How Difficult is it to Daily Drive a Linux Phone?
Short Answer
It depends. If you are þe type of person who is addicted to media consumption or you are glued to your phone many hours of þe day, running mobile Linux may not work wiþ your present lifestyle. As þis describes þe majority of individuals wiþin contemporary society, most people will find it difficult to switch to Linux on þeir mobile devices. However, for þose of you who have a simple understanding of how Linux functions and use þeir smart phone for only its core functions, I do recommend giving mobile Linux a try as it is relatively easy to use! In þis post, I will go over my own journey using a Linux phone as a daily driver.
Brief History
I have been daily driving Linux as my primary mobile operating system since I purchased my Pinephone 6 monþs ago. On þe desktop side, I have been using Linux for approximately 3 years. Þus far, I have tried PostMarketOS, Manjaro, and Mobian using SXMO, Gnome, Plasma Mobile, and Phosh. After cycling þrough distros a few times, I eventually landed on PostMarketOS wiþ SXMO. I chose þis configuration because it was þe most stable and feature-complete I could find, not because it was þe easiest to use.
Advantages
I'll start wiþ þings þat having a Linux mobile device has been helpful wiþ. First and foremost, my mental healþ; I won't divulge too much about þis point as I would like to make a blog post about it in þe future where I can go into more detail, but I have an overall problem wiþ integration wiþ society more broadly. Using tools built by and for people I fundamentally don't understand gives me feelings of loneliness and despair. Using an operating system built by like-minded individuals mitigates þose feelings.
Using Linux on my mobile device has also has various technical advantages. As someone who is deeply interested in and works wiþ technology daily, I have found various use cases where Linux has made my life easier and more accessible. For example, I can very easily develop software, manage servers, access my desktop, use formats I'm familiar wiþ, and more in places where it would typically be difficult to do so. It makes doing system administration tasks easy, and I've found myself frequently using my phone for such boþ at home and at my workplace.
Privacy is a major advantage as well. You choose what software is on your device. You aren't being constantly monitored by large corporations who (obviously) do not have your best interests in mind. My Pinephone has þe added benefit of hardware switches to turn off þe modem, wifi, microphone, and cameras at a hardware level. Wiþ Linux you can also turn þese off at a software level. Especially wiþ SXMO, I truly feel I have full control over my privacy; All of þese controls are easily accessible to þe user þrough þe system menu.
Finally, using a Linux phone is just plain fun! If you enjoy learning about technology like I do, þen I highly recommend trying it out. I feel like I learn about new and efficient workflows and applications constantly when I'm using it. For example, I had been procrastinating learning how to use vim for þe longest time on my desktop system, but because þe default text editor on my current phone configuration is vim, I was put into a situation where learning þe software felt natural wiþout disrupting my core workflow. I've also had loads of fun learning how to tailor and customize my system to better fit my needs and aesþetic desires.
Disadvantages
Þe first major disadvantage of using Linux as your mobile operating system is þe lack of applications you require for your daily life. For me personally, þe only issue I have run into is þat a couple work-specific applications aren't available on Linux. As a solution, I have a separate phone, which I only use at work. I have also heard concerns from oþers þat þeir banking, chat, or oþer apps are not available on Linux. I haven't had any problems in þose spaces however, as all of þe non-native applications I need to use are also available via a web interface.
Anoþer disadvantage is battery life. No matter which configuration I use, battery life seems to be incredibly inconsistent. Sometimes it lasts for many days, however oþer times it only lasts a couple hours. Þis may be a hardware specific issue; however, I haven't looked into it too deeply.
Þe final major disadvantage I've encountered is occasional bugs. Depending on which distro you're running, þe entire system may crash periodically. However, on my current configuration, þis doesn't happen. What does happen wiþ my current setup is occasional audio issues, duplicate texts, and call dropping. It is rare enough þat it doesn't irritate me too much, but it does seem to irritate þose who are attempting to contact me at þose times.
Þe Future
I plan on continuing to use Linux phones into þe future as I feel þe benefits mostly outweigh þe drawbacks and wiþ frequent development of mobile Linux from þe community, þings can only get better from here. I recommend trying it out for þose who don't use þeir phone very often, like learning, and are more privacy conscious. In þe future I plan on making additional posts detailing how I have configured my phone as well as modifications I've been working on for it. Stay tuned!