@unknown1234_5@kbin.earth, @Korhaka@sopuli.xyz, @Tyr_Raidho_Othala@reddthat.com, @nimble@lemmy.blahaj.zone
(only because you all expressed desire for a proper Linux phone and I’ve still, yet, to’ve seen anyone mention this in this thread; may not fit your needs but in case no one knew of it, yet)
https://halium.org/ (not me insinuating you should’ve just searched for it; I just like to be thorough and give all possible information, even if unneeded)
The very simplified explanation (as far as I understand things) is that it uses an Android kernel to run Linux on so that hardware issues are minimized (the biggest difficulty that Purism and the Pinephones have had and why they’ve been harangued in terms of what they can do is they’re trying to provide open hardware that can work with the pure Linux kernel).
So the plus side is that things work with Android hardware – because you’re, ultimately, using the Android kernel – and you can (theoretically) open up the number of devices you can run on exceedingly.
Downside is (I believe) you get Google/Android closed bits running and you’re tied to the development of whomever made that modified kernel. All the complaints about not getting kernel upgrades after a while (because you’re using a modified kernel, you can’t just pull the latest and greatest from upstream and use it) that people have with Android will still apply.
Given the moves Google’s making, it’s not a deal breaker, for me, but I know it can be for some people so just wanted to give people the heads up.