Do I Really Want A Linux Phone
Last month on his blog, Martijn Braam asked the question “Do you really want Linux phones?” It’s a fair question, and I think one that deserves to be asked, but I disagree with how he did it.
See, the problem is that Martijn (rightly btw) pointed out some flaws with the existing Linux phone market. Currently, Linux phones are in their infancy. They’ve got a lot of work that still needs to be done. I have a Pinephone, and while I really like it for what it is, it’s far from perfect.
Martijn also points out that the application development isn’t where it should be, and there are a lot of distros that are being developed. And he’s not wrong.
Several times through his post, he asks the question, “Do you really want a Linux phone?” Speaking for myself, the answer is still yes despite all the issues that Martijn rightly points out.
I want the freedom that Linux brings me, and the privacy that comes with an open source OS and application stack. I don’t want to leave my phone in the hands of Google or Apple. Both are happy as a lark to screw me over if it makes them an extra dollar. I don’t want a phone that someone in a far off city has decided will be obsolete in eighteen months, or twenty-four months, or thirty-six months.
I want a Linux phone, and I love that there are people trying to build one. Are they perfect? Not by a long shot, but hopefully people trying to get us there will continue to do that.
Day 22 of the #100DaysToOffload 2021 Series.
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