Linux Phones @lemmy.ml Lofenyy @sh.itjust.works 3 wk. ago

What Apps Are Missing on Mobile Linux?

Hey everyone, I'm going insane due to a lack of creative project. I've written an app already but I haven't gotten around to publishing it yet. I'd like to know what kind of apps you'd like to see created for mobile Linux. I prefer easier, bite-sized projects over particularly large ones, but I'd love to hear your ideas nevertheless.

Linux Phones @lemmy.ca cm0002 @lemmy.world 3 wk. ago

45 comments

Banking apps
- There's Saldo: https://flathub.org/apps/org.tabos.saldo
For me personally, xdrip+.

Can't switch to a Linux phone unless I can measure my blood glucose :(
- IMHO we are a long way off from that being a good idea even if the app existed. I may make jokes about it but I would be terrified if my brother switched to a linux phone with his diabetes. There are just to many other issues ATM.
A mobile first Lemmy app?
- Voyager works well for me
Flare, the gtk Signal app, needs to get to near feature parity with the mobile app. When it does, I'm all in!
- I believe they're working on it. :)
  
  It uses a library which currently gets calls added, for example. Once that library supports calls, they can add it for Flare.
  
  I've been waiting for years now.
What phones or such are y'all using for such a positive experience?
Had pinephone at the start of last year and it was most miserable time I had with a phone in years.
- Sailfish OS supports Sony Xperia 10s… you get a headphone jack & a microSD
- Yeah, because it's a Pinephone. It's an underpowered set top box SoC from around a decade ago. Definitely try something else. :)
  
  Could you make some helpful suggestions for alternatives perhaps?
- @Mandy @Lofenyy To name some I know of.
  Oneplus 6(t)
  Pixel 3a
  Poco F1
A couple of months ago I created some mockups for Linux mobile apps. Maybe you find them inspiring: https://feddit.org/post/271755

A couple of notes on the my old post:

Unfortunately murena suffered an outage recently and some of their services are not yet online again, including the recepie one. So should you choose to take up that project, you would have to find (or host) a different instance.
Here's a very niche problem: On Android, I use an alarm clock that you can only turn off by scanning a QR code. Such an app doesn't exist on mobile linux.
- that is indeed niche.... what time do you need to be up to resort to this, and what time do you go to sleep?
  
  @tetris11 I usually go to bed at 11-12 and get up around 8-9. It's just that my subconscious mind has learnt how to turn off the alarm before I even know I'm awake.
  
  I used to oversleep without ever remembering that I turned off the alarm.
@Lofenyy not so much apps but infrastructure pieces.
- Better video camera support would be great (Dino would be awesome on Linux phone!).
- A bit more integration with UnifiedPush. I'm looking at Firefox, Thunderbird and chat apps.
- More streamlined solution for map navigation - it's janky atm.
- OSKs (on-screen keyboard) can be temperamental. Lets see when we will get text-input protocol v4 for Wayland 😄
Tangent

I find Android not having almost any option for various apps. I just want a touchscreen keyboard friendly text editor which saves txt files in my phone's home directory, for example. The only thing that really exists is emacs or using Termux, and using a modal text editor on a mobile keyboard is a massive pain.

To clarify, I prefer installing open source applications on F-Droid on Android, and yes, I could get some stunning 8K resolution text editor SUPER FAST NO ADS on the Play Store which requires GSF and is developed by some random dude, but I want a well-established text editor that Android doesn't have, like VSCode or Kate. This is why Linux phones appeal to me, but they still have various issues and limitations.

Maybe it's because I use my phone like a computer, but I do not like using single purpose, clunky apps that obfuscate the filesystem. Linux, even on arm alone, has so many different apps that Android has no equivalent for. Not denying there's still much work to do for mobile Linux.

I believe the Linux infrastructure for mobile devices needs priority.

Tangent

I had difficulty getting images from various operating systems to work (or not crash from updating) on my PinePhone. I need to eventually get Gentoo crossdev setup so I can compile packages for the PinePhone. Curious how well existing Android devices with Linux support fare currently.

Not sure if debugging and fixing issues would satisfy your itch, but I guess one idea to consider is porting some Linux applications only available on the x86_64 architecture to arm/arm64/etc., and develop mobile friendly guis for current applications that are still primarily suited for desktop.
- Curious how well existing Android devices with Linux support fare currently.
  
  Better than the Pinephone. See my other post on this thread where I talk about my Mobian port to the Pixel 3a and click the link for some more detailed info on how well it works.
  
  Oh and the Pinephone is just way too slow and the thermal design is not really good and it also does have issues in other parts of the hardware. It's not a good phone, it's a passable development device that easily allows to turn off things such as Bluetooth.
  
  And... an old Android phone such as the Pixel 3a is just a lot cheaper and runs way faster with a far better battery life.
- the audio is inexcusably inconsistent on my pinephone, particularly the mic.
A good mobile friendly GTK nextcloud talk app. I love nextcloud and I love my pinephone but having to use the browser is a massive pain.
Most of them.
Odysee would be great.
@Lofenyy do you have a list where I can check this?
Because I'm not sure of what apps are available, I haven't switched yet
- https://linuxphoneapps.org/
I would say Tuta desktop app for aarch64. Flathub says there's one for aarch64 but it is not maintained and the version is too old to access Tuta's servers.
Can you install bank apps?
Obviously some payment applications & good libre games

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