| ▲ | Panzer04 8 hours ago | |
What's the hardest part about an open phone? Cellular support? App support? Maybe I'm unique, but nowadays 99% of my phone time is spent in a browser. If anything, it seems easier now to get something like this going because all you'd need is a bare bones UI and a good web browser. Sure, it's not competitive with a Samsung foldable, but he I've gotta start somewhere... I do sort of wonder if an x86-based phone is at all a reasonable prospect. It seems a bit weird to go backwards but at least they've sorted out the generally open ecosystem part XD. Power consumption is 99% about the software anyway. | ||
| ▲ | raxxorraxor 8 hours ago | parent | next [-] | |
I almost exclusively use the browser as well. I think the reason for that is simply because the software landscape is that bad. I hate the Playstore or Apple Store with a burning passion. They are all adware/malware nightmares that aren't worth the effort, never mind developing for them. We have really interesting and good hardware, but it is all moot because the software landscape is plain hell. I really puts me off to ever use a Apple or Google platform. I would immediately jump to x86 regardless of power consumption. Would probably still run better than my current phone with a sizeable battery because 95% of CPU time is crappy routine you didn't even want running, so that is a software problem as well. With the power usage of screens, I doubt an x86 processor would be noticeably worse. Sorry for the rant, but I don't understand how anyone could react differently if they hear the word Android or iOS. Why did we end up with this crap? | ||
| ▲ | fsflover 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-] | |
> What's the hardest part about an open phone? | ||
| ▲ | eschatology 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | |
> What's the hardest part about an open phone? Very good question; what's holding us back really? If we want an open phone there should be more discussions on this. Some thoughts aided with chatgpt: Easy: get display, sound, cellular, sensors, inputs working Harder: (efficient) Power management, App ecosystem: distribution, SDK, compatibility, (tight) Privacy controls, (robust) Update delivery system, (vast) Hardware support, Backward compatibility, Accessibility, Localization, Customizability, Camera (apparently) Beyond tech: Proprietary hardware drivers: how do you get the hardware manufacturers' commitment to allocate their engineers to write drivers for the open phone system? Reverse engineering requires more effort and is not very sustainable. Carrier requirements: Supporting and testing emergency services, lawful interceptions, certifications, possibly differing requirements for each carrier and regions. Regulatory compliance: Constantly changing requirements by nations and geographical regions. -- Reading from the other comments, power management seems very hard to get right. The non-tech reasons seem to be the most challenging; it introduces the most complexity and it's not exactly something that can be achieved by a passionate person in an evening | ||