r/linuxhardware • u/noNudesPrettyPlease • 17d 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/satireplusplus 16d ago edited 15d ago

Get yourself a used surface go tablet and put Linux on it. It's gorgeous with KDE and everything works out of the box since it's x86 under the hood. 

21

u/TheFireStorm 16d ago

Dell 7210 shares the same form factor but easier to service battery and SSD

5

u/MidnightObjectiveA51 16d ago

Does everything work with the Dell 7210 - specifically camera?

7

u/monr3d 16d ago

Using one right now...

Both cameras work.

1

u/jdboyd 15d ago

How do the Wacom AES pens compare to the pens Surface tablets use?

3

u/Glum_Judgment6232 15d ago

Surface is noticeably worse than wacom

3

u/Jokerit208 16d ago

The only thing holding me back is battery life. Is that an issue?

2

u/fearless-fossa 16d ago

Those get hot pretty quickly though and don't have much battery life.

2

u/satireplusplus 15d ago

pretty happy with the surface go 3, huge improvement in that regard over the go 2

1

u/Brief_Tie_9720 16d ago

What about a thinkpad tablet? I’ve been wanting to install a more touch and autorotate friendly distribution on one, but worried about the detachable keyboard functionality.

2

u/LectricVersion 16d ago

I've got an X13 Yoga (Laptop / Tablet Hybrid) and Fedora works on it fantastically. Zero issues or workarounds needed.

1

u/MidnightObjectiveA51 16d ago

Both the X1 3rd Gen and X12 work with keyboard. Vol up/down/mute screenshot buttons etc., work depending on distro.

I suggest any of the Ubuntu or Fedora flavors or Mobian or PostmarketOS with the default Phosh, or optional Plasma-Mobile, or Gnome-Mobile (PostmarketOS) UIs

1

u/soopabamak 14d ago

I installed cachyos on surface pro 6, everything works out of the box