My Experience Daily Driving a Linux Phone in 2025: A Comprehensive Look at PostmarketOS

In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile technology, the allure of an open, customizable, and privacy-respecting operating system on our smartphones has long been a topic of fervent discussion. For many of us who have embraced the power and flexibility of Linux on our desktop and laptop computers, the question naturally arises: can we achieve a similar, uncompromised Linux experience on our mobile devices? Here at [revWhiteShadow], we’ve been actively exploring this very frontier, and our journey into daily driving a Linux phone in 2025 has yielded some truly fascinating insights.

The Genesis of a Mobile Linux Dream: Early Explorations and Disappointments

Our initial foray into the world of Linux on mobile devices began years ago, fueled by a deep-seated curiosity about the feasibility of a genuinely mobile Linux ecosystem. While the names of pioneers like Pine64 and Librem immediately came to mind, representing dedicated efforts to bring Linux to the smartphone market, our early investigations were met with a degree of disappointment. The primary hurdles we encountered were a distinct lack of availability, making these specialized devices difficult to acquire, and a concerning imbalance between specs and price. While we understood the inherent complexities of developing a mobile OS from the ground up, especially compared to the established Android framework, the specifications offered simply did not justify the considerable investment required. This initial phase, while educational, left us questioning the viability of a truly practical Linux mobile experience for the average consumer.

This initial setback, however, did not deter our quest. Instead, it prompted a shift in our approach, leading us to consider alternative pathways to achieving a Linux-powered mobile environment. We began to explore the possibility of repurposing existing hardware, seeking out devices that might be amenable to custom operating system installations. It was during this period that we stumbled upon an intriguing offer: a Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet. This compact device presented an excellent opportunity to experiment, and we successfully installed Arch Linux upon it. For a considerable period, we utilized this tablet as our primary mobile Linux testing ground, thoroughly exploring its functionalities and pushing its capabilities. Even today, this Arch Linux-powered Dell Venue 8 Pro remains a valuable tool, serving admirably as a dedicated school tablet. However, our focus has now shifted from this foundational experience to what transpired next, a progression that truly brought us closer to our mobile Linux aspirations.

PostmarketOS: A Beacon of Hope for Mobile Linux

The discovery of PostmarketOS (PMOS) marked a significant turning point in our pursuit of a daily-driver Linux phone. This ambitious project, dedicated to bringing a long-term, sustainable, and user-friendly Linux experience to mobile devices, immediately captured our attention. PostmarketOS aims to provide a mainline Linux distribution for smartphones, freeing users from vendor-specific Android code and offering a stable, secure, and highly customizable platform. The project’s commitment to supporting a wide array of devices, even those no longer actively supported by their manufacturers with official Android updates, further solidified its appeal.

Our primary objective was to identify a device that offered the best balance of hardware support, affordability, and ease of modification for our PostmarketOS installation. After careful research into the extensive list of supported devices, the Xiaomi Mi A1 emerged as our top choice. This particular device boasted a respectable level of hardware support within the PostmarketOS community, meaning that crucial components like the display, touch input, and basic connectivity were largely functional. Furthermore, the Xiaomi Mi A1 was relatively affordable and readily available, allowing us to acquire it quickly for our testing. Crucially, and a significant departure from many other Xiaomi devices we had encountered, the Mi A1’s bootloader could be unlocked with a straightforward fastboot command, a critical step that bypasses the usual complexities and restrictions imposed by manufacturers. This ease of modification was paramount, as it significantly lowered the barrier to entry for our experimentation. It is important to acknowledge that while hardware limitations like an unsupported camera were present on the Mi A1, we attribute these to the device itself not being designed with Linux in mind, rather than a fundamental flaw in PostmarketOS or the Linux mobile ecosystem’s capability.

The Transition: Installing and Configuring PostmarketOS

The process of installing PostmarketOS on the Xiaomi Mi A1 was remarkably streamlined, a testament to the project’s robust tooling and the strong community support surrounding it. With the bootloader unlocked, we proceeded with flashing the PostmarketOS image. The initial boot-up and setup were intuitive, guided by clear instructions and well-documented procedures.

One of the most exciting aspects of embarking on this mobile Linux journey was the opportunity to choose and customize our user experience. PostmarketOS offers a selection of popular mobile-focused Linux environments, and we dedicated considerable time to exploring two of the most prominent: Plasma Mobile and Phosh.

  • Plasma Mobile, developed by the KDE community, presents a visually appealing and feature-rich environment. It integrates seamlessly with the broader KDE ecosystem and offers a familiar desktop-like experience adapted for touch interfaces. Its strengths lie in its polish and the breadth of applications available within the KDE framework.
  • Phosh, on the other hand, is a GNOME-based shell specifically designed for mobile devices. It emphasizes simplicity, usability, and a clean aesthetic, aiming to provide a streamlined and efficient user experience. Phosh has gained significant traction due to its adoption by projects like Purism and its focus on core mobile functionalities.

After extensive testing, we found ourselves gravitating towards Phosh for our daily use. Its uncluttered interface and efficient resource management proved to be a better fit for the hardware capabilities of the Xiaomi Mi A1. The transition to Phosh felt natural, and the overall responsiveness of the interface was commendable.

Application Ecosystem: Navigating the Mobile Linux App Landscape

With the operating system successfully installed and configured, the next critical step was to populate our Linux phone with the applications we rely on for daily tasks. PostmarketOS, through its package manager and software centers like GNOME Software, provides access to a vast repository of Linux applications. We were keen to explore both the ecosystem itself and the quality and usability of the apps available.

Our initial exploration of the application ecosystem was overwhelmingly positive. We were delighted to find that the vast majority of our essential applications were readily available, often through standard Linux repositories. Whether it was communication tools, productivity suites, or entertainment applications, the GNOME Software center provided a convenient and comprehensive gateway to discover and install them. The availability of many familiar desktop applications, albeit in mobile-friendly forms, was a significant boon.

However, as we began to integrate these applications into our daily workflow, we encountered a common observation: many of the mobile-friendly applications were, in fact, Electron wrappers. Electron is a framework that allows developers to build desktop applications using web technologies (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript). While this approach accelerates development and ensures cross-platform compatibility, it can also lead to increased resource consumption and slower performance, particularly on less powerful hardware.

We noticed a marked decrease in the phone’s overall responsiveness when running multiple Electron-based applications simultaneously. This led us to re-evaluate our strategy for accessing services and information. The realization dawned that for a truly fluid and responsive experience, leveraging the web was often the most efficient approach.

We transitioned to using Firefox (mobilized) as our primary tool for accessing a wide range of services. The mobile version of Firefox proved to be exceptionally fluid and responsive, capable of handling complex web pages and web applications with ease. This shift allowed us to access many services that previously relied on dedicated mobile apps, including banking applications, without sacrificing performance. We had concerns about the usability of banking apps via a web browser, but found that most major banks offered fully functional and secure web interfaces that were surprisingly comfortable to use, even on a smaller screen.

Addressing Specific Use Cases and Challenges

While our overall experience with PostmarketOS on the Xiaomi Mi A1 was remarkably positive, there were specific use cases and challenges that required careful consideration and workarounds.

Wearable Integration: The Smartwatch Conundrum

One of the most significant challenges we faced was the integration of our Tic Watch C2+ with the Linux phone. The proprietary nature of WearOS applications and their reliance on a tightly controlled Android ecosystem meant that running the necessary companion app consistently in the background was not straightforward. While Waydroid, a containerization tool that allows Android applications to run on Linux, did function, it proved to be a resource-intensive solution. The significant drain on system resources when running Waydroid meant that it was not an effective or efficient solution for continuous use, especially for background services like smartwatch synchronization. This highlighted a current limitation in the broader Linux mobile ecosystem, where seamless integration with proprietary wearable technology remains an area for significant development.

Convergence: A Glimpse into the Future of Mobile Computing

The concept of convergence, where a smartphone can seamlessly transition into a desktop-like computing experience when connected to external peripherals, is a cornerstone of many Linux mobile projects. While the Xiaomi Mi A1 itself does not natively support HDMI over USB, we were still able to explore the fundamental principles of convergence.

We connected an external mouse and keyboard to the Mi A1, and the experience of using desktop applications was surprisingly encouraging. Many of these applications, designed for a Linux desktop, performed better than expected on the mobile device when controlled with a keyboard and mouse. This demonstrated the inherent power of running a full Linux distribution on a mobile device. We envision that with a device that supports true HDMI output over USB, such a setup could provide a remarkably capable computing environment for a variety of tasks, from lightweight document editing to even some more demanding creative work. The potential for a single device to serve as both a personal communicator and a portable workstation is a compelling vision that Linux mobile operating systems are steadily moving towards.

Audio and Hardware Quirks: Navigating the Imperfect

As anticipated, running a Linux distribution on hardware not originally designed for it can lead to certain audio issues. During our testing, we encountered a specific problem where, upon receiving a call, the audio output did not automatically switch to the earpiece, rendering incoming calls inaudible. However, after some manual adjustment of audio settings, this issue was resolved. It’s crucial to reiterate that such hardware-specific quirks are often a consequence of using devices not built with a Linux-first philosophy. We do not consider these to be limitations of PostmarketOS or Linux itself, but rather challenges inherent in adapting existing hardware. The only other significant issue we encountered was the complete lack of camera support, which, as previously mentioned, is an acknowledged limitation of the Xiaomi Mi A1’s hardware in the context of Linux driver support. Despite these minor hardware-related inconveniences, the core functionality of the device as a communication and computing tool remained robust.

Conclusion: The Viability of Linux Phones in 2025 and Beyond

Reflecting on our experience, we can confidently state that in 2025, there are viable options for using a Linux-based phone as a main mobile device. While it might not yet offer the same level of seamless comfort and plug-and-play familiarity as a mainstream Android or iOS device, the journey is undeniably rewarding. The PostmarketOS project, along with other Linux mobile initiatives, is rapidly maturing.

The support for new devices is gaining momentum, and the development of Linux-first phones is accelerating. It’s important to recall that as recently as before 2018, placing calls on PostmarketOS-supported devices was not a given. The progress made in just a few short years is nothing short of remarkable. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the usability and feature sets of Linux phones will only continue to improve.

For individuals who value openness, customization, privacy, and control over their digital lives, dropping Android or iOS entirely and embracing a Linux-based mobile experience is not just a possibility, but an increasingly practical reality. The ability to have a device that respects your privacy, allows for deep customization, and runs a robust, open-source operating system is a powerful proposition.

Our commitment to exploring this exciting space continues. We recently acquired a Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite via an online auction for a remarkably low price of 2 USD. Our next endeavor will be to install PostmarketOS on this new device. We anticipate achieving similar performance levels as our Mi A1, but with the added benefit of working camera functionality, thanks to community efforts to provide drivers for this device. This will allow us to further push the boundaries of our daily driver experience with Linux on mobile, solidifying our belief in the bright future of this technology. The Linux mobile revolution is not a distant dream; it is a present and tangible reality, evolving at an impressive pace.