Open Source Mobile OS Alternatives To Android

1

Android

It’s no exaggeration to say that open source operating systems rule the world of mobile devices. Android is still an open source project, after all. But, due to the bundle of proprietary software that comes along with Android on consumer devices, many people don’t consider it an open source operating system.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems 11 social mentions

2

Plasma Mobile

A few years back, KDE announced its own open source mobile OS, Plasma Mobile. Plasma Mobile is the mobile version of the desktop Plasma user interface, and aims to provide convergence for KDE users.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems 19 social mentions

3

postmarketOS

Don’t get too excited. PostmarketOS is in very early phases of development, and it is most likely that you won’t be able to use it like a regular smartphone yet. However, you may keep an eye on the postmarketOS community edition of the PinePhone.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems 96 social mentions

4

PureOS

It’s more of a Linux-based smartphone rather than a Linux-based smartphone OS, but I believe that the convergent PureOS should be able to run on other devices with some tweaks.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms 13 social mentions

6

Ubuntu Touch

With UBports’ efforts, Ubuntu Touch gets some updates. There are a handful of devices that are supported by Ubuntu Touch. You can see the list here.

#Operating Systems #Mobile OS #Mobile SDK 31 social mentions

7

LuneOS

The good thing about LuneOS is – if your device is compatible with CyanogenMod, it will most probably work on LuneOS. It is being maintained by WebOS Ports with no recent updates to it since October 2019.

#OS & Utilities #Mobile OS #Mobile SDK

8

Tizen OS

Despite being based on Linux, Tizen OS has been marred by security issues. Quite frankly, I don’t see a bright future for Tizen OS. It is just a matter of time before the plug is pulled from this project but for the time being, it is active and also offers studio suite for developers.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems

9

Mobian

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems 16 social mentions

10

LineageOS

LineageOS was created after the much more successful Android distribution CyanogenMod was discontinued. LineageOS is a fork of CyanogenMod.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms 248 social mentions

11

Replicant

Though Replicant was founded back in 2010 by a couple of Free Software groups, it now uses the source code of LineageOS as the base. You can see the list of devices supported by Replicant here.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms 12 social mentions

12

e.foundation /e/

/e/ is in active development and you can try to install it on a range of devices already. You can even buy refurbished devices preinstalled with /e/. That is one of the several ways of supporting the /e/ project.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms 22 social mentions

13

GrapheneOS

GrapheneOS in an open source privacy-focused mobile operating system. It is focused on the research and development of privacy and security technology.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms 388 social mentions

14

KaiOS

Not your fault really. KaiOS was only released in 2017, and yet it is powering a huge number of mobile phones in just under two years.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Development 2 social mentions

15

Sailfish OS

When Nokia decided to ditch the MeeGo mobile OS project, few unsatisfied Nokia employees decided to keep MeeGo alive in the form of Sailfish OS. Their flagship product Jolla has met with moderate success, and has a dedicated fan following. MeeGo was supposed to be continued by Linux Foundation in the form of Tizen, but over the time Tizen evolved on its own and cannot be termed a MeeGo derivative anymore. The same is true for Sailfish OS, the core OS of which is based on the Mer project, which itself is based on the work from MeeGo.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Operating Systems 4 social mentions

16

Firefox OS

Unfortunately, the low price tag alone could not make Firefox OS the Raspberry Pi of mobile devices, and, like Tizen, Firefox OS did not have any success with its ZTE devices. Firefox now plans to shift its focus from low cost devices to user experience with Firefox OS.

#Mobile OS #Mobile SDK #Roms