Liberux Nexx: a Linux smartphone built in Europe

With the possibility that Google is going to make some big changes to the open source status of Android, the importance of smartphones that don’t run either iOS or (some form of) Android is definitely increasing. Linux on smartphones is not as complete as iOS or Android, and I personally think one of the primary reasons for that is a lack of easy access to devices that don’t require manual installation or other forms of hackery, only to then end up with a partially supported device because the device in question was never originally designed to run regular Linux.

A few companies are trying to change this, developing Linux-first smartphones instead. One of the newcomers here is Liberux, a Spanish company who just unveiled the crowdfunding campaign for their Liberux Nexx, a Debian-powered smartphone with excellent specifications and some unique additions you won’t find on any other smartphone. It’s powered by an octa-core Rockchip RK3588S (four Cortex-A76 cores and four Cortex-A55 cores up to 2.4 GHz), 32 GB LPDDR4x RAM, tons of expendable storage, and a 6.34″ 2400×1080 OLED display.

At the top of the device sit something you won’t find on many other smartphones: dedicated hardware switches to physically cut power to the modem, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, and the microhone/camera array. When all three switches are disabled, a number of other features, like GPS and sensors, are also turned off. On top of all this, various internal components are designed to be replaceable and possibly even upgradeable, with manufacturing of the device taking place in Europe – which probably refers to assembly, but still. The device is supposed to become open source, too.

It will run Debian 13 with a customised version of the mobile GNOME Shell using a standard Linux kernel. Android applications will also be supported using Waydroid, which you’ll most likely have to rely on for things like banking and other application categories exclusive to iOS and Android. Liberux promises that any development done on both the Linux distribution and other related applications will be done openly, which is something we can hold them to quite easily.

I’m always weary of crowdfunding campaigns, and all the usual caveats, warnings, and concerns still apply here. I’m highlighting this campaign because I feel like many of the kinds of people who read OSNews are longing for a modern, capable smartphone that runs not iOS or Android, but proper Linux, even if Linux on smartphones isn’t quite there yet to go toe-to-toe with the two duopolists. For more information on the device and the people involved, be sure to read LINMOB.net’s excellent interview with Liberux.

Liberux has told me they want to send over a review device once development has reached a point where that’s possible. So, assuming the crowdfunding campaign is successful, you can look forward to a review of the Liberux Nexx on OSNews somewhere between now and mid-2026.