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i wonder why nobody seems to use alternative distros like debian or archlinux on their smartphones. There is the gnome desktop designed as touch interface with enough apps for daily business on a smartphone.

I read that it has something to do with the drivers. But i also read that any android driver is available in the kernels upstream repos and that android is basically just like any other linux distro.

So why is it so difficult or not possible to run an alternative distro on an android smartphone with full access to all peripherals like camera and sensors and so on?

Tom Deng Long
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2 Answers2

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there are several linux distros build especially for phones. A quick google should help provide you with several options.

newbie
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  • Yes i read about archlinux running on a smartphone but without access to the touchscreen. They only connected to it via ssh so its not a real alternative. – Tom Deng Long Dec 04 '18 at 18:52
  • Even a fresh new android can't just be installed on any device but needs to be ported or something to any other device. I want to understand why it is not like on a pc where i can install nearly any distro on any pc. – Tom Deng Long Dec 04 '18 at 18:58
  • Tom you can actually buy buy fully functioning linux phones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_for_mobile_devices – newbie Dec 04 '18 at 19:04
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It's difficult to create a ROM on a phone, because phones are too much different (and often closed), so creating a distro for a phone is even worse and, let me say, useless.

If your problem is privacy you can install a google-free ROM, but if you are just wondering then there are some implementations of linux, just search them.

There's a cool video that you may like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSNGK9gmdpg

Ardent Coder
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Emanuele Sabato
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