The problem is that phone hardware is incredibly non-standard. Every model requires custom tweaks and regular bug fixes, which is why there aren’t many phones with good Linux support or with enduring LineageOS support or any other specialty OS. Every manufacturer does their own thing and edits Android to fit their hardware, but they generally don’t release the custom drivers or any documentation. The same phone model from a different year or different region might have a different chipset in it. Keeping up with it is basically impossible, by the time an aftermarket developer gets their custom OS build running properly the phone is obsolete.
On the other hand, if a project can pick the hardware platform for themselves then everything is more manageable.
I keep thinking if they could make a phone that you just assemble like a computer and can change the parts to upgrade. I don’t care it would be bit bulky. But I assume they wouldn’t make as much money if people won’t buy entire new phones every two years.
Really they should be making it for existing phones. The mobile Linux scene is pretty barren
It’s extremely difficult since every phone SOC has its own closed proprietary blob of drivers that’s required to make use of it.
Doesn’t the ESP32 module this project is using require the same thing?
They have some blobs for wifi/ble, but the difference is you can freely use them, whereas obtaining the blobs for most phone SOCs is hard.
The problem is that phone hardware is incredibly non-standard. Every model requires custom tweaks and regular bug fixes, which is why there aren’t many phones with good Linux support or with enduring LineageOS support or any other specialty OS. Every manufacturer does their own thing and edits Android to fit their hardware, but they generally don’t release the custom drivers or any documentation. The same phone model from a different year or different region might have a different chipset in it. Keeping up with it is basically impossible, by the time an aftermarket developer gets their custom OS build running properly the phone is obsolete.
On the other hand, if a project can pick the hardware platform for themselves then everything is more manageable.
I suppose manufacturers don’t usually play well with others.
Everybody likes to take advantage of open standards, but nobody wants to share their own toys.
Well, they call it IP ;)
I keep thinking if they could make a phone that you just assemble like a computer and can change the parts to upgrade. I don’t care it would be bit bulky. But I assume they wouldn’t make as much money if people won’t buy entire new phones every two years.