Why are there so few UB ports on modern Samsung devices?

GermanAizek

Samsung is a very popular brand, but Ubuntu Touch ports are mainly for old devices, who can answer what is difficulty porting devices to Samsung? and are there any problems in porting to devices before 2021?

MrT10001

@GermanAizek There are so many variables to porting (I am not a porter BTW). First there has to be someone who is willing to port to a device and then maintain that port. This takes knowledge, time and a lot of effort. The device they're porting to must be viable as well, i.e. the vendor blobs are available (drivers), the Android kernel is up to date, the bootloader can be unlocked and so on.
Over time as older devices fall by the way due to age, newer devices will be ported and newer Samsung devices will probably be involved.

arubislander

In addition to what @MrT10001 said, if the newest devices come with the newest version of Android then there might not yet be a corresponding Halium version to base a port on.

Moem

@GermanAizek said in Why are there so few UB ports on modern Samsung devices?:

Ubuntu Touch ports are mainly for old devices

One of the reasons that has not been mentioned yet is that newer devices are expensive, and there are not so many people who have a spare one that they don't use and can tinker on.
Most people who have a newer device use it as a daily driver and can't miss it, or risk bricking it while tinkering.

Rondarius

@GermanAizek
I think that this is answered somewhere else here on the forum and if I don't remember it wrong, most of the samsung phones has locked bootloader which makes it impossible to port the phone over to another os.

kugiigi

Sony even has an open device initiative and yet we barely a Sony device supported. I think major factor is that the device has to in people's hands who are willing to put the effort and time to develop the port. It's very hard to do so on expensive devices and as already mentioned, newer Android versions aren't feasible yet without a bigger effort.

Mario.CH

Hi @Rondarius,

I have no idea if Samsung ships devices on which the bootloader cannot be unlocked.
But I own a Samsung S9 (SM-G960F), besides it is one of the most beautiful devices Samsung has ever built (size and look) in my opinion, running the /e/OS.
I use it for online banking with 2AF (two-factor authentication) because of my bank.

I am more of the opinion that the effort for a top port of UT requires a very large amount of work with high skills on the side.
Anyone can find out on the /e/OS website how many top ports exist for the /e/OS on devices, namely just 21.

So the effort involved is simply considerable, and not just for UT. :man_lifting_weights_light_skin_tone: :man_biking_medium-light_skin_tone: :man_swimming_light_skin_tone:

Greetings Mario :beaming_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Keneda

@Mario-CH
Well, those are only devices which you can use "easy installer" with.
There are 200 devices supported. Most by community, some by /e/os team, exactly like UT, with difference that for UT all devices listed are on installer.
Fairphone 5, which is sold by Murena (/e/os shop for preinstalled devices) is not already supported by easy installer.
Not being in installer doesn't mean this is not "top ports".

Mario.CH

Hi @Keneda,

Well, you're probably right, and of course you don't have to tell me that. :unamused_face:
But as you have probably noticed many times in our forum, there are different views on what is meant by top porting.

But I think that the eOS team deliberately didn't just put all possible ports in the installer, but only the best ones from their point of view.

My intention was to show that a device porting is not something you can just shake out of your sleeve.

Of course, the people who find it easy to create a Port like this will immediately start to complain and tell me that it's not that difficult after all.

But all I can say with a tired smile is: Oh yes, and where are these people? :relieved_face:

Greetings Mario :winking_face:

GermanAizek

@Mario-CH, It's very strange because I was able to install Lineage OS on my Samsung M51 and on Samsung A52s 5G. And I had to unlock bootloader, having lost samsung knox.

Keneda

@Mario-CH said in Why are there so few UB ports on modern Samsung devices?:

My intention was to show that a device porting is not something you can just shake out of your sleeve.

I perfectly understood this and you're perfectly right, my point was only to specify.

But I think that the eOS team deliberately didn't just put all possible ports in the installer, but only the best ones from their point of view.

Not exactly, community ports need to have porter making correct files and config to be in installer.
Only official ports, and a few community ones, have those.

From the /e/os link you gave :
"Due to resource constraints the /e/OS team cannot add more devices or operating systems to the easy-installer. Here we request users in the community with development experience to help us:

Support new devices
    with its architecture based configuration files, it is easy to add new devices to the Easy Installer
Add support for more Operating systems

Tip: We share details on how you can add more devices in this document"

Mario.CH

Hi @GermanAizek,

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Informal or the operating system or unlocking the bootloader.
I'll relate to the operating system.

LineageOS is an AOSP (Android Open Source Project), i.e. a de facto free Android system. You can find out more on the Internet and Wikipedia.
It also comes from the first successful “free Android operating system” CyanogenMod, which was available from April 2009.

Ergo, the LineageOS makers have a considerable lead in knowledge and experience, I don't think we should compare ourselves with them, but we are catching up.

UT (Ubuntu Touch), on the other hand, is a modified Linux system, modified because it is not desktop.

In other words, potatoes and bread are both food, but they still have to be prepared differently in order to be eaten.

Greetings Mario

developerbayman

lol im turning into a record .....insert prattle here as it applies as well ....