Linux for mobile devices

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Linux for mobile devices, sometimes referred to as mobile Linux, is the usage of Linux-based operating systems on portable devices, whose primary or only Human interface device (HID) is a touchscreen. It mainly comprises smartphones and tablet computers, but also some mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) portable media players that come with a touchscreen separately.

Mobile Linux is a relatively recent addition to the Linux range of use, with Google's Android operating system pioneering the concept. While UBPorts tried to follow suit with Ubuntu Touch, a wider development of free Linux operating systems specifically for mobile devices was only really spurred in the latter 2010s, when various smaller companies started projects to develop open source phones.

## Lists

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### Operating systems

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This is a list of Linux distros directly targeted towards use with mobile phones, being offered preconfigured with the mobile-oriented software listed below. There are both phone producers who develop their own operating systems and independent developments by community projects. Outside of these, several traditional distros have versions compiled for ARM architecture, which could be configured to use these components. This is done, for example, with Manjaro by the PinePhone.

#### Active

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* Android
* /e/
* Android-x86
* Android Go
* EMUI (Non GMS compliant)
* Fire OS
* iodéOS
* Lineage OS
* One UI
* Replicant
* Wear OS
* GrapheneOS
* Other custom Android distributions

Maemo Timeline Relationships between mer and Tizen

* AsteroidOS (for wearables)
* ChromeOS (for 2-in-1 PC and Chrome Tablet)
* EMUI/HarmonyOS (EMUI 12 onwards)
* Fedora Mobility
* KaiOS
* Kindle firmware
* LuneOS[1] (based on HP webOS)
* Manjaro ARM
* Mobian (based on Debian)
* Mobile NixOS[2] (based on NixOS)
* postmarketOS (based on Alpine Linux)
* PureOS
* Sailfish OS (based on Nemo Mobile)
* SHR
* SteamOS (Powering Steam Deck)
* Tizen
* Ubuntu Touch (discontinued by Canonical, adopted by UBports Community)
* webOS

#### Discontinued

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* Bada
* Firefox OS
* MeeGo
* Moblin
* Openmoko Linux
* OpenZaurus

### Smartphones

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See also: List of open-source mobile phones

See also: Comparison of open-source mobile phones

Cell phone convergence with the Librem 5

Phones with Linux preinstalled:

* Librem 5
* Necuno
* PinePhone

### Middlewares

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* BusyBox – small footprint alternative to GNU Core Utilities, under GNU GPLv2
* Fcitx
* Halium
* Intelligent Input Bus
* Maliit
* mer
* Smart Common Input Method
* Toybox – BSD licensed alternative to BusyBox
* Uim

### UI

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* GPE Palmtop Environment
* Phosh[3]
* Plasma Mobile[4]
* Lomiri (previously known as Unity8)
* MauiShell (and MauiKit)[5][6][7]
* SXMO[8]

## See also

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* Anbox – allows Android apps to run on Linux distributions

* v
* t
* e

Embedded systems

General terms|

* ASIC
* Board support package
* Bootloader
* Consumer electronics
* Cross compiler
* Embedded database
* Embedded hypervisor
* Embedded OS
* Embedded software
* FPGA
* IoT
* Memory footprint
* Microcontroller
* Single-board computer
* Raspberry Pi
* SoC

Firmware and controls|

* Firmware
* Custom firmware
* Proprietary firmware
* Closed platform
* Crippleware
* Defective by Design
* Hacking of consumer electronics
* Homebrew (video games)
* iOS jailbreaking
* PlayStation 3 Jailbreak
* Rooting (Android)
* UEFI
* Vendor lock-in

Boot loaders|

* U-Boot
* Barebox

Software libraries|

* uClibc
* dietlibc
* Embedded GLIBC
* lwIP
* musl

Programming tools|

* Almquist shell
* BitBake
* Buildroot
* BusyBox
* OpenEmbedded
* Stand-alone shell
* Toybox
* Yocto Project

Operating systems|

* Linux on embedded systems
* Linux for mobile devices
* Light-weight Linux distribution
* Real-time operating system
* Windows IoT
* Win CE

Programming languages|

* Ada
* Assembly language
* CAPL
* Embedded C
* Embedded C++
* Embedded Java
* MISRA C
* MicroPython

* Lightweight browsers
* List of open-source hardware
* Open-source robotics

* v
* t
* e

Linux

Linux kernel|

* History
* Linus's law
* Linux-libre
* Booting process
* Kernel oops
* Tux
* more…

Controversies|

* Criticism of Linux
* Criticism of desktop Linux
* GNU/Linux naming controversy
* Tanenbaum–Torvalds debate
* SCO and Linux

Distributions|

* General comparison
* Distributions list
* Netbook-specific comparison
* Distributions that run from RAM
* Lightweight
* Security-focused operating system
* Package manager
* Package format
* List of software package managers

Organizations|

* LinuxChix
* Linux Counter
* Linux Documentation Project
* Linux Foundation
* Linux Mark Institute
* Linux User Group (LUG)

Adoption|

* Adopters
* Desktop
* Embedded
* Gaming
* Mobile
* Range of use
* Linux malware

Media|

* DistroWatch
* Free Software Magazine
* Full Circle
* Hacker Public Radio
* Linux.com
* Linux Format
* Linux Gazette
* Linux Journal
* Linux Magazine
* LinuxUser
* Ubuntu User
* Linux Outlaws
* Linux Voice
* LugRadio
* LWN.net
* Phoronix
* Revolution OS
* The Code

Professional related certifications|

* CompTIA Linux+
* Linux Foundation
* Red Hat

* Linux portal
* Free and open-source software portal
* Category

## References

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1. ^ "Running Linux on your smartphone: everything you need to know in 2019". TuxPhones – Linux on smartphones. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
2. ^ "NixOS on my phone?". Mobile NixOS. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
3. ^ "Phosh". developer.puri.sm. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
4. ^ "Plasma Mobile". www.plasma-mobile.org. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
5. ^ Crume, Jacob (December 30, 2021). "Maui Shell is Here, Ushering in a New Era of Desktop Linux". It's FOSS – News. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
6. ^ "Maui Shell is a Beautiful Vision for the Future of Linux". OMG! Ubuntu!. December 27, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
7. ^ Higuita, Camilo (December 26, 2021). "Introducing Maui Shell". Nitrux. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
8. ^ "SXMO". sxmo.org. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

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