- The author argues that the Linux phone market stalled after the Librem 5 and PinePhone launched in 2020, and cites chip performance, driver support, and manufacturer problems as the reasons.
- According to the article, the chips that are easy to run Linux on are those used in cars and IoT devices. Because they are cheaper, they tend to have lower performance and power efficiency. Automotive chips are designed to be used for nearly 20 years, while high-performance chips for Android phones are usually produced for only 1 to 3 years.
- The article describes the Librem 5 as made up of 74 integrated circuits, 4 circuit boards, and 1267 parts in total. The author explains that a Linux phone must fill wireless communication and location functions with separate chips, while an Android phone handles them with one integrated chip.
- In the Geekbench table in the article, the single-core score of the RK3588S, released in 2022, is 730, which is lower than that of the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 (920) in the same table. However, the article does not say who measured the table or under what conditions.
The line about automotive chips needing to last nearly 20 years, while high-performance phone chips are produced for only 1 to 3 years, is what caught my eye first. For consumers, the more pressing issue is probably how long update support will last if the chip has a short lifespan. That said, the RK3588S scores and the Librem 5 part count come from the author's own data, so the measurement conditions should be checked separately. If anyone has actually used a Linux phone, I'm curious how far updates continued a few years later.