I used a Linux phone daily for a while, the Librem 5. I eventually sold it because it had issues mostly related to the hardware. I like the idea of ​​using a Linux phone, but with no newer options coming to market, the experience looks even less appealing now than it did back then. Linux can run on a phone, but where’s the hardware?

The current models are simply too slow

A Linux phone is a phone that comes with the same operating system and mostly the same software that’s available on the version of Linux that millions of people use on their PCs. There aren’t many phones that ship with Linux, but the ones that exist have very outdated hardware.

I don’t mean that these devices are outdated over time. Phones like the Librem 5 and PinePhone had specs that were disappointing even when they launched in 2020. These phones offered up to 3GB of RAM at a time when even budget phones came with 8GB. With phones now shipping with 12GB or even 16GB of RAM, the difference is even more noticeable.

It’s not just about how the numbers compare. If everything ran smoothly, this wouldn’t be a problem. But I found that both Mozilla Firefox and GNOME Web barely worked on the Librem 5. Web pages were slow to load, if not crashing the browser completely. The software could be better optimized, but modern websites are so demanding that there’s a reason so few devices ship with less than 6GB of RAM anymore.

The processor of a modern phone can outperform many laptop CPUs. The Librem 5, on the other hand, has a CPU that can barely keep up with mobile phones from over a decade ago. That’s very important when part of the appeal of a Linux phone is that you can use it as both a phone and a PC. I find that idea very appealing. I already use my phone as a PC with Samsung DeX (which is technically still a Linux-based desktop).

The workmanship quality leaves much to be desired

The Librem 5 is so chunky that it’s thicker than a foldable book, except it’s a traditional slab-style phone. The device can be taken apart, so it doesn’t have the airtight seal we expect from phones. If you press on it, you can feel it give way.

The PinePhone is much closer to the size of a traditional phone, but still has the build quality of a budget model from many years ago. Neither device is dustproof or waterproof. The PinePhone Pro has improved in several areas, but this was not one of them, so if you choose a current Linux phone, you will have to take more care of it.

Calls and SMS are not entirely reliable

I don’t know about you, but I still need my phone as a reliable way to make and receive calls. As someone who pre-ordered a Librem 5 years before my own arrived, I remember how nerve-racking it was for many of us enthusiasts to wait to see if the phone could handle calls over a cellular network. And when I got my hands on one, it was!

But there’s more to a phone than just the technical ability to manage calls. Just as important, I’ve learned, is how well a phone manages a signal as you move from place to place. Does it maintain a signal when it goes to sleep, and can it be woken from sleep when a call comes in?

My Librem 5 silently lost connection without it showing on the screen. I found out later when my wife asked me why I wasn’t responding to texts or taking calls. I just wasn’t getting them!

The technical issues vary by phone, but few of them are as reliable as we expect from our Android phones or iPhones. You may have better luck with a phone running Ubuntu Touch than one running Phosh or KDE Plasma, as some of those devices have actually made it to market (outside the US). However, even if you try to install PostmarketOS on an existing phone like a custom ROM, many of the semi-modern devices on the PostmarketOS compatibility page show only partial support for making calls.

Say goodbye to a good camera

Linux phones lack comparable camera hardware. Expect a camera as low as 5MP or as high as 13MP. It’s not uncommon these days for a mainstream phone to have more megapixels than the front-facing selfie camera.

The hardware is only part of the story. When it comes to smartphone photography, the software is the bigger issue. The image you see on your screen after you take the shot depends entirely on how your phone and its camera app process the image.

You can see the difference software makes when you install a custom ROM (not a bad way to turn a smartphone into a minimalist dumb phone) and find that the pictures you now take look much worse because you’ve lost the proprietary software that made the magic happen. Linux developers are still working on making the images that come out of a Linux phone’s camera “usable.” The results are a far cry from the modern smartphone cameras that are now causing some pros to leave their DSLRs at home.

The phones available today are the same as the year before

There was a lot of excitement around 2019 about the possibility of a Linux-based phone that didn’t run Android. A handful of devices were announced, and I watched with joy as Linux versions were developed for these devices.

Half a decade later, the Librem 5 and the PinePhone are still the two phones sold as devices designed to run traditional versions of Linux, along with a less mature PinePhone Pro. These devices had a lot of catching up to do when they launched, and are now even further behind.

Non-Linux phones introduce new form factors

If a top-of-the-line Linux phone was announced tomorrow, I’d be thrilled, but my enthusiasm would also be tempered by the fact that I’m writing this on a book-style foldable phone and I’m having a hard time going back to a flat phone.

To highlight the difference in progress: This is a form factor that was still in its infancy when the PinePhone came out. That device can still be considered barely usable for everyday use. Meanwhile, foldables have evolved from expensive concepts like the original Galaxy Z Fold to the mature, sophisticated, and durable Galaxy Z Fold 6. Flip-style foldables like the modern Moto Razr have made clamshell phones cool again.

When it comes to Linux phones, the first thing that comes to mind might be the lack of your favorite apps, but that’s not the main issue. The reality is that even those of us who are willing to forego all that software, just like we would when using a basic phone, the lack of fully functional hardware still holds us back.

I’ve used Linux’s GNOME interface on a phone and it’s great. In many ways I prefer it to Android. I’m just waiting for a good phone to install it on.