Maru OS – Use your phone as your PC

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Practicality of “phone as PC”

  • Strong disagreement over how often people encounter usable HDMI displays and desks “in the wild.”
    • Some say monitors/TVs are ubiquitous at home, work, hotels, friends’ houses; phone can act as keyboard/trackpad in a pinch.
    • Others rarely see usable displays plus space for keyboard/mouse, and already bring a laptop when they need serious work.
  • Lapdocks, portable screens, and foldable keyboards exist but are often heavier, clunkier, or worse than just carrying a laptop.
  • For travelers, using a hotel TV with a phone plus small BT keyboard/mouse is seen as a compelling niche, especially when work laptops are locked down.
  • For poorer users, commenters argue surplus PCs and cheap monitors may still beat a “phone + peripherals” stack for cost and practicality.

Status of Maru OS and Alternatives

  • Maru appears largely abandoned: based on Android 8 (Oreo), last releases around 2019, with only light maintenance activity since.
  • Commenters recommend more current options: GrapheneOS with upcoming Android desktop mode, UBports/Ubuntu Touch, Mobian, postmarketOS, PureOS/Librem 5, Phosh/Plasma Mobile.
  • Samsung DeX and past systems (Windows Continuum, Motorola, Nokia Maemo/Meego) are cited as prior or current real-world implementations.

Convergence Vision vs. Reality

  • Many like the “one device, many contexts” vision (phone docking to desktop, watch replacing phone, VR/AR glasses as screens).
  • Main blockers raised:
    • App ecosystems not designed for both touch and desktop; lack of convergent apps.
    • Mobile OS lockdown (bootloaders, banking apps, VoLTE, etc.).
    • Limited RAM/storage and performance on phones vs. cheap laptops.
  • Some note that convergence might reduce dependence on cloud sync by keeping everything on one device, but off-site backup is still needed.

Demand, UX, and Market Dynamics

  • One camp: convergence is a niche; most users are satisfied with distinct phone/laptop experiences and even want separation.
  • Another camp: billions only have phones; a convergent Linux/Android phone could be their only “PC.”
  • Long, heated subthread on whether Linux can realistically support diverse hardware well enough for mainstream convergence; experiences range from “works flawlessly” to “constant driver/UEFI pain.”
  • Several argue Apple/Google could deliver the best convergence (iPhone+iPad+iOS/macOS integration), but have business incentives not to cannibalize laptop sales.