There are plenty of Linux phones to choose from out there. All kinds of options with different specs from different companies. Each Linux phone with its own unique set of features. In this article, we will guide you through buying the best Linux phone.
For a quick comparison, check the table below.
| Phone | Price | Display | Battery | RAM | Storage | CPU | Main Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | $2,199.00 | 5.7″ IPS TFT 720×1440 | 4,500 mAh | 4 GB | 128 GB | NXP® i.MX 8M Quad core Cortex A53, 64bit ARM @max 1.5GHz (auxiliary Cortex M4) | Hardware kill switches, modular design |
| PinePhone | $149.99 | 5.95" IPS 720x1440 | 2800 mAh | 2 GB | 16 GB | 4 x ARM Cortex A53 cores @ 1.152 GHz | Hardware kill switches, modular design, 6 pogo pins |
| Pro1 X | $829.00 | 5.99" AMOLED 2160x1080 | 3200 mAh | 6 GB | 128 GB | Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 | Built-in slide-out keyboard, Ubuntu Touch Support |
| Volla Phone | $406.00 (€359.00) | 6.3″ IPS 2340×1080 | 4700 mAh | 4 GB | 64 GB | MediaTek Helio P23, MT6763V, Octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 (4x 2.0 GHz + 4x 1.5 GHz cores) | Full support for Ubuntu Touch |
| Fairphone | $656.00 (€579.00) | 6.3" IPS 1080x2340 | 3905 mAh | 6 GB | 128 GB | Octa-core Kryo 570 | 5G support, modular design, support for postmarketOS |
| SageTea Edge | $715.00 | 6.52", 90 Hz, LCD, 1600 x 720 | 5000 mAh | 4 GB | 64 GB | Uses a customized Ubuntu Touch |
If you want to learn more and go through our full buyer’s guide, read the sections below.
What makes a phone a “Linux phone”?
Essentially, if a smartphone is powered by a Linux OS, it’s a Linux phone.
Technically, Android uses the Linux kernel too, but phones in this article also use FOSS software and modified Linux distros. Most phones here use the original (mainline) Linux kernel, not a heavily modified Linux kernel like Android uses.
Most of the Linux phones in this list use desktop-ready software. Convergence is the keyword here.
Most of the Linux phones here have a modular hardware design (easily replaceable parts) – although this is not a feature specific to Linux, it is a common feature among Linux phones.
Most Linux phones focus on privacy and security – just like most of the Linux desktop distros. Again, this is not a feature specific to Linux phones, but they do all focus more on privacy, so you might lose out on apps like Facebook and Google.
What you should know before buying a Linux phone
Before buying a Linux phone, it’s worth knowing:
- Some Linux phones are just refurbished Android smartphones with a Linux mobile distro pre-installed on them. You can buy a cheap second-hand or refurbished smartphone and install Linux on it yourself, it will cost you a lot less. It’s up to you to decide if paying the extra price is worth the time you’d save and the support you’d get from the company. We didn’t include those kinds of phones in this list.
- Although debatable, most of these Linux phones can’t be used as a daily driver and they can’t really replace your current daily driver. They do lack a lot of features and apps you’d need. They’re meant for developers and enthusiasts.
- Linux phones lack a lot of the apps you’re used to. Some existing apps aren’t even that mobile-friendly.
- If you’re not familiar with Linux and the CLI, they might not be a good fit for you.
Best Linux Phone – Our Top Picks
These are our top picks for the best Linux phones. There are more out there, but we only included these. It doesn’t mean phones that aren’t listed here aren’t good. The order of the phones is random, the first phone in this list doesn’t mean that it’s the best. They’re all somewhat different and each phone has a different target user group. You can’t go wrong with any of these phones.
Liberty Phone – Purism
Purism is a well-known company in the Linux market. They recently introduced a new phone – the Liberty phone, a premium version of the older Librem 5. It uses PureOS – their own mobile Linux OS that’s not based on Android or iOS. A fully FOSS and ethical OS. The phone is focused on privacy and security. It has a premium feel with great hardware, but it also has a premium price.
Liberty features:
- Hardware kill switches for WiFi, Bluetooth, cell signal, microphone, and camera.
- Replaceable battery
- Desktop-ready software
- Secure supply chain and electronics made in the USA
- Lifetime updates
Liberty main specs:
- CPU: i.MX8M (Quad Core) max. 1.5GHz
- GPU: Vivante GC7000Lite
- RAM: 4 GB
- Storage: 128 GB eMMC internal storage
- Screen: 5.7″ IPS TFT 720×1440
- 3.5mm Jack: Yes (stereo out and mono microphone in)
- Battery: 4,500mAh, user-replaceable
- USB: USB C: USB 3.0 data, PowerDelivery (Dual-Role Port), video out (DisplayPort)
- Back Camera: 13 Mpx with flash LED
- Front Camera: 8 Mpx
Liberty price: $2,199.00
You can check if there’s a coupon for Liberty here.
PinePhone – Pine64
Another great Linux phone option – the PinePhone. It also comes in a Pro version. It’s a cheap Linux phone that’s a favorite in the Linux phone community. Focused on privacy and extensibility, this is a great phone if you want to get into Linux phones, experiment, and try things out. It supports a lot of OSes, so you can install pretty much any Linux phone distro.
PinePhone features:
- 6 pogo pins allowing you to add custom hardware extensions like a thermal cam, wireless charging, NFC, extended battery case, keyboard case, etc.
- Hardware kill switches for LTE/GNSS, WiFi, Microphone, Speaker, Cameras
- Fully repairable and replaceable hardware – you can get replacement parts from the PineStore
- Convergence – plug in an external monitor and your PinePhone can be used as a desktop computer
PinePhone main specs:
- Display: 5.95 inches, HD IPS capacitive touchscreen, 1440×720, 18:9 ratio
- RAM: 2GB or 3GB LPDDR3 SDRAM
- CPU: 4 x ARM Cortex A53 cores @ 1.152 GHz
- GPU: ARM Mali 400 MP2 GPU
- Internal Storage: 16GB or 32GB eMMC, extendable up to 2TB via microSD, supports SDHC and SDXC
- Back Camera: Single 5MP, 1/4″, LED Flash
- Front Camera: Single 2MP, f/2.8, 1/5″
- Sound: Loudspeaker, 3.5mm jack & mic
- Battery: Lithium-ion, rated capacity 2800mAh (10.64Wh), typical capacity 3000mAh (11.40Wh) (nominally replaceable with any Samsung J7 form-factor battery)
- I/O: USB Type-C, USB Host, DisplayPort Alternate Mode output, 15W 5V 3A Quick Charge, follows USB PD specification
PinePhone price: $149.99
Pro 1 X – F(x)tec
Pro¹ X is a smartphone that lets you choose what OS you want to use – Ubuntu Touch, Android, or LineageOS. What’s (obviously) unique about this device is the slide-out built-in keyboard.
Pro1 X features:
- Built-in slide-out keyboard
- Ubuntu Touch support
- AMOLED display
Pro1 X main specs:
- Display: 5.99″ 2160 x 1080 (FHD+) AMOLED with curved edges Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 662
- GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 610
- Audio connectivity: 3.5mm TRRS headphone Jack
- RAM: 6GB LPDDR4 or 8GB LPDDR4
- Storage: 128GB, expandable via microSD card up to 2TB
- Front Camera: 8MP, fixed focus, f/2.0
- Rear Cameras: 12MP (Sony IMX363), f/1.8, 1.4µm pixels
- Battery: 3200 mAh
Pro1 X price: $829.00
Volla Phone
The Volla Phone has 2 choices for an OS – VollaOS and Ubuntu Touch. VollaOS is a modified, Google-free Android that focuses on your privacy. Ubuntu Touch is a well-known Linux phone distro and this device is fully supported by Ubuntu Touch.
Volla Phone features:
- Full support for Ubuntu Touch
- Modern phone with modern hardware and looks
Volla Phone main specs:
- Display: 6.3″, IPS, 2340×1080 pixels, V-Notch for cam
- CPU: MediaTek Helio P23, MT6763V, Octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 (4x 2.0 GHz + 4x 1.5 GHz cores)
- GPU: ARM Mali-G71 MP2 @ 770 MHz, 2 cores
- Storage: 64 GB, eMMC
- RAM: 4 GB, DDR3
- Battery: 4700 mAh, 18.1 Wh, Li-Polymer
- Rear Camera: 16MP (f/2.0, 1080p30 video) + 2MP (for bokeh/depth), PDAF, LED flash
- Front Camera: 16MP
- Ports: USB-C for version 2.0 protocol and OSB-OTG, 3.5mm headphone and mic jack
Volla Phone price: $406.00 (€359.00)
XFone Mobile – SageTea Edge
SageTea Edge has developed a Linux smartphone based on a OnePlus phone that uses Ubuntu Touch with a bunch of extra features, like Docker, Shinobi, and an SSH Server. You can read more about them here.
SageTea Edge features:
- Ubuntu Touch pre-installed with a few extra features and services
- Based on OnePlus
- Support plans are available
SageTea Edge main specs:
- RAM: 4 GB
- Memory storage capacity: 64 GB
- Display: 6.52 Inches, 90 Hz, LCD, 1600 x 720 Pixels
- Memory Slots Available: Yes, 1 external memory slot
- OS: Ubuntu Touch, Android 11.0
- Special features: Fast Charging Support, Dual speakers
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Connectors: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB
- Product Dimensions: 16.5 x 7.5 x 0.97 cm; 188 Grams
SageTea Edge price: $715.00
You can also buy the phone at Walmart Canada
Best Phones That Support a Linux OS
All the previous phones (can) ship with a Linux OS out of the box. These phones are just normal Android (or Android-based) phones that have great Linux support, compatibility, and community.
Fairphone 4
Fairphone 4 is yet another smartphone with modular hardware. You can easily replace the battery, display, and most of the other hardware with a screwdriver. No special tools or skills are needed. Nothing is glued together. What makes this phone a Linux phone, aside from its modularity, is the great support for postmarketOS. It’s a real Linux phone distro (based on Alpine Linux). You’ll have to reflash and install postmarketOS yourself, which is why it’s in this section of our list. Once you install it, you’re pretty much set. Fairphones are and have been actively supported by postmarketOS.
Fairphone 4 features:
- 5G
- 5-year warranty
- Modular design
Fairphone 4 main specs:
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM7225 Snapdragon 750G
- CPU: Octa-core Kryo 570
- GPU: Adreno 619
- Display: 6.3 inch Full HD+, IPS, 1080×2340
- Storage: 128GB/256GB
- RAM: 6GB/8GB
- Battery: 3905 mAh removable Li-ion battery
- Rear camera: Dual 48MP rear cameras – F1.6 and 2.2 with HDR support
- Front camera: 25MP selfie camera – F/2.2 with HDR support
Fairphone 4 price: $656.00 (€579.00). You’ll get a €25 discount if you use our link.
Honorable mentions
We won’t go into detail for each of these phones, but these Android phones have great compatibility with postmarketOS:
- OnePlus 6 and OnePlus 6T
- Xiaomi Pocophone F1
- Xiaomi Redmi 2
- Xiaomi Mi Note 2
And the Android phones below have great compatibility with Ubuntu Touch:
- Google Pixel 3a/3a XL
- OnePlus One
- Sony Xperia X (F5121 & F5122)
- Google Nexus 5
- Planet Computers Cosmo Communicator (Pro1 X alternative)
What distro do Linux phones use?
This all depends on what Linux phone you’re buying. They use various distros – some phones even have an option to choose a distro.
Linux phone distros include, but are not limited to:
- postmarketOS (Alpine Linux)
- PureOS
- Plasma Mobile
- UBports (Ubuntu Touch)
- Mobian (Debian for mobiles)
- Sailfish OS
- Tizen (supported by The Linux Foundation)
- KaiOS (based on Firefox OS)
- Maemo (Debian)
- ExpidusOS (Void Linux)
- NemoMobile
- NixOS
Some of these are technically not Linux phone distros, but a FOSS alternative to Android with a more Linux-friendly approach (ex: mainline Linux kernel). We’ll write a dedicated article to Linux phone distros, so subscribe and stay tuned.
Can any smartphone be turned into a Linux phone?
The short answer is: yes. The long answer is: depends. Some phones aren’t tested and aren’t supported by the Linux phone distros mentioned above. Your best bet is to check the OS list of supported devices and see if your phone is on there. If it is, then it means that your phone can be turned into a Linux phone. Choose the OS you want to use, and check their website/wiki for a list of supported devices. In most cases, your smartphone will be supported.
Why can’t a Linux phone be used as a daily driver?
It can – but chances are, it won’t be as good as your current daily driver. It all depends on how you use your smartphone and what you need it to do. App availability is pretty tough, even for desktop Linux distros. Mobile app compatibility for Linux is even harder to find. If you’re installing a Linux distro on an Android phone, there may be some compatibility issues, some features not working correctly, etc. Sadly, Linux phones are still not as developed and as mainstream as we’d all want them to be.
What apps can you use on a Linux phone?
There are many compatible apps out there, instead of listing them all here, we’ll refer you to this page. It’s a list of 334+ compatible apps with Linux phones. That page also links out to other resources and apps lists.
Can you use Linux on a smartwatch?
Yes, you can! Check out AsteroidOS. Pine64 also have their own smartwatch – PineTime. We might dedicate a new article to Linux smartwatches.
Do you use a Linux phone? Leave a comment below
If you’re using a Linux phone, leave a comment below. What phone are you using? What Linux phone distros have you tried? Where did you buy the phone? How long have you used it? What do (or don’t) you like about the phone?
I bought a PinePhone pro a year or so ago. Seems the only service I can get to work with it is T-Mobile. So my PinePhone sat in my sock drawer until lately. I took the sim from my “free” Android and put it into my PinePhone. Been using it 3 days so far. Mainly as a wireless access point. I’m running Mobian on it. The PinePhone is slow and difficult to use. Somewhat unreliable. But I’ve been figuring it out. For instance sometimes I have wi-fi but no internet. Found if I turn data off and back on it starts to work. Need to figure out how to transfer my contacts to my PinePhone.
If anyone wants to buy a Fairphone, you can use this coupon code: FPS4RWI to get a 50eu discount. It can only be used once – so hurry up if you’re reading this.
I wish I could buy the fairphone but it doesn’t work in the US 😭. Do you know which of these phones (or other phones) would work in the US (I have Verizon)? My samsung is slowly biting the dust and I haven’t seen many compelling options…
I know the Librem phones for sure work in the US. Not sure about the other providers. It’s best if you contact them and ask them, and also mention you’re on Verizon.
Verizon is pretty well known to not cooperate with any attempt at gaining full functionally of any device connected to their network.
This includes any problems encountered while troubleshooting connectivity issues of any device not locked to their network.
Well. Publish if ya want. Though many of these “Informational,” websites with comments, deliberately block a majority of posted comments.
Linux, is not meant as a phone for everyone. Nor is it a phone to purchase simply due to it being Made in the USA. Linux, is more of a secure phone. More so than a satellite phone. And if you do your research, satellite phones can be easily monitored , and are monitored by a large agency substation located in Arizona & New Jersey. It’s a primary way drug/human smugglers & terrorists are apprehended.
Linux phones are secure in that they offer only a few Apps, installed on the phone. Apps, primarily designed by Linux or a Linux contractor, that is not any phones of any-other brand. And that, in itself, is what makes Linux, very secure to use. And you can do so with your current phone, by ridding it of the gluttony of addicted Apps. However, many that rant about privacy, must be of the cancel culture generation. As they must install whatever the newest or most talked about App of the day is. And ALL Apps, are very dangerous. Says so in the fine print nobody reads, before installing. This App, can have access to pictures, video, chat-rooms, e-mail, messages, GPS, voice mail, camera. In fact, some Apps, have the capability of seeing(in real-time), what you are taking a picture of, especially if Wi-Fi, is active. Which is why I currently cover the front display camera(selfie).
Basically, if ya wanna save money, or ya love your current phone, keep the Apps, to a minimum. Not dozens of pages. Game Apps, are the worse. As are camera/photo-editing Apps. Secure network(VPN) and chat-room Apps, are also deceptive. So if ya have a swarm of Apps, on your phone, and are using a cloud network, and always have WiFi, switched-on, and have very poor passwords, I would not be eager to purchase a Linux phone.
My biggest objection to Android or iPhone is how the OD and phone manufacturer like to determine for me what my experience will look like. I suppose it makes life easier for their support drones. Unlocking to take all their control freakish garbage off can be risky. So why would I care to reward their intrusiveness? I’m ready to go back to a dumb phone, and am a Linux fan. Each will have their own priorities, but stripping an Android phone sufficiently is not necessarily easy.
Hii , I’m from India . My name is Ayush and i want to know which Linux OS smartphone is best because I don’t want to use Android OS or iOS . I am currently using Jio4G but 5G is launched in my country . I want to try atleast 1 Linux smartphone in my life . Please help me Sir/Madam .
For me at least, I think anything based on Debian is fair and mostly stable, so you can try one of them
Using Lineage OS on my previous Sony xperia z2 as daily driver. very positive experience so far, and will be using it as long as the phone itself is functioning.
I have spent over a month weeding through the software on my Android Galaxy. My last phone had been an Apple and it was pretty much ruined by a jerk with spyware Threatening me and locking me out of bank accounts. I wanted to better understand my new andriod phone to ensure the nightmare never happens again… Unfortunately, the deeper I looked into Android the more creepy and less secure I felt.. It is intertwined with Google, Amazon and other spyware. Even credible reports of possible Chinese intrusions.. Not only was my andriod keylogging, taking fingerprints with the biometrics etc but it is also impossible to turn off or remove…
Not only that but my phone was constantly collecting data from any other device within my Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity and vice versa…
I felt so overwhelmed exposed and deafeted..
I will buy a Librem 5 or Pinephone Pro Even if I cannot afford it.. If nothing else at least I support a good cause and I feel secure and safe.
I came across this new Linux phone developed by SageTea, a renowned IT company based in Canada.
What really caught my attention about SageTea is their strong passion for open-source software. One of the standout features of their phone, the XFone, is its support for open-source software. Users have the ability to examine the source code, make modifications, and even enhance the software.
Additionally, XFone comes equipped with a range of privacy-enhancing features. For instance, it incorporates encrypted file systems, which provide an extra layer of protection for data. Linux offers a wide variety of privacy-focused technologies and apps, including VPNs and encrypted messaging programs, which are readily accessible to users, enabling them to safeguard their online communications.
If you appreciate the notion of a Linux phone that prioritizes privacy and open-source software, you should look into SageTea’s XFone.
From where can I install Linux os in my android phone
– “Can any smartphone be turned into a Linux phone? The short answer is: yes.”
Based on the text, it seems to me that the short answer should be “no”, as Linux can’t be installed on quite a few phones.
I use a linux burner flip fone. A trac type.Kaios OS.My need in a fone are simple.
Noticed your link to the PinePhone Pro was broken. Correct link should be: https://pine64.org/devices/pinephone_pro/
Thanks. I updated the links
Does anyone know what US carriers work best for anyone of the phones listed here?