Weekly GNU-like Mobile Linux Update (18/2026): Shift to Convergence
Table of Contents
This past week: Convergence with Shift6mq finally possible, improvements to Millipixels and thus photography on Librem 5, a Ubuntu Touch Q&A, a collection of Sailfish Community News, Phosh Development News for April all packed with niceties, and more! Enjoy!
Sometimes I fail to copy something, but it's never as serious as the current vulnerability that's called Copy Fail (I hope). Commentary in italics.
Worth Reading
- Phosh.mobi Blog: Development News April 2026
- Community News - Sailfish OS Forum: Sailfish Community News, 30th April 2026 - May Day Eve
- foss2go.com: FuriOS 14.0.2 officially released: external display support and performance boosts
- foss2go.com: Gnome: community discusses touchscreen text pasting experience
- Liliputing: Volla Phone Plinius is a rugged phone that ships with Ubuntu Touch or Google-free Android and mid-range specs
Worth Watching
Due to travels with limited connectivity, I could not review many of these, I hope that I still managed to filter out slop.
- Continuum Gaming: ByteShark: Native SFOS app for deleting files securely (Continuum Gaming E519)
- UBports: Ubuntu Touch Q&A 189 (will be rescheduled) It was only rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday, no biggie... and lots of news!
- Decom TV: Ubuntu Touch - Installation on Mobile Devices UBports
- DevWithZachary: From E-Waste to Linux: Reviving the Microsoft Surface RT
- TakaPihanPoika: Samsung Galaxy S4 and Sailfish OS Ported inside
- Valleytech Custom Solutions and Carbon Computers: Hackberry CM5: The Pocket Linux Terminal That Actually Works
- Better Stack: Lightpanda: The 64MB Browser That is 60x FASTER than Chrome ... maybe something for the Sxmo folks?
- LivingOnLinux: Unboxing the new FLX1s - My new Linux phone daily driver!
- Pierre Parent: How I use Whatsapp on Ubuntu Touch (english version)
- Ezequiel: Ubuntu Touch - How to Format (Hard Reset)
- Martijn Braam: FOSS Raspberry Pi broadcast camera (pt. 3)
Worth listening (if you understand French)
Worth Noting
- pi_crew: "This is epic, first time camera is working in #Waydroid 🤩 Thanks to @supechicken and the WayDroid-ATV project!#LinuxMobile #NixOS #postmarketOS"
- okias: "🚀 Big milestone for the SHIFT 6MQ!Just got it running through dockstation with:✔️ keyboard✔️ mouse✔️ ethernet✔️ ...DisplayPort output 🎉Full external display support is now working, thanks to some hands-on implementation and a few extra patches on top of sdm845 Linux.Plug it in, and you’ve got a proper desktop experience.Running: https://codeberg.org/sdm845/linux + few custom patches which I'll try to finish today.#SHIFT6mq #sdm845 #MobileLinux #LinuxMobile #LinuxOnMobile"
- dos: "The new version of Millipixels, now in crimson-updates-proposed, significantly improves the way photos are developed by default. No need to develop the RAWs on your own to get rid of that greenish retro look anymore. Time to update and show off your cats on the fedi 😺#shotonlibrem5 #librem5 #shotonmainline #pureos #gnu #linux #linuxmobile #linuxphone #linuxsmartphone #mobilelinux #catsofmastodon #cats #camera"
- Purism community: Almost three years with the Librem 5 as my only phone - and upgrading to Crimson
- binutzu: @HennaVirkkunen one thing that that Google has monopolized across countries and continents is RCS messaging. RCS is defined by GSMA specifications, but the implementation used by most MNOs is from Google and it only works with Android and, more recently, IOS. But none of the FOSS projects or open mobile devices is able to use RCS messaging so far because of the way it is implemented. And the MNOs, out of convenience, go the Google way. #mobilelinux #postmarkeos #sailfishos #microg @jolla
- perlman: Palantir tracks everyone. So I built a site that tracks Palantir. They've been watching us. Now we can watch them. Contracts. Lawsuits. Executive pay. Global footprint. Lobbying activity. Media strategies. All in one place.›› https://palantirwatch.org#privacy #technology #surveillance #bigtech
Submitted by someone else:
- Potential EU Comission grant for linux mobile
- android-translation-layer as a steam compatibility tool
Events
- modal: "The next #BoilingTheOcean is happening on May 14-15, ahead of Linux App Summit in Berlin the following weekend!More details soon :)#berlin #gnome #linuxmobile #localfirst #linuxappsummit"
- #UbuntuTouch:  Unlock Your Potential in Open Source at Lomiri CodeFest!Are you passionate about open-source technology, app development, or Linux? Join us for Lomiri CodeFest, a free two-day immersive experience on May 16–17, 2026 in Tilburg, Netherlands! Build Your Own App: Create your first app for Ubuntu Touch and Lomiri with expert guidance. Mentorship & Collaboration: Work alongside experienced developers and contribute to real-world projects. Networking: Connect with students, developers, and industry leaders shaping the future of open-source. Inspiring Talks: Hear from international speakers and innovators. Hands-On Learning: No passive lectures — just practical, project-based experience.This event is perfect for IT students of all levels, open-source enthusiasts, and anyone curious about app development or digital freedom. No prior experience required—just bring your enthusiasm! Bonus: All attendees receive €200 worth of materials, and the event is completely free Venue: Spoorlaan 400, Tilburg, Netherlands Dates: May 16–17, 2026Don’t miss this opportunity to dive into the world of open source and make a real impact. Register now and be part of the revolution!Made possible by the UBports community #OpenSource #UbuntuTouch #Lomiri #TechEvent #CodeFesthttps://os-sci.com/event/lomiri-tech-meeting-24/register
- Jozef Mlich on Fosstodon: I’d love to invite you to DevConf.cz in Brno 🚀 It’s happening on June 18–19, 2026, and I’ll be there talking about hacking smartwatches ⌚ and building a Linux mobile app 🐧 so they finally do what I want 😄 Come join the fun!#Amazfish #DevConf_CZ #MobileLinux
More Software News
Gnome Ecosystem
- This Week in GNOME: #247 International Workers' Day
- Allan Day: GNOME Foundation Update, 2026-05-01
- Felipe Borges: Let’s Welcome Our Google Summer of Code 2026 Contributors!
Phosh
- Phosh.mobi Blog: Development News April 2026
- praveen: 我现在可以中文打字了This is typed on my FuriLabs FLX1 using recently added uim support in #phosh on screen keyboard stevia.Kudos to @agx for making it possible.#FreeSoftware #Chinese
Plasma Ecosystem
- Nate Graham: This Week in Plasma: Background Apps and Zoom Up-Scaling
- KDE Mentorship: KDE & Google Summer of Code 2026
- Planet KDE: Dolphin 26.04 release
- Planet KDE: Kirigami forms and configurations
- Planet KDE: Qt Contributors Summit 2026: Oslo in October!
- Phoronix: KDE Linux Now Using KMSCON For A Better VT Console Experience
Sailfish OS
- Community News - Sailfish OS Forum: Sailfish Community News, 30th April 2026 - May Day Eve
- Announcements - Sailfish OS Forum: Jolla Phone Batch 1, 2 & 3 payment deadline approaching. Special note for EU VAT ID customers
- adampigg: #SailfishOS is also available on all @volla devices :)
- #sailfishOS: The Immich Photo app for Sailfish OS has gotten another great update with a few great new features as the library page seen on the screenshot. Grab v0.3 over at OpenRepos: https://openrepos.net/content/mezmerize/immich#Immich #SailfishOS #Photography #LinuxMobile
- #sailfishOS: @jolla @rubdos Hi,Despite the language barrier, you might also appreciate this 11 000 words / 40 titles write-up about how to adopt #SailfishOS today :https://linuxfr.org/users/siltaar/journaux/migration-sous-sailfishosWith a mention of this SailfishOS Community Team on Liberapay : https://liberapay.com/SailfishOScommunityTeam/
- nieldk: Remember #nfcinteractor from #nokia #n9 ? Well, iam planning to port that to #sailfishos #rfid #nfc #MifareClassic
- nieldk: Sailshark and harbour-chameleon-ultra now in chum:testing 🎉🎉🎉#sailfishos #rfid #wireshark #opensource
Ubuntu Touch
- Ubuntu Touch Forums News: Ubuntu Touch Q&A 189 call for questions
- UBports - Development - Merge Requests: clickable: Add stuff for widevine
- UBports - Development - Merge Requests: treewide: Port to Qt6
- fredldotme: Over the weekend I also worked on integrating permissions for Wayland, XWayland and Snap applications. These now pop up and open right up and can be viewed/edited later on in System Settings.For Snaps, note that we don't use the snapd policy module (so plugging & unplugging audio permissions using
snap connect&snap disconnectdoesn't work), but our own trust-store module in PulseAudio instead. - fredldotme: Could this be your desktop too? @ubports #lomiri #ubuntutouch
- sd: I made the initial code for #ubuntutouch for the Pixel 9a public now: https://git.deusch.me/ubports/device-google-teguThe repository has instructions for flashing. But be aware that this is very experimental and not ready for daily use. Also again the disclaimer that AI was involved and a lot of the patches are for sure not done the proper way. You’ve been warned!#mobilelinux #ubports
- #UbuntuTouch: Today's Fairphone reddit AMA dealt with questions on Graphene, Ubuntu Touch, the headphone jack (don't get your hopes up), a smaller or a high-end Fairphone and a few others. ➡️ https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyFromEU/comments/1syy00k/fairphone_ama/ /u#Fairphone #Fairphone6 #UbuntuTouch
Distributions
- newbyte: "Tagged #postmarketOS #pmbootstrap 3.10.2 with some important bug fixes, see https://gitlab.postmarketos.org/postmarketOS/pmbootstrap/-/tags/3.10.2. An especially big thank you to @craftyguy for figuring out and fixing the file descriptor leak!"
- postmarketOS pmaports issues: Pinephone edge freeze while booting
- postmarketOS pmaports Merge Requests: linux-postmarketos-qcom-sdm845: upgrade to 7.1rc1 kernel
- postmarketOS pmaports Merge Requests: [RFT] linux-postmarketos-qcom-sdm670: upgrade to v7.0.2_beta4
- postmarketOS pmaports Merge Requests: make duranium "self hosting"
- postmarketOS pmaports Merge Requests: device-google-sargo: Reload I2C drivers on error
- postmarketOS Wiki New Pages: Creating gmobile cutout files
- UndeadLeech: "ArchLinux 7.0.0, now available at a Fairphone 5 near you.#linuxmobile #catacomb #fairphone #linux"
Apps
- @dos@librem.one: Millipixels has really overstayed its welcome, it was meant to be a temporary pile of hacks to facilitate driver development, but - perhaps inevitably, as makeshift does - it stayed there much longer than anticipated. I have spent a few hours polishing some of its roughest edges, finishing up past WIP work and hacking some desperately needed quality-of-life improvements in.Along with e.g. rotation sensing and better QR code detection, it can now also adjust frame rate to extend exposure time.
- pi_crew: First successful backup on my main #LinuxMobile phone using Pika Backup 🥳 #OnePlus6 #postmarketOS
- pi_crew: Denaro looks like a promising personal finance managing #Gnome app which already works quite nice on #LinuxMobile https://github.com/NickvisionApps/Denaro#postmarketOS
- kolunmi: "Hey I’m the developer of the Bazaar App Store! I absolutely love making Bazaar, it brings me a lot of joy. :)Unfortunately I’m in a bad financial situation right now and my only source of income is from donations. I absolutely hate asking for money but it’s been kind of rough for me lately, so if you happen to enjoy my work and can comfortably toss me a coin, I would be extremely appreciative: https://ko-fi.com/kolunmiThanks so much!! Boosts appreciated <3"
- UndeadLeech: "Kumo 1.8.0 automatically unloads inactive tabs, to preserve resources and enhance initial loading speed.https://github.com/catacombing/kumo/releases/tag/v1.8.0#linuxmobile #catacomb #servo #webkit #rust"
- UndeadLeech: Aevum 2.3.1 uses the RTC offset to schedule alarms on systems with read-only RTCs. This finally fixes the last remaining reason I had to use the PinePhone Pro over the Fairphone 5.https://github.com/catacombing/aevum/releases/tag/v2.3.1#catacomb #linuxmobile #linux #rust #fairphone
- delta: "We’ve been busy building and releasing but it’s high time to share some major news: @sovtechfund is investing nearly €500K into #chatmail This 18-month commitment supports chatmail maintainers keeping the core infrastructure secure and evolving, on top of which several apps are built (but not STF funded): #DeltaChat @arcanechat@deltatouch Parla on Gnome A huge thank you to the Sovereign Tech Fund for investing in open, secure and decentralized communication!https://www.sovereign.tech/tech/chatmail"
Kernel
- phone-devel: Re: [PATCH 2/2] drm/panel: visionox-rm69299: Move power_on/off into prepare/unprepare
- phone-devel: [PATCH 0/4] Add Novatek NT37705 panel driver for Fairphone (Gen. 6)
- phone-devel: Re: [PATCH v4 0/3] Add CAMSS support for SM6350
- phone-devel: Re: [PATCH v2 7/7] arm64: dts: qcom: milos-fairphone-fp6: Enable WiFi
- phone-devel: [PATCH v2 0/5] Support enabling interconnect path for GDSC for fixing Milos camcc
- phone-devel: [PATCH v3 6/9] drm/msm/dsi: add support for DSI-PHY on Milos
Stack
- libcamera: libcamera v0.7.1
- Phoronix: Vulkan 1.4.350 Released With Three New Extensions
Matrix
- Matrix.org: Kicking off the nomination period for the 2026 Governing Board elections
- Matrix.org: Announcing the 2026 Governing Board elections
Thanks
Huge thanks to Plata for the nifty set of Python scripts that speed up collecting links from feeds by a lot.
Something missing? Want to contribute?
If your project's cool story (or your awesome video or nifty blog post or ...) is missing and you don't want that to happen again, please just put it into this pad for the next one! Since I am collecting many things there, this get's you early access if you will ;-) If you just stumble on a thing, please put it in there too - all help is appreciated!