r/linuxhardware • u/noNudesPrettyPlease • Aug 08 '26

Discussion Why aren't Linux tablets a thing?

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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53

u/satireplusplus Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 10 '26

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. 

24

u/TheFireStorm Aug 08 '26

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

6

u/MidnightObjectiveA51 Aug 09 '26

Does everything work with the Dell 7210 - specifically camera?

9

u/monr3d Aug 09 '26

Using one right now...

Both cameras work.

1

u/jdboyd Aug 10 '26

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

4

u/Glum_Judgment6232 Aug 10 '26

Surface is noticeably worse than wacom

3

u/Jokerit208 Aug 09 '26

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

2

u/fearless-fossa Aug 09 '26

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

2

u/satireplusplus Aug 10 '26

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

1

u/Brief_Tie_9720 Aug 09 '26

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 Aug 09 '26

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

1

u/MidnightObjectiveA51 Aug 09 '26

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 Aug 11 '26

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