PostmarketOS

Last updated
postmarketOS
PostmarketOS logo.svg
PostmarketOS-With-Phosh.png
Developer postmarketOS open-source community
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateActive
Source model Open source
Initial release26 May 2017;6 years ago (2017-05-26)
Latest release 23.12 (The One We Asked The Community To Name) [1] / 18 December 2023;4 months ago (2023-12-18)
Repository
Marketing targetOperating system replacement for Android and other mobile devices
Available in English and Czech
Update methodapk-tools (package manager)
Package manager apk-tools (from Alpine Linux)
Platforms ARM, ARM64, x86, x86-64
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
Default
user interface 		Phosh, Sxmo, Plasma Mobile
Official website postmarketos.org

postmarketOS (abbreviated as pmOS) is an operating system primarily for smartphones, based on the Alpine Linux distribution. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

postmarketOS was launched on 26 May 2017 [3] [6] with the source code available on GitHub before migrating to GitLab in 2018. [7] It is capable of running different X and Wayland based user interfaces, such as Plasma Mobile, [8] [9] MATE, GNOME 3, and XFCE; [10] later updates added support for Unity8 and Phosh. [11] It is also capable of running Docker, if the device specific kernel has cgroups and relevant configs enabled. [12] The project aims to provide a ten-year lifecycle for smartphones. [13]

Architecture

Unlike many other projects porting conventional Linux distributions to Android phones, postmarketOS does not use the Android build system or userspace. Each phone has only one unique package, and flashable installation images are generated using the pmbootstrap tool. [3] The project intends to support the mainline Linux kernel on all phones in the future, instead of the often outdated Android-specific fork, to reduce the potential for security exploits. [3] A few devices can boot into the mainline kernel already. [14] [15] The project aims to support Android apps, originally through the use of Anbox, which was replaced by Waydroid since postmarketOS v21.12. [16] [17]

Alpine Linux was chosen as the base distribution due to its low storage requirements, making it more suitable for older devices. Excluding the kernel, a base installation takes up approximately 6 MB. [18] [3] [19]

State of development

As of 2024, it has stability and usability issues, so it is not usable for non-technical people. [20]

Features

Different tools have been published by the project, including:

Device support

As of May 2020, over two hundred devices are able to boot the operating system, including 92 with WiFi support. [26] [27] This includes many smartphones and tablets that originally ran Android, [28] [29] as well as some Linux-based Nokia smartphones, such as the N900 [30] and N9. [31] [14] After Corellium's Project Sandcastle ported the Linux kernel to some iPhone versions, postmarketOS was also seen to boot on it, although no persistent flashing is supported at the moment. [32] As of May 2021, support for wearable devices (including Google Glass and smartwatches like the LG G Watch) has been improved through integration with the AsteroidOS user interface and work on mainline kernel for the LG G Watch R. [33]

In 2018, no devices were yet able to make phone calls with postmarketOS, [34] although significant efforts were being made in this regard. By 2020, a number of devices were fully or mostly supported, including for phone calls, SMS messages and mobile data. These included the BQ Aquaris X5, Librem 5, Nokia N900, Motorola Moto G4 Play, Samsung Galaxy A3 (2015), Samsung Galaxy A5 (2015), and Wileyfox Swift. [35]

Furthermore, the PinePhone launched in 2020, with postmarketOS Community Edition as a first-party operating system. [36]

Porting to a new device

The development process to make a new device compatible with the operating system consists of creating a phone-specific package using the pmbootstrap tool. For that, the use of the Linux kernel from the device's original manufacturer is often necessary. The source code of the original kernel is often made available by compliance with the requirements of the GPLv2 license, but some drivers necessary for the operation of the device may not be available, and must, therefore, be recreated. [37] [21] Examples include GPU drivers such as Lima, which has a proprietary equivalent in userspace on Android that is not subject to the GPLv2 requirements.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moblin</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manjaro</span> Linux distribution based on Arch Linux with rolling releases

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Librem</span> Computer line by Purism featuring free software

Librem is a line of computers manufactured by Purism, SPC featuring free (libre) software. The laptop line is designed to protect privacy and freedom by providing no non-free (proprietary) software in the operating system or kernel, avoiding the Intel Active Management Technology, and gradually freeing and securing firmware. Librem laptops feature hardware kill switches for the microphone, webcam, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anbox</span> Free and open-source compatibility layer that aims to allow mobile applications and mobile games

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phosh</span> Graphical interface for mobile devices

Phosh is a graphical user interface designed for mobile and touch-based devices and developed by Purism. It is the default shell used on several mobile Linux operating systems including PureOS, Mobian, and Fedora Phosh. It is also an option on postmarketOS, Manjaro, and openSUSE.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Librem 5</span> Linux based 2020 Smartphone

The Librem 5 is a smartphone manufactured by Purism that is part of their Librem line of products. The phone is designed with the goal of using free software whenever possible, and includes PureOS, a Linux operating system, by default. As of 2021, it is the only smartphone recommended by the Free Software Foundation. Like other Librem products, the Librem 5 focuses on privacy and freedom, and includes features like hardware kill switches, and easily-replaceable components. Its name, with a numerical "5", refers to its screen size, and not a release version. After an announcement on 24 August 2017, the distribution of developer kits and limited pre-release models occurred throughout 2019 and most of 2020. The first mass-production version of the Librem 5 was shipped on 18 November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PinePhone</span> Smartphone with Linux-based mobile operating system

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plasma Mobile</span> Plasma workspace variant for smartphones

Plasma Mobile is a Plasma variant for smartphones. It is currently available for the Pinephone, and supported devices for postmarketOS such as the OnePlus 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PinePhone Pro</span> Smartphone with Linux-based mobile operating system

The PinePhone Pro is a smartphone developed by Hong Kong-based computer manufacturer Pine64. The phone is the successor to the PinePhone released in 2019. The default operating system is Sailfish OS. The device is a developer platform with open hardware specifications but with unfinished software. The target group of the device is free and open-source software developers who will develop the software. The device was first shipped to developers in December 2021, and in February 2022 devices were made available to consumers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobian</span>

Mobian is a project to port the Debian GNU/Linux distribution running the mainline Linux kernel to smartphones and tablets. The project was announced in 2020. It is available for the PinePhone, PineTab, Librem 5, OnePlus 6/6T and Pocophone F1. Droidian is a version of Mobian which runs top of Android's variant of the Linux kernel and the Libhybris and Halium adaptation layer, and works with devices which are supported by Ubuntu Touch. It can be installed using UBports installer.

References

  1. ↑ "v23.12: The One We Asked The Community To Name". postmarketOS. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Staff, OSNews. "100 days of postmarketOS". www.osnews.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Aiming for a 10 year life-cycle for smartphones". postmarketos.org.
  4. ↑ "PostMarketOS Saves Old Smartphones". Hackaday. 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  5. ↑ DistroWatch. "DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD". distrowatch.com.
  6. ↑ Ward, Craig (3 January 2018). "PostmarketOS team makes progress towards goal of 10 year smartphone lifecycle - NotebookCheck.net News". Notebookcheck.net. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  7. ↑ "postmarketOS is #movingtogitlab". postmarketos.org.
  8. ↑ "Get Plasma Mobile". plasma-mobile.org.
  9. ↑ Shah, Bhushan (20 November 2017). "14:00 Plasma Mobile". Akademy 2017.
  10. ↑ Verma, Adarsh (2 January 2018). "postmarketOS--A Linux Distro For Smartphones--Now runs Plasma/Lune UI/Xfce On Real Devices".
  11. ↑ "600 days of postmarketOS".
  12. ↑ "User talk:Docker - postmarketOS". wiki.postmarketos.org. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  13. ↑ "Linux-based postmarketOS project aims to give smartphones a 10-year lifecycle". Linux Today. 2017-08-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  14. 1 2 "219 days of postmarketOS". postmarketos.org.
  15. ↑ Brown, Eric (29 September 2017). "New mobile Linux contenders keep the dream alive".
  16. ↑ "postmarketOS // in 2020-02". postmarketos.org. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
  17. ↑ "Anbox - postmarketOS".
  18. ↑ "Librem 5 Leads New Wave of Open Source Mobile Linux Contenders | Linux.com | The source for Linux information". Linux.com. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  19. ↑ "postmarketOS is a Touch-Optimized Linux Distro for Portable Devices". Xda-developers.com. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  20. ↑ "postmarketOS // State of postmarketOS". postmarketOS. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  21. 1 2 Chapman, Christian (2017-08-17). "Porting PostmarketOS to the Motorola Photon Q". Public.asu.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  22. ↑ "pmbootstrap: Sophisticated chroot/build/flash tool to develop and install postmarketOS". postmarketOS. 2018-01-27. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  23. ↑ "Mobile - Debian Wiki". Wiki.debian.org. 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  24. ↑ "SDL2 On-screen Keyboard". postmarketOS. 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  25. ↑ "SDL2 charging application for the initramfs". postmarketOS. 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
  26. ↑ "Supported devices". 16 May 2020.
  27. ↑ "postmarketOS now boots on over 200 phones and tablets". 16 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "Why Mobile Linux Fails - Datamation". www.datamation.com. 11 September 2017.
  29. ↑ "Weekly Linux News – January 2, 2018 Lunduke.com". Archived from the original on April 20, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Telefonni revoluce se blizi | OpenAlt 2017 - video zц║znamy a slajdy". Superlectures.com. 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  31. ↑ "Devices - postmarketOS". wiki.postmarketos.org.
  32. ↑ "Running postmarketOS on iPhone 7 – project-insanity.org". 16 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  33. ↑ "postmarketOS is finally coming to wearables". TuxPhones. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  34. ↑ "PostmarketOS can run on older gadgets but with limited features". 5 January 2018.
  35. ↑ "Devices - postmarketOS".
  36. ↑ "Linux PinePhone 'Community Edition' with postmarketOS: All You Need to Know". 16 June 2020.
  37. ↑ "Porting to a new device - postmarketOS". wiki.postmarketos.org. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
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