Software Alternatives & Reviews

PureOS VS Mobian

Compare PureOS VS Mobian and see what are their differences

PureOS logo PureOS

A user friendly, secure and freedom respecting OS for your daily usage

Mobian logo Mobian

Mobian, Debian for mobile devices
  • PureOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-03-20
  • Mobian Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18

PureOS videos

PureOS 8.0 - Based on Debian 10 Buster and Using GNOME 3.30 as Default Desktop Environment

More videos:

  • Review - Is PureOS Really a Secure and Private OS?

Mobian videos

Mobian | The Best Mobile Linux Distro

More videos:

  • Review - Mobian on the Pinephone Review 2021
  • Review - PinePhone OSes: Mobian

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PureOS and Mobian)
Mobile OS
40 40%
60% 60
Mobile SDK
45 45%
55% 55
Operating Systems
54 54%
46% 46
Linux
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PureOS and Mobian

PureOS Reviews

The 10 Best Immutable Linux Distributions in 2024
Why it’s on the list: PureOS offers a great balance of immutability and usability. While not fully immutable, it incorporates many immutable principles, particularly in handling software updates and system stability.
The 5 Best Privacy-Focused Operating Systems
PureOS is a privacy-focused Linux distribution developed by Purism, a company committed to user privacy and open-source software. It comes pre-installed on Purism's Librem laptops and is designed to provide a secure and privacy-conscious computing environment.
Open Source Mobile OS Alternatives To Android
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.
Source: itsfoss.com
Top 15 Best Security-Centric Linux Distributions of 2020
PureOS is a user-friendly Debian-based distribution built with a focus on user privacy and security by Purism – the company behind Liberem computers and smartphones.
Source: www.tecmint.com

Mobian Reviews

Android Alternative: Top 12 Mobile Operating Systems
Needless to say, it does not support Android apps and the app support is limited. However, Mobian sets out to bring an alternative mobile OS to Android which is quite nice. Mobian uses Phosh, a mobile shell built by Purism, and deploys well-known frameworks like Gnome and GTK. All in all, I would say, Mobian is a potential alternative to Android and you can definitely give...
Source: beebom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Mobian might be a bit more popular than PureOS. We know about 16 links to it since March 2021 and only 13 links to PureOS. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PureOS mentions (13)

  • Laptops with Linux
    Librem 14 by Purism, can't recall the specifics for this one; sorry*. I do remember that we owe PureOS to them. Source: about 1 year ago
  • I am losing my mind while protecting my online privacy
    Another option is PureOS, and you might even consider buying privacy-oriented hardware, such as the Libram product line of computers, laptops, smartphones from Purism, which is just one among many manufacturers in this market. Source: over 1 year ago
  • Are there any useable Linux phone Os besides Ubuntu Touch
    There's ClearOS https://www.clearos.com/products/clearos-editions/clearos-mobile and PureOS https://pureos.net/ which the Librem 5 uses. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • GNOME is on which tablets or phones?
    Check following link. You can order gnome phone here. Https://pureos.net/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How to keep Debian FSF "approved"?
    If you can actually use a FSF distribution (you don’t need proprietary drivers) you can use PureOS from Purism. It is based on Debian and up streams all their work back to it. https://pureos.net/. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Mobian mentions (16)

  • Best OS for Pinephone Pro?
    I haven't messed with mine recently so not sure what the status of mobian is right now, but it would be worth giving it a try. Source: 12 months ago
  • Show HN: DivestOS, long term support for end-of-life Android devices
    Sounds like you want https://postmarketos.org/ or https://mobian-project.org/ ? - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Recent work towards mobile GNOME demoed on OnePlus 6 (Video by @calebccff on Twitter)
    This is still in active development. I would recommend trying postmarketOS or Mobian if you have a compatible device. They are both mainly packaged with Phosh, which is also a GNOME project, although most development is headed by Purism. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Droidian Linux on Google Pixel 3a
    Droidian is based on Mobian, a distro that aims to adapt Debian to mobile. It uses the same technologies as Ubuntu Touch (libhybris and Halium) to create support for Android devices. Source: about 2 years ago
  • We have developed an application that gives people worldwide a tool to boycott brands that have not left Russian and pay taxes there, identifying businesses that still operate by their names. We have added a barcode scanner so that you can scan products directly in the store.
    I have to make compromises often, but I choose to only install programs that can trust after setting up my system because I need to trust the device that I carry around with me 100% of the time in my pocket. I use Mobian on my phone and the only nonfree software installed are a few drivers. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PureOS and Mobian, you can also consider the following products

Android - Android is an open source mobile operating system initially released by Google in 2008 and has since become of the most widely used operating systems on any platform.

Ubuntu Touch - Read more about Ubuntu Touch. Our free and open source mobile OS is made and maintained by UBports! We care about your freedom and privacy.

LineageOS - Operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, based on the Android

GrapheneOS - GrapheneOS is an open source privacy and security focused mobile OS with Android app compatibility.

CalyxOS - Privacy-focused operating system for smartphones based on Android and microG

postmarketOS - A real Linux distribution on the phone