It would be nice if /e/OS supported flatpaks as an alternative to Android apps and PWAs.
Flatpaks are a type of software packaging system for Linux that allows applications to be distributed and run in a sandboxed environment, making them independent of the specific Linux distribution. This means users can install and manage software without worrying about compatibility issues or dependencies.
The Flatpak team has said that it’s up to the OS vendor to add support: [Feature request]: Flatpak apps on Android. · Issue #4766 · flatpak/flatpak · GitHub
Someone has already gotten flatpaks working on Android by building a custom kernel: [Root] Running Docker, Flatpak and Waydroid containers on Android phone with Termux · Ivon's Blog
What’d be supported:
- Flatpak apps would show up as normal Android apps in the launcher and task switcher
- Flathub would be added to App Lounge
Bonus:
- Side-loading flatpaks
- Integration of file system, permissions, notifications, background tasks, etc…
Regain your privacy! Adopt /e/OS the deGoogled mobile OS and online services
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100% genuine and sincere question: Are there any flatpak software titles that would be advantageous to run on a phone?
I like the idea in theory…but in practice, I associate Flatpaks with desktop-centric software. I think Flatpaks are a great middle-ground between ‘apt-get install’ and ‘docker-compose.yml’, and do simplify updates and deployments…but my cursory look through the Flathub indicates that many of the apps are designed for a desktop paradigm - labels-on-hover work there, but not on a touch device. Flatpaks would need to work on ARM instruction sets in addition to x86, which I’m sure many do, but the Flathub would need to disambiguate.
So…the sincere question remains - is there Flatpak software that would be advantageous to run on a phone, that isn’t available as either an Android app or a website?
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There’s already a “mobile” section and more and more apps are getting support for touch and smaller screens. For a developer it means that you build your apps once and it works on desktops and phones.
Perhaps the biggest advantage would be the ability to run real desktop apps when the phone is connected to an external monitor and keyboard and mouse. You could create apps directly on your phone.
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I think that is completely out of scope and practically impossible for a small team like Murena. It has to be implemented upstream by Googe/Android itself first. Whatever you think the benefit for flatpak support is, it is a complete monster, it’s a complete different packet manager with sandboxing and dependency management and granular privilege management, which is normally interacting with a pure Linux environment with apparmor, SELinux or similar; meant for proper desktop Linux with a lot more system ressources. What we are seeing now at flathub is basic support starting for dedicated Linux Phone OS Projects, which are far more Linux than Android is atm. The technical feat for those app is to be usable on a small touch screen device, not that they can run at all on a phone.
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