Fairphone "gen" 6 is there !
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Yes it's been already two years since FP5 !
Qualcomm "mainstream" SOC.
Comes with Android 15.
8/256GB, up to 2TB SD card.
One switch to activate "minimal design" (and disturbance).
50% recycled materials.
5 years guarantee.
6 android updates planned.
8 years support (2025-2033).https://shop.fairphone.com/the-fairphone-gen-6
Just for info
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It will also support mainline Linux (like the pinephone) as the patches have already been submitted: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fairphone-6-Linux.
I suppose the Ubuntu Touch port will be Halium based but it is certainly nice anyway.May the source be with you
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@ikoz said in Fairphone "gen" 6 is there !:
It will also support mainline Linux
Wow, that's a big new thing here !
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@Keneda seems like a great device! But I feel like FP5 only recently got added to supported devices. What is the expectation for FP6? Will it take a long time before UT can be installed on it? I ask because I planned to buy a FP5, but now I don't know if I should wait a bit and move to the 6 immediately.
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@rdfrs
It took 2 years for FP5 to reach device page with for now "only" devel channel.
So I would expect the FP6 takes the same time.This thread is for info only, FP5 is cheaper pristine, can be found even cheaper used, and the FP6 don't have more ram (8GB) or rom (256GB) than the "big" FP5.
It's quite the same phone in definitive, I don't think a more recent Qualcomm middle class SoC will make Ubuntu Touch better, even the 120hz of the FP6 OLED screen will not make the 90hz of the FP5 OLED one outdated.
If you want a Fairphone with UT now, get the FP5.
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@Keneda thanks for the advise!
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@ikoz said in Fairphone "gen" 6 is there !:
It will also support mainline Linux (like the pinephone) as the patches have already been submitted: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fairphone-6-Linux.
I suppose the Ubuntu Touch port will be Halium based but it is certainly nice anyway.Heya, new here, long term Linux user looking to get my first smartphone.
Does you mean that the FF5 did not support mainline Linux? Why the change with FF6?
I wonder about the advantages/disadvantages to using mainline Linux vs the Hallum approach, I presume that this amounts to a desktop equivilence to doing a clean install of Ubuntu, vs installing it in Windows? I imagine doing a clean install gives you more security as you do not rely on the security of another OS. whether Android or Windows? I wonder though if one can still use the FF6 as a phone if one runs mainline linux on it.
From what I have read above, it looks like there haven't been too many changes from FF5 to FF6, so perhaps that makes it easier for Ubuntu Touch to get released on the FF6?
Sorry, lots of questions. I feel so excited about this!
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@Twigg Many questions indeed, I will try to answer them as accurately as I can, so if anyone knows more, feel free to correct me.
Before answering your questions, I think it is necessary to clear any misconceptions about the Android kernel.
Most Android devices don't support mainline Linux, so the upstream kernel can't work on the device, as it is missing specific drivers and device trees. That is because the SoC manufacturers (Qualcomm/MediaTek) use an older kernel as a base to test their new designs, and that old kernel is subsequently used by the device manufacturers (e.g. Fairphone). Of course, neither of them bother isolating the changes to create a pull request to upstream Linux (due to costs etc.). As a result, Ubuntu Touch developers have to do extra patches to make the downstream patched kernel work for them.Does you mean that the FF5 did not support mainline Linux?
Yes, Fairphone officially didn't, but the community has (see the PostmarketOS port)
Why the change with FF6?
I don't know. Maybe they hope they can attract more Linux enthusiast (like us).
I wonder about the advantages/disadvantages to using mainline Linux vs the Hallum approach
Mainline Linux enables more flexibility and a desktop-like experience. However, it is more difficult to make everything work there, postmarketOS is a great example, as almost none of their devices currently support the same hardware features as they did on Android. Not even Qualcomm themselves have succeeded in fully working mainline Linux kernel, as the recent Snapdragon X Elite chips which were made to compete with x86 still don't have full Linux support.
Halium on the other hand uses the same downstream kernel as Android does, with some adaptations for Ubuntu. It also runs the Android drivers on an LXC container, which allows easier access to hardware. As you can imagine, this has limitations, as we can't change the Android drivers and pulling patches from upstream Linux can break functionality.
I presume that this amounts to a desktop equivilence to doing a clean install of Ubuntu, vs installing it in Windows?
I don't get your analogy. It would be more accurate to say that to install normal Ubuntu, you have to reverse engineer the Windows drivers. However, in Ubuntu Touch's case we can reuse the Android drivers as the Linux kernel remains mostly the same.
From what I have read above, it looks like there haven't been too many changes from FF5 to FF6, so perhaps that makes it easier for Ubuntu Touch to get released on the FF6?
Each device needs its own port, sometimes even devices with the same chip require very different ports. In this case FP6 seems vastly different hardware-wise than FP5 so I don't think they would be similar software-wise.
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@Twigg said in Fairphone "gen" 6 is there !:
From what I have read above, it looks like there haven't been too many changes from FF5 to FF6, so perhaps that makes it easier for Ubuntu Touch to get released on the FF6?
I said that ram and rom are the same amount, and screen only 30hz more.
But SoC is completely different, hardware is different.
I guess you misunderstood me, I didn't say FP6 is the same as FP5, I said Ubuntu Touch experience should be the same under FP5 and FP6.
