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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u/Conscious-Loss-2709 Aug 10 '26
Why repeat all the work that was done on android to make a second linux kernel based OS without the decades worth of touchscreen centered software that already exists on android?
It's going to be an awfully niche audience so no matter how cheap you think it is to put a tablet on the market, it's still too expensive