They release software updates for both devices at the same time. There was no hacked version with all the same feature upgrades, it was, and always has been the official software update. They to this day still release all the same features to both devices.
3.x support will come to toltec, I've been blocked by stuff outside of my control a couple of times. Including things happening in my life that I won't get into.
Thanks for mentioning oxide :) kinda cool to see people find my stuff exciting.
As for the statement that they don't respond to requests for source that they are obligated to release. They have everything that they are obligated to release on GitHub, and they have always released updated toolchains (that include a bunch of source) when. requested of them. They have been kinda late with the latest request, so yes they aren't timely right now. I've been poking what contacts I have, but I think a bunch of people had some extended vacations around the holidays or something.
Could you provide a source on the software updates being more frequent, as well as clarify what you mean by rM being bad at updates? rM has been pushing out updates fairly regularly this year, especially if you include their beta channel.
Fair enough, maybe this has changed then. When I last tested and looked into the rM2 in depth (~2 years ago), it was completely different. The software was lacking basic features and there wasn't any communication at all on rM's part.
Not exactly true. there is an experimental display driver that does not require xochitl[0]. There hasn't been enough need for replacing the current rm2fb solution yet to drive completing it yet.
Half as many cores, half the ram, and way less battery life due to higher power draw during suspend for some reason. It doesn't support the keyboard folio either. Depending on your criteria, one, or the other, is the better device.
Usually the reason is that people want to continue using the built-in interface with just some additions, instead of replacing and maintaining a separate installation.
It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet.
Some notes on the reMarkable, it is running a custom linux distribution that is based on Openembedded Core[0]. The company publishes their modifications to the linux kernel[1], so one person has created their own linux distribution for the original reMarkable tablet [2]. The reMarkable 2 currently has no native framebuffer driver for the screen, due to it being software controlled by the UI application, which requires a workaround for custom applications[3].
> It would be nice if someone were to start working on an aftermarket linux distribution/ecossytem that targets eink devices. It's a lot of work to do, though, so I'm not surprised that nobody has picked up that torch yet.
That is what I'm trying to do with https://github.com/bjesus/air . Kobo runs mainline Linux quite fine, and specifically PostmarketOS works great. Assembling an interface that plays nicely with the device hasn't actually been that difficult!
https://remarkable.guide/ has a bunch of current information on the state of hacking your device. You have root access out of the box, which means how invasive it is depends on how you go about it. The community is trying their best to stick to a set of standards that keeps things from being too brittle, and "just works".
