more popular in Germany, and the website has complete documentation. Its package manager is RPM.
The ARM version can currently be installed on single-board computers and the Pine Phone. The latter already has official images, using the Tumbleweed branch.
9. Fedora / Fedora Mobility#
- Official site: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Architectures/ARM/PinePhone
The upstream source distribution for Red Hat’s RHEL. Its package manager is RPM, and Fedora officially supports ARM computers as well.
The earliest team working on porting Fedora to phones was called Fedora Mobility SIG. It started to revive after the PinePhone appeared. Today there are unofficial scripts and system images that can install Fedora onto the PinePhone.
