this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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    "But my friend runs a PinePhone as a daily driver" (lemmy.ml)
    submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
    394 comments fedilink hide all child comments
     
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    [–] [email protected] 31 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

    I respond to you just because yours is the last of the "I daily drive a PinePhone" comments, but this is meant for everyone with the same opinion.

    Do you, in all honesty, feel comfortable enough with your device that you would confidently run a business solely through it?
    I'm not an influencer, so my job isn't "taking pictures all the time", but still I wouldn't rely on a Linux phone to run my business because I cannot risk:

    • to miss a phone call, a text or an email;
    • to run out of battery if I'm outside my office all day long;
    • to have a faulty GPS should I use a navigator to meet a client;
    • that Bluetooth disconnects mid-call for the 5th time in a day while I'm driving;
    • that I have to take a picture to collect information and the latest update borked the camera.

    All of these things happen frequently on a Linux phone, and if you have a job where you can live through it good for you, I envy you TBH.
    On the other hand, keep in mind that it's not just the "Instagram people" that need a reliable device.

    [–] [email protected] 32 points 10 months ago (1 children)

    Of course, everyone has different requirements on their phone, so the question if one would be comfortable running their buisness of a pine phone is quite divers.

    Phone calls, texts and E-Mails

    Text and E-Mails pretty much work as well as on every other phone. Phone calls work too, but the audio quality is below what one could expect from a modern iPhone.

    Battery

    While the battery runtime of one battery is definitely lower compared to competing devices, it is also replaceable. I usually spend my day in the office were the phone can be charged, so the battery life does not become an issue. When I am traveling I bring some extra batteries. The form factor is commonly available and batteries cost around 10 €, so I got 4 of them, which last me for ~36 hours until I have to charge them. I have so far never spend more time away from an outlet.

    GPS

    Works nowadays pretty reliable, accuracy of around 20 m is also good enough to find were I need to go

    Bluetooth

    Definitely not perfect but random disconnects happen rarely. On the other side I have an headphone jack, which always works reliably

    Camera

    Ok, this point goes to you, the camera is not usable. When taking pictures of documents I usually have to use my tablet.

    So now to the overarching question:

    Do you, in all honesty, feel comfortable enough with your device that you would confidently run a business solely through it? No, I would not feel comfortable to run a business through a phone, I need a real computer for my work. If I could only use a phone I would choose the pine phone, because at least it can run all software I require for my daily work. Connected to keyboard, mouse and a monitor it could be a slow, but acceptable work machine I can certainly imagine that there are jobs, which rely more heavily on a phone. But in these cases one should have separate work and private phones anyway

    [–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

    So what you're saying to me is you can daily drive a Linux phone if you also daily drive a power bank, a bluetooth or wired headset and a camera?

    [–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago (1 children)

    I dont need the power bank, since I can simply swap bateries. But in principle yes

    [–] [email protected] 30 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

    I couldn't run a business on any phone, frankly. That's what computers are for.

    Also the GPS worked fine for me.

    Let me guess, Manjaro or another unstable distro is where things broke for you? Mobian did not break things on update, much like Debian on desktop. I know the person you replied to uses Manjaro, but if you want a stable experience you really shouldn't.

    And most people aren't running a business, so there's that.

    I don't deny that the user experience isn't great, it is development/early adopter hardware, but it's definitely usable as a daily driver.

    [–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

    It depends by what job you have: a plumber, for example, could probably run their business entirely with their phone.
    But we're missing the point, I'm not saying a smartphone can replace a PC, whether it be Linux, iOS or Android. I'm saying that If you need to do all the tasks that are required by a "modern day job" and you need to do them well, then I'm sorry (I really am) but Linux phones aren't ready yet.

    And most people aren’t running a business, so there’s that.

    Most people don't have the skill to troubleshoot a Linux phone, why don't we count them too in the statistics?
    Then, I used "running a business" as just an example to indicate the "urgency of a functioning phone" for whatever reason: it might just be that you have a relative you have to take care of, or that you are a doctor/nurse that can be contacted on every moment, or that you're an a job hunt and cannot miss the call... I can go on for hours on why in A.D. 2024 a person from whichever social context cannot afford to be off the grid

    [–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago

    God damn, the premise of running a business from a smartphone sounds depressing as hell to me. I feel sorry for anyone who tries that.

    [–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago

    Most people don’t have the skill to troubleshoot a Linux phone, why don’t we count them too in the statistics?

    This community is called linuxmemes. You are talking to GNU/Linux users here. For everyone else it's going to be hard, obviously. It takes time to learn to use a completely different operating system.

    [–] [email protected] 10 points 10 months ago

    Missing a phone call or text is unacceptable and id consider that a fail if it came to phones everything else you mentioned wouldnt be a fail just poor quality in my opinion

    [–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

    That's what separate work phones are for :/