LINux on MOBile

It's sunday. Now what happened since last sunday?

PINE64's last Update in 2020, GTK 4.0, Sxmo 1.2.0, Plasma Mobile news and more. Commentary in italics.

Software releases and announcements

• Phosh 0.7.1 has been announced, a minor release containing a few bug fixes – full release notes.
• Sxmo 1.2.0 has been released. Make sure to watch the video linked below.
• OpenSUSE/slem.os has seen another release, featuring Phosh, Phoc, new GNOME 3.38 apps and fixes to the Modem.
• Mobian: Status update 2020-12-15. a-wai, head of the Mobian project, wrote a nice update here.
• Manjaro Phosh Beta 4 has been announced, featuring Megi's new 5.10 kernel and many other updates. Stay tuned for my video on this new Manjaro release.

Worth reading

• PINE64: December Update: The Longest One Yet. This is even longer than usual, as it also contains a "2020: Year in review section". Maybe just watch the video (linked below) and read Brad's take.
  • LinuxSmartphones: PinePhone keyboard and wireless charging add-ons are on the way. Brad's take.
• GTK Development Blog: GTK 4.0. This is nice to see. There are already plenty new mobile optimized apps in the works based on GTK 4.
• Plasma Mobile: Plasma Mobile is finishing 2020 strong with new updates. Nice update. That 5.21 release is going to be quite something!
  • 9to5 Linux: KDE’s Plasma Mobile UI Is Now Faster and Less Resource-Intensive. 9to5 Linux's take.
  • FOSS2go: December news from the world of Plasma Mobile. FOSS2go's take.
  • LinuxSmartphones: Plasma Mobile picks up performance, theme, and app improvements. Brad's take.
• Plasma Mobile: Plasma Mobile: Technical debt and moving forward
  • FOSS2go: Plasma Mobile is dropping support for Halium devices. FOSS2go's take.
  • LinuxSmartphones: KDE Plasma Mobile ends Halium support, shifts focus to phones running mainline Linux kernel. Brad's take.
• UBports: Ubuntu Touch OTA-15 Release. Remember: OTA 15 is for all devices but the PinePhone.
  • FOSS2go: OTA-15 for Ubuntu Touch is coming: what’s new?. FOSS2go's take.
  • LinuxSmartphones: Ubuntu Touch OTA-15 brings bug fixes and support for more phones. Brad's take.
• FOSS2go: Kernel update available on Ubuntu Touch in Pinephone.. 5.10. Nice and promising. Remember, major improvements are likely to land as side products of the transition to Qt 5.12.
• LinuxSmartphones: Manjaro, Mobian, and OpenSUSE release updated OS images for the PinePhone. Nice release summary!
• LinuxSmartphones: Sxmo 1.2.0 adds support for gesture controls. Brad's take on the new Sxmo release.
• Gamey: Matrix on the Pinephone & Librem5 #2. Great write-up! Please remember that Hydrogen is another great option, working nicely in Firefox, Chromium and Epiphany/Gnome Web.

Worth listening

• postmarketOS podcast: #1: History. Even if you don't usually listen to podcasts, to listen to this one. It's really worth it.

Worth watching

• Arbitrary Tech: Pinephone Usability Review. Despite the title, this video focuses on Sailfish OS and Mobian and does not take other distributions into account.
• PINE64: December Update: the Longest One Yet. Great video by PizzaLovingNerd!
• Gardiner Bryant: HEAD TO HEAD: The Librem 5 vs. PinePhone Manjaro Edition. This is something many people have been waiting for: A head to head comparison of Librem 5 and PinePhone. Surprisingly, the Librem 5 is not ahead everywhere, but honestly, I would have likely decided to shoot again while editing. Still, with all these caveats, it's worth watching.
• Gardiner Bryant: "Are Linux Smartphones about to KILL Android?" RE: Mrwhosetheboss. A rare RE: video that might actually be worth watching.
• proycon: SXMO 1.2.0: A minimalist UI for Linux phones like the pinephone. Nice video that also demos the new gestures in Sxmo that I had shown off way back when in my video.
• Pedro Francisco: Sailfish en Pinephone. Nice.
• Privacy & Tech Tips: Pinephone: Linux Security Options + Current Setup & More. If you care about additional security and privacy on your PinePhone, you really should watch this video.

Manjaro Corner

• everydaypine: PinePhone with Manjaro Arm Beta 4 (Phosh). Nice video!
• Linux Lounge: PinePhone Manjaro CE Unboxing & First Impressions. YAPUV!
• Linux Lounge: Testing Calls On The PinePhone Manjaro CE. Calls. They aren't easy to demo, which is why I hate doing it. From what I've experienced on Arch Linux ARM and heard about Mobian, the situation is less grim than this video makes it sound.

Ubuntu Touch Corner

• Elatronion: PinePhone UBPorts Ubuntu Touch Lomiri: The Most Developed Mobile Linux OS. Great video on Ubuntu Touch!
• UBports: Ubuntu Touch Q&A 91. It's their last Q&A for the year, so it's a 2020 in review session. You've been warned.

Stuff I did

Content

I made two videos about PureOS on the PinePhone:

• a short walkthrough through it that got totally sidetracked by suddenly getting into gaming: YouTube, PeerTube;
• and one just about SuperTuxKart (PeerTube exclusive).

Also, I procrastinated on a blog post that I am hopefully going to publish next week.

LINMOBapps

Not much happened here, just a few additions and some maintenance. Please do contribute!