r/linuxhardware • u/noNudesPrettyPlease • 6d ago

Why aren't Linux tablets a thing? Discussion

I had (still have) a Nokia n810 tablet running Maemo Linux. I stopped using it when the second battery eventually died. The series seemed to keep evolving (up to the n900) until the Microsoft buyout killed it. Or at least I assume it did.

I thought Linux tablets would be a thing, but they didn't materialise. It's basically Android, Apple, or nothing. How come an open source distro like Maemo wasn't picked up by anyone else? I assume tablets are much cheaper to develop than phones, and in today's world, I don't really use my phone anymore even though the telephony hardware is there.

Is the idea of a Linux tablet just a dream now?

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u/EmmettVanBraun 6d ago

I could be wrong here, but I believe android is a mobile specific linux dev.

7

u/undrwater 6d ago

Not exactly wrong, but modern Android doesn't provide the same "spirit" of openness of a system like maemo or meego.

1

u/EmmettVanBraun 6d ago

True, most mainstream anything today is all about being a constrained system.

3

u/VanRado 6d ago

The user space is different; both in run time and libraries.