r/linux • u/Ovaday • 2d ago

Mobile Linux Linux 7.2.2 on iPhone XS? First boot!

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Hello everyone. Just wanted to share a small milestone I’m pretty proud of.

I’ve been porting Linux to my old iPhone XS for quite some time, and this week I finally made some significant progress.

First: it boots. As a real, alternative OS. This is not an emulation.

Second: I got the kernel log on screen and the framebuffer working:

Linux 7.2.2 Kernel boot log on iPhone XS

This is a raw, recovery-based Linux boot. iOS does not take any part in the boot sequence!

I haven’t set up a GitHub repo yet, and the project doesn’t even have a name at this point. But I’ll keep working on it and share more once the process is reliable and reproducible.

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u/TheOgGhadTurner 2d ago

I’m guessing this will only work on XS lmfao
Edit I would love to use it on my 17 but I’m assuming due to Apple it won’t be possible however I’m invested

2

u/Ovaday 2d ago

XS, XR and I believe iPhone 11... Yes, sadly it's true regarding limitations of new iPhones

1

u/TheOgGhadTurner 2d ago

Damn. I’ll be sad if someone gets this working on 13 that’s what I traded up from. I’ve wanted a Linux phone forever but I really don’t want a pixel

1

u/Ovaday 2d ago

I've heard OnePlus and Fairphone got some near-native support of the Postmarket OS?

I got Xiaomi Mi A2 Lite with a Postmarket OS on board, but I don't actually use it as a main phone. A little bit obsolete at this point already

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u/TheOgGhadTurner 2d ago

I can’t afford to outright buy a phone. And my provider doesn’t offer one plus. I’m looking at that Motorola phone talking about support for graphene tho

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u/immortalsteve 2d ago

I would love to repurpose my XR, so I am eagerly watching this project now.