List of open-source mobile phones
This is a list of mobile phones with open-source operating systems.
See also
- postmarketOS
- Greenphone
- Mobile device (mobile platform)
- OsmocomBB
- Blackphone
- Arduinophone
- MIT DIY Cellphone
- Maemo Leste
Notes
All available mobile phones have proprietary baseband (GSM module) firmware.[1] There is an open-source baseband project, OsmocomBB. There is a project based on illicit leaked source code for the Calypso modem called FreeCalypso.
Android-based devices do not appear on this list because of the heavy use of proprietary components, particularly drivers and applications.[2][3][4] There are numerous versions of Android, such as LineageOS (successor to the now-defunct[5][6] Cyanogenmod) and the freedom-respecting Replicant that can be installed on a large number of phones after-market.
WebOS was initially available only under a proprietary license but the source code was later released under a free license by HP. Still, Open WebOS will not run on all WebOS devices.
Sailfish OS is a proprietary user interface atop the Mer software distribution.
List
Organization | Model | Mobile operating system | Release date | Current state |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nokia | N900 | Maemo 5 (Fremantle) | 2009-11-11 | |
Nokia | N950 (available to 8089535552 only) | MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan | 2
Activate/install}} | |
Nokia | N9 | MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan | 2011 | Template:80895355552 |
Neo900 (https://www.neo900.org) | GTA04 based motherboard, fitting inside the shell of a Nokia N900. | QtMoko, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Replicant | 2014 | Template:8089535552for preorder |
OpenMoko | Neo 1973 (code name GTA01) | Openmoko Linux, Qtopia (both Linux-based) | 2007-07-09 | Discontinued |
OpenMoko | Neo FreeRunner (code name GTA02) | Openmoko Linux, Qt Extended, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Gentoo (all Linux-based), Inferno | 2008-06-24 | Discontinued |
Golden Delicious | GTA04 | QtMoko, Debian, SHR (Stable Hybrid Release), Replicant | 2012-04 | "Currently not in stock" |
Aava mobile | Developer phone | MeeGo | 2011 | Discontinued (available to developers only) |
Samsung | Z1 | Tizen | 2015-01 | Available |
Samsung | Z2 | Tizen | 2016-07 | Available |
Samsung | Z3 | Tizen | 2015-10 | Available |
GeeksPhone | Keon | Firefox OS | 2013-04-23 | Discontinued |
GeeksPhone | Peak | Firefox OS | 2013-04-23 | Discontinued |
GeeksPhone | Peak+ | Firefox OS | Cancelled[7] | |
GeeksPhone | Revolution | Firefox OS | 2014 | Discontinued |
ZTE | Open | Firefox OS | 2013-07 | Discontinued |
Alcatel | One Touch Fire | Firefox OS | 2013-07 | Discontinued |
BQ | BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition | Ubuntu Touch | 2015-02 | Community Driven [8] |
BQ | BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition | Ubuntu Touch | 2015-06 | Community Driven |
Meizu | Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition | Ubuntu Touch | 2015-07 | Community Driven |
Meizu | Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition | Ubuntu Touch | 2016-02 | Community Driven |
Purism, SPC | Librem 5[9] | PureOS | 2019-01 | Available for preorder |
Distributions for existing phones
postmarketOS, Ubports, and KDE Neon are open-source distributions running on existing smartphones originally running Android.
Custom-made phones
It is possible to home-build a phone from partially open hardware and software.[10][11] The Arduinophone[11] (touchscreen) and the MIT DIY Cellphone (segmented display)[12][13] both use the Arduino open-hardware single-board computer, with added components. The PiPhone[14] and ZeroPhone[15] are similar, but based on the Raspberry Pi.
References
- ↑ Welte, Harald (5 February 2010). "OsmocomBB Project Rationale". Retrieved 2013-09-26.
Every mobile device that is connected to a cellular network runs some kind of baseband processor with highly proprietary and closed-source firmware.
- ↑ Android (operating system)#Licensing "drivers and firmware vital for the proper functioning of Android devices are usually proprietary"
- ↑ Stallman, Richard (19 September 2011). "Is Android really free software? – Google's smartphone code is often described as 'open' or 'free' – but when examined by the Free Software Foundation, it starts to look like something different". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
the software of Android versions 1 and 2 was mostly developed by Google; Google released it under the Apache 2.0 license, which is a lax free software license without copyleft. ... The version of Linux included in Android is not entirely free software, since it contains non-free "binary blobs"... Android is very different from the GNU/Linux operating system because it contains very little of GNU.
- ↑ Stallman, Richard (5 August 2012). "Android and Users' Freedom – Support the Free Your Android campaign". gnu.org. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
Even though the Android phones of today are considerably less bad than Apple or Windows smartphones, they cannot be said to respect your freedom.
- ↑ Announcement from LineageOS about the continuation of CyanogenMod's effort
- ↑ Archive of last blog post from CyanogenMod in reaction to discontinued Cyanogen Inc support for the project
- ↑ "Peak+ cancellation". 28 November 2013.
- ↑ UBPorts - UBPorts keeps Ubuntu Touch alive. 04 September 2017.
- ↑ Librem 5 – A Security and Privacy Focused Phone. 15 November 2017.
- ↑ Making your own phone is easier than you might think, Lisa Grossman, Issue 2909, New Scientist Magazine
- 1 2 Arduinophone designer's description
- ↑ DIY Cellphone on the designer's MIT homepage
- ↑ David A. Mellis & Leah Buechley. 2014. Do-It-Yourself Cellphones: An Investigation into the Possibilities and Limits of High-Tech DIY. In Proceedings of the 32nd annual ACM conference on Human factors in computing systems (CHI '14).
- ↑ PiPhone – A Raspberry Pi based Smartphone
- ↑ ZeroPhone – a Raspberry Pi Zero based smartphone