How has this article not had a reply?

A mate recently got a Nothing 2a and it is really appealing except for the Google-ness of the software. Seeing this phone in action made me go home and throw Mobian on my Pinephone which appears to have advanced a lot in recent times - even with the low powered Pinephone. This sent me looking for recent quality hardware with alternative OSs. THe nothing hardware looks like the right stuff, but doesn’t seem to have the community support for porting Mobian or Ubuntu Touch. Given I’m an electrician and not a programmer, I’m not able to support by porting myself, but I’m surprised others haven’t recognised the well priced, bang-for-buck hardware that Nothing is producing.

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MrAshCreates i thing that NOS is great and no needen’t in Linux operating systems on Nothing phones, i don’t believe that Nothing will do another operating system on the phones, it’s a lot of money to invast on it.

    KarolWo_kowski

    (Edited to remove human errors)

    mostly

    Android is both built on top of the Linux which means the general structure is the same this is like Arm it stays the same structure for both Mac and windows but are vastly different but contain various similarities. We know that android is primarily built for mobile devices and is owed and controlled by google. We also know that Linux is not under the influence of one major company and it is made for servers, phones, and computers. Which makes it very versatile and convenient for multiple platforms. In summary as someone who would like to degoogle myself as much as I can Linux is an amazing alternative to the Apple ecosystem and the Android operating system. And I believe would not only shake up the industry but give Nothing more privilege and freedom to do more of what makes Nothing!

      What would the end goal or benefit of using Linux be in this case? Others have already tried and failed - Anyone remember Ubuntu Touch? https://ubuntu-touch.io/en_GB/ - unfortunealty targetting “developer and tech enthusiast” doesn’t make business sense - you need something to cater to a wide and diverse market. I am not saying a Linux OS would not be possible - but it would take a lot traction to make it, adopt it, get apps on it, etc. If the goal is to give customers an enriching software experience, solve some pain points, etc, then fair play - if it’s purely because he’s its open source and cool - I don’t think that is going to wash enough for the bommtom line - increasing customer market share, increasing revenue and making a profit.

        MrAshCreates All these people have seen how beautiful, clean, bloatfree Nothing OS is.. they wanna ruin it. then later they themselves will say, “nothing has changed, not like how they used to be when i bought, good bye. i go back hyperOS, OneUI, Realme” lol

            Keseven the thing is that I see everyone replacing NothingOS with other roms when NothingOS is Amazing other than the fact it’s android lol

              MrAshCreates perhaps - but Nothing’s support and fanbase is small in comparison to say someone like Apple who has the resources to build an OS. Using Linux would help - sure - but you would need a lot of support from the community and also Nothing. Can they muster that? Android has matured - a new OS would need time - it would also need support not just from ‘fans’ but also real commercial support - from the likes of Netflix, Amazon, Instagram, etc, to make their apps avalable for this new platform. This one reason why Windows mobile died off - doesn’t matter how good, free, or whatever your OS is if there just aren’t the apps and ecosystem to use it. Look at Tizen - this was a new OS and had some interesting things like JS apps but never caught on. Granted I’m diverting a bit here - but you can get see where I am coming from.

                  Anonymous142 I mean I agree this isn’t gonna happen over night but it could be something they work on during the sidelines. I mean just giving us some help with kernel/hardware support would help the community get something going and provide a better place for nothing to start. The second thing is all they are doing is needing to get hardware support for the phone and work on making their own desktop environment like kde mobile or gnome mobile or some other the others. They would just need to make nothing mobile. The other part is deciding which distro to use like arch Linux or Debian or some of the other well mobile supported Linux Distos. Oh course they could make their own but that would lead to app support being a lot harder to accomplish like you mentioned if they used one that already contains a lot of mobile app support then they could be in a better spot. But the could also collab with pinephone or one of the other successful linux phones and even arch Linux or the kde team to create something as more of a community to keep things open sourced and linux based. Of course we could also just create and organization and get funding from nothing because honestly the only reason we don’t have a Linux phone is the funding. Once you have that then you can get the app support and the fan base and other things

                    This wouldnt work and would only cater to a very small niche of people which mainly are tech people into Open Source.

                    There is also a ton of work needed to optimize these linux distros to be actually useable on the daily which what is Android all about in the first place and most of the possible beneficial features of a linux phone is already on android for years. There would also be a huge app availability issue. On the business perspective this would only result on a loss in revenue and would cause a huge overhead in cost due to R&D. This is the reason why the Librem/Ubuntu phones are not that popular and are not financial successes.

                    X-007 I use Mainly the Apple Ecosystem but yes I use Linux when I can. I never use android and usually install Linux instead 🙂

                    I actually just hate google

                      MrAshCreates i’m genuinely asking😆there’s no truly all good to something. there’s must be something that will be a let down if we switch to linux in mobile environment.

                          I really like idea of Linux phone! I use Mageia in PC an love that there is no ads like in Windows. Google gets its money selling ads. Android phones are full of ads. I might even pay some money to use adfree linux in my phone.

                          I have a feeling that nothing has “Create Our Own Operating System” in their to build list, that’s way way far in the future. But I feel confident they are gonna do that if everything goes well and like they want.

                          Udin

                          While I do agree with many of the points below (the AI generated response) that the AI gave me I don’t think all of them apply. Like for instance the security and privacy, driver support and battery optimization. But even the user experience (UI/UX) could all be easily solved and worked on. On the other hand lack of native apps and drivers and camera support are definitely gonna be limited.

                          Software fragmentation could I guess be an issue depending on what happens. And the updates and support we are already knew those were gonna be issues.

                          I mean I’m not saying this will happen over night 🙂

                          Ai Generated starts now

                          Here are a few potential drawbacks:

                          1. App Ecosystem and Compatibility:

                          - Lack of Native Apps: Most mobile apps are built for Android or iOS. On Linux, you’d be limited to the apps developed specifically for Linux or need to run apps through compatibility layers like Anbox, which may not work perfectly or support every app.

                          - Performance Issues with Android Apps: Even if you get Android apps running via Anbox or Waydroid, performance may not be as smooth compared to running them natively on Android.

                          2. User Experience (UI/UX):

                          - Mobile Optimizations: Linux distros aren’t typically optimized for touch screens or small form factors like phones. While there are mobile-specific versions of Linux (like Ubuntu Touch or Plasma Mobile), they often lack the polish and fluidity of Android or iOS.

                          - Gestures and Smooth Animations: The Nothing Phone 2’s UI, with its animations and gestures, is likely far more refined than what you’d get with a Linux distribution unless you heavily customize it.

                          3. Battery Optimization:

                          - Power Efficiency: Android has years of optimizations behind it to maximize battery life on phones. Linux, particularly desktop distros, may not be optimized to manage power efficiently on mobile hardware, leading to increased battery drain.

                          - No Doze Mode or Deep Sleep: Features like Android’s Doze mode that save battery during periods of inactivity might be missing or harder to replicate on a Linux-based phone.

                          4. Driver Support:

                          - Hardware Drivers: Even if you manage to get most of the hardware working (like the GPU, Wi-Fi, cellular modem, etc.), drivers on Linux can sometimes be unstable, resulting in things like overheating, poor network performance, or display glitches.

                          - Modem and Network Compatibility: Phones rely heavily on well-optimized baseband software for connectivity. Achieving stable call and data services on Linux can be challenging without proper drivers and firmware support.

                          5. Security and Privacy:

                          - Regular Updates: Mainstream Linux distros may not provide the same level of security patches and updates that Android offers, especially if the kernel or drivers are custom-built for the phone.

                          - App Sandboxing: Android has robust app sandboxing and permission systems. Recreating this level of security on Linux would take a lot of effort, and even then, it may not reach the same level of protection.

                          6. Software Fragmentation:

                          - Fragmented Experience: Linux on mobile is still quite fragmented, with different distributions taking different approaches (e.g., Ubuntu Touch, postmarketOS, etc.). This can lead to compatibility issues between apps or inconsistent user experiences.

                          - Package Management: Android uses APKs as a standardized app format, while on Linux, you’d need to rely on different package formats (e.g., DEB, RPM, Flatpak), which might not be as straightforward.

                          7. Camera and Sensors:

                          - Camera Quality: Linux camera software and drivers are usually not optimized for mobile sensors, so even if you get the camera working, the quality and features (HDR, low-light, etc.) may be inferior to Android.

                          - Sensor Support: Getting all the phone’s sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, etc.) working might be difficult, especially with advanced features like face unlock or under-display fingerprint scanners.

                          8. Community Support and Maintenance:

                          - Smaller Community: Android has a massive user base and developer community, which means easier access to resources, troubleshooting, and support. Linux on mobile has a much smaller community, which could make finding help or updates harder.

                          9. Updates and Long-term Support:

                          - Long-term Updates: Maintaining Linux on a phone for the long term might be difficult without a dedicated team. In contrast, Android phones typically receive regular software updates for security and features.

                          AI generated Ends Here

                              MrAshCreates i agree with your point. most of that AI generated answer are easily solvable. lack of native app is one of the main concern here. if only a handful of developers are willing to make the app on this platform, it will end up like windows mobile. if Nothing going to make an OS that not android. at least they need to expand their user base to the “normies”. not only to design enthusiast, minimalist, and developers. with great user base, developer will be willing to create app natively on our platform. and hopefully be an alternative OS on par with IOS and android👌