Coming soon 2:06 Recorded at Open Source Summit Europe, Prague
Can a phone run the same Linux as your laptop?
A phone on mainline Linux
The Phosh developers show a phone with no Android: mainline Linux, GNOME apps and the Phosh shell, the same binaries as the desktop, and how to get one.
The Phosh developers, Linux on phones, Phosh · with 
Luca Berton
Not filmed yet.
Phosh is a graphical shell for Linux phones, built on GNOME technologies. Two of its developers showed the show a phone running it on the floor of Open Source Summit Europe 2026 in Prague.
Follow the show and the episode arrives the morning it's published.
In brief
- The phone runs the mainline Linux kernel, GNOME applications and Phosh, the phone shell; it is completely open source.
- It is not Android and has no ties to it: you get the classical Linux of desktops and laptops.
- Some phones connect to a dock station, with DisplayPort and a keyboard, for the setup you know from your laptop.
- With Debian you get the Debian software you are used to, on your phone, still adapted for the touch screen.
- The applications are the same binaries as on the desktop, so there are no two different SDKs.
- To get one, buy a phone from Shift, a German company, and flash the system in four simple steps, or flash an older phone such as the OnePlus 6.
- Supported phones are listed on the websites of the distributions that run it; NixOS support is coming later.
Chapters
- 0:00 Mainline Linux on a phone
- 0:36 Docks, Debian, the same binaries
- 1:11 How to get one
Why this conversation
Most phones run Android or iOS, and their software has little in common with what runs on a Linux laptop. On the Thursday afternoon of Open Source Summit Europe in Prague, two Phosh developers showed the host a phone that does it differently. This is a very short conversation, about two minutes, from the show floor. The rest of the week is in Open Source Summit Europe 2026: who we met.
Mainline Linux, no Android
The phone runs the mainline Linux kernel and GNOME applications, and the UI is Phosh, the phone shell. Is it open source? “Completely open source. It’s not Android. It doesn’t have any ties to it.” Because it runs mainline Linux, you get what classical Linux on desktops and laptops is.
On some phones you can connect a dock station, with DisplayPort and a keyboard: all the setup you are used to from your laptop. If you use Debian, you get all the Debian software you are used to, on your phone, still adapted for the touch screen so you can control it easily. The applications are the same as on the desktop. “It’s the same binary,” so there are no two different SDKs.
How to get one
You run their software on an existing phone, and there are two options. You can buy a phone from Shift, a German company, and flash the system on it in four simple steps. Or you can buy an older phone, such as the OnePlus 6, and flash it. The websites of the distribution projects list the supported phones, and NixOS support is coming later, so there will be more options for what to run.
Phosh itself is on Phosh: the people on Udienza.
Mentioned in this episode
About The Phosh developers
Phosh is a graphical shell for Linux phones, built on GNOME technologies. Two of its developers showed the show a phone running it on the floor of Open Source Summit Europe 2026 in Prague.
Running this in production? Luca Berton helps platform teams take it from prototype to reliable production. See how he works
Built something the rest of us run on? Being a guest is free. Take the other chair
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