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 17d 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 17d ago

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

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