postmarketOS (pmOS), is a touch-optimized, pre-configured Alpine Linux that can be installed on smartphones and other mobile devices. The project is at very early stages of development and is not yet usable for most users.
It is 2017. Pick an average PC from 2007 and install a minimal Linux based operating system. You will be able to do basic computing tasks (eg. surfing the web, reading E-Mails, listening to music, chatting) just like on an expensive modern PC. You will even get security updates, so your old computer is protected, just like as a new one.
On the current mobile landscape you get none of this. Even if you buy a very expensive phone you will only get two years of support if you're lucky. But if you treat your smartphone as a real Linux system and use a distribution instead of a "ROM" and use a package manager instead of a "store" you can just keep using your devices until they break.
With postmarketOS you will have the freedom to customize your Linux experience. There are multiple open options available in the current Linux community like KDE Plasma Mobile, UBports, Enlightenment or you can just use a plain shell.
postmarketOS will not impose arbitrary restrictions on you. Use the apps from any ecosystem you want! even run desktop software if you want. If your favorite option is not available then help us improving postmarketOS.
Current Android devices run on old Linux kernels. This is mainly because SoC vendors modify the current kernel on introduction of the chipset with their own code. This code doesn't get mainlined and thus doesn't benefit from security updates that are made by Linus's kernel team. Only on select devices you will get some backported security patches.
postmarketOS aims to get as much devices as possible running on a mainline linux kernel. Which is the most we can currently do to get more security on the devices. For a better overview of the security in the mobile world see the security warning blog post.
