Plasma Mobile is a
Plasma variant for
smartphone
A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...
s.
It is currently available for the
PinePhone
The PinePhone is a smartphone developed by Hong Kong–based computer manufacturer Pine64, designed to provide users with full control over the device. This is achieved through the utilization of mainline Linux-based mobile operating systems, ass ...
, and supported devices for
postmarketOS
postmarketOS (abbreviated as pmOS) is an operating system primarily for smartphones, based on the Alpine Linux distribution.
postmarketOS was launched on 26 May 2017 with the source code available on GitHub before migrating to GitLab in 2018. ...
such as the
OnePlus 6.
It is shipped by several
Linux distribution
A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...
s, such as
postmarketOS
postmarketOS (abbreviated as pmOS) is an operating system primarily for smartphones, based on the Alpine Linux distribution.
postmarketOS was launched on 26 May 2017 with the source code available on GitHub before migrating to GitLab in 2018. ...
and
Manjaro
Manjaro ( ) is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on the Arch Linux operating system with a focus on user-friendliness, accessibility, and improved software testing and stability compared to its upstream sources. It uses a rolling ...
.
History
After
Plasma Active
KDE Plasma 4 is the fourth generation of the KDE workspace environments. It consists of three workspaces, each targeting a certain platform: ''Plasma Desktop'' for traditional desktop PCs and notebooks, ''Plasma Netbook'' for netbooks, and ''Plasm ...
sponsor Coherent Theory (under the Make·Play·Live brand) had given up their ambitions to release a
tablet computer
A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...
,
Blue Systems
Blue Systems is a German IT company. It is most prominent as a major KDE supporter and previous driving force behind Kubuntu with a number of KDE developers working for Blue Systems. According to Blue Systems employee Aurélien Gâteau, "Blue Sy ...
emerged as a new sponsor in 2015 and shifted the focus of Plasma's
handheld
A mobile device or handheld device is a computer small enough to hold and operate in hand. Mobile devices are typically battery-powered and possess a flat-panel display and one or more built-in input devices, such as a touchscreen or keypad. Mod ...
work towards smartphones.
The official announcement of the new form-factor interface was on 25 July 2015 at
Akademy
Akademy (capitalized as aKademy before 2009) is an annual contributors and users conference of the KDE community. Akademy is held at varying venues in Europe.
While Akademy usually takes place late summer or early autumn and is always held i ...
, accompanied by a working prototype running on a
Nexus 5
Nexus 5 (code-named Hammerhead) is an Android smartphone sold by Google and manufactured by LG Electronics. It is the fifth generation of the Nexus series, succeeding the Nexus 4. It was unveiled on October 31, 2013 and served as the laun ...
.
Pine64
Pine Store Limited, Trade_name, doing business as Pine64 (styled as PINE64), is a Hong Kong-based organization that designs, manufactures, and sells single-board computers, notebook computers, as well as smartwatch/smartphones. Its name was insp ...
began sales of their
PinePhone
The PinePhone is a smartphone developed by Hong Kong–based computer manufacturer Pine64, designed to provide users with full control over the device. This is achieved through the utilization of mainline Linux-based mobile operating systems, ass ...
mobile device, with the KDE Community Edition being made available as pre-orders on 1 December 2020.
Technology
Plasma Mobile uses
KWin
KWin is a window manager for the X Window System and a Wayland (display server protocol)#Wayland compositors, Wayland compositor. It is released as a part of KDE Plasma, for which it is the default window manager. KWin can also be used on its o ...
's
Wayland session and the
Qt framework
Qt ( pronounced "cute") is a cross-platform application development framework for creating graphical user interfaces as well as cross-platform applications that run on various software and hardware platforms such as Linux, Windows, macOS, An ...
.
Distributions shipping Plasma Mobile can choose to support Android applications through
Waydroid
Waydroid is a container-based compatibility layer that enables Android to run in a containerized environment on Linux systems. By using Linux namespaces, Waydroid keeps Android isolated but allows it to access the host system's hardware. Built ...
, which runs Android in a container on the device.
Gallery
File:Pinephone-plasma-mobile-edition - homescreen.png, Plasma Mobile running on PinePhone
The PinePhone is a smartphone developed by Hong Kong–based computer manufacturer Pine64, designed to provide users with full control over the device. This is achieved through the utilization of mainline Linux-based mobile operating systems, ass ...
File:Plasma-mobile-hammerhead 01.jpg, Plasma Mobile on the Nexus 5
Nexus 5 (code-named Hammerhead) is an Android smartphone sold by Google and manufactured by LG Electronics. It is the fifth generation of the Nexus series, succeeding the Nexus 4. It was unveiled on October 31, 2013 and served as the laun ...
File:Plasma_Mobile_on_Xiaomi_POCO_X3_NFC.jpg, Plasma Mobile on the Xiaomi POCO X3 NFC
File:Xiaomi wt88047 plamo (cropped, enhanced).png, Plasma Mobile running on the Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime
See also
*
KDE
KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...
*
KDE Plasma
KDE Plasma is a Shell (computing), graphical shell developed by the KDE community for Unix-like operating systems. It serves as the interface layer between the user and the operating system, providing a graphical user interface (GUI) and workspa ...
*
Phosh
Phosh (portmanteau of ''phone'' and ''shell'') is a graphical user interface designed for mobile and touch-based devices initially developed by Purism. The project is maintained and developed by a diverse community, and is the default shell used ...
*
Plasma Bigscreen
Plasma Bigscreen was a software project from KDE which contained an interface optimized for Smart TVs and other computers such as the Raspberry Pi which can be connected to large displays.
Software
The desktop environment was based on KDE Pla ...
References
External links
*
KDE Plasma
Software that uses QML
{{Foss-stub