Eschewing Android for an actual Linux OS was the point. Alternative Android distros have been around a long time.
The link addresses one point about apps: "With the Librem 5 phone you are running a full-blown desktop computer in a mobile form factor. If you plug it into a keyboard, mouse, and monitor you will have PureOS and the many thousands of applications available as you would from any desktop computer. This means that we are starting with many thousands of applications that “just work” as a desktop application"
Besides web apps and dedicated apps, you can also just run anbox if you want something from F-Droid.
> Eschewing Android for an actual Linux OS was the point. Alternative Android distros have been around a long time.
Correct, but we have Android _distros_ not phones that support them well.
We need to get some expensive phone from a supported list, unlock it (losing warranty in the process) and flash the distro. Not a thing we can say to even technical users who are not really inclined to HW hacking. To say nothing about the non-technical people who are the ones more vulnerable to the current mobile environment.
> We need to get some expensive phone from a supported list
LineageOS runs on a range of phones from very cheap to expensive. I have owned two Xiaomi phones on which I installed LineageOS that cost only about 100€. Later I upgraded to a Motorola phone that feels fancy in comparison, but still wasn’t more than about 200€.
>If you plug it into a keyboard, mouse, and monitor you will have PureOS and the many thousands of applications available as you would from any desktop computer
But who actually wants this? Id rather want an enjoyable mobile experience. When I want a desktop, I will use a desktop; I dont need a half arsed experience in my pocket.
Desktop and mobile convergence means you can take your desktop with you in your pocket everywhere and use any desktop apps on it whenever needed. It does not have to make the mobile experience worse. More info: https://puri.sm/posts/investing-in-real-convergence/.
> This feature has been around for many years now.
If it's been available for years I'd love to know to find it. There's some attempts in the android ecosystem to do this but they pale in comparison to a proper Linux desktop environment - the main problem being that you're running android apps designed for a mobile screen instead of responsive apps designed for both small touch screens and large desktops.
The link addresses one point about apps: "With the Librem 5 phone you are running a full-blown desktop computer in a mobile form factor. If you plug it into a keyboard, mouse, and monitor you will have PureOS and the many thousands of applications available as you would from any desktop computer. This means that we are starting with many thousands of applications that “just work” as a desktop application"
Besides web apps and dedicated apps, you can also just run anbox if you want something from F-Droid.