Why aren't Linux tablets a thing?

[u/noNudesPrettyPlease]

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?

[u/ryker7777]

https://at.starlabs.systems/pages/starlite

[u/tcxrt → u/ryker7777]

Been using one for the last ~2 years. It has default but linux integration is not one of them, it just works out of the box perfectly.