OS's ranked by functionality

[Cree]

I sort of asked for this before, but here's me trying to put an actual poll together.
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Edit:
A) Try basing judgement out of total number of working software functions relative to the functions the hardware is capable of. If you've tried 2, 3, or even more that experience with each would be of great value!

B) Focus on out of box functions, since any OS can be tweaked.

C) I realize i may have missed some OS options, as i focused on the more common ones and ones with pinned sub forums. Feel free to vote for others simply by commenting. I'll add an edit below to reflect votes for others. Unfortunately i cant edit the poll.

D) Daily Drivers Alert: Mobian, ARCH ARM & Manjaro all appear to have near full functionality. A few shortcomings, but well enough for anyone who used a smartphone in 2013. UB touch was almost there, but seems to be encountering some hiccups.
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Some to consider:
1. Inbound/outbound calls
2. Sms
3. Mms
4. Data
5. Bluetooth
6. Gps
7. Volume button control
8. EMail client
9. Camera
10. Wifi
11. 1,2,3&4 all working across broad spectrum (2G/3G/4G)
12. Other considerations and apps

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Extra votes:
SXMO: 4 votes!

[fsflover]

I sort of asked for this before, but here's me trying to put an actual poll together.

Simple X Mobile is my choice: http://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9913. Why is it not on the list? 

Tried Ubuntu Touch, Mobian, PureOS, postmarketOS.

[Boern]

I think consdering functionality the big distros are all the same. And if there is a new major feature in one of them the other's catch up pretty fast.

So I just voted for my favourite.

[bcnaz]

I think it may be more accurate to ask which is our favorite OS.

Not everyone here is qualified to "rate" every OS for function. ( I am not )

I have read a bit on most of the choices listed, but I have only actually tried a handful in my phone.

I do still plan on trying more.

[hiimtye]

I don't think that the majority of users have enough experience with each OS to make a qualified judgement, myself included. I started with UBPorts but the closed door approach to user privilege, and the fact that no traditional Linux apps worked with it (what's the point of a Linux phone that doesn't run Linux apps? *cough*Android*cough*) put me off it.

I then moved to ArchARM since I love pacman/the AUR. progress lagged behind the other major distros, so then I moved to Manjaro which seems to keep pace with the other distros.

I couldn't tell you what other distros are good/useful, I can only tell you my subjective preference.

[SwordfishII]

Wait what?

You mean no su or sudo? What do you mean by no Linux apps? They don't have a repo?

[wibble]

Wait what?

You mean no su or sudo? What do you mean by no Linux apps? They don't have a repo?

Well...sort of. UBPorts takes a different approach to 'traditional' distros by design, at least as I understand it from outside. The intent is to have a read-only rootfs that gets monolithic OTA updates rather than using a repository to update individual packages. Apps come  from the store, packaged similarly to snaps or flatpak, again not via apt, and are separate from the rootfs, as is the user data. This is closer in many respects to the android phone experience than the linux desktop - which will suit some people and not others. It's certainly possible to remount the rootfs read-write and use apt to install or update packages, but this isn't how it's intended to work and it can break, or be broken by, OTA updates. If you're trying to use it this way for anything other than developing UBPorts then you're probably using the wrong distro.

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I don't think that the majority of users have enough experience with each OS to make a qualified judgement, myself included. I started with UBPorts but the closed door approach to user privilege, and the fact that no traditional Linux apps worked with it (what's the point of a Linux phone that doesn't run Linux apps? *cough*Android*cough*) put me off it.

I then moved to ArchARM since I love pacman/the AUR. progress lagged behind the other major distros, so then I moved to Manjaro which seems to keep pace with the other distros.

I couldn't tell you what other distros are good/useful, I can only tell you my subjective preference.

I agree about not having the level of experience required for a qualified judgement, but there's a more fundamental problem with the question - we each place different value on specific areas of functionality. I really don't care about the camera, but for others it's a deal-breaker if it doesn't work 'well enough', which again varies from person to person. MMS is vital for some and useless to others. Phone functionality may be perfect or completely broken depending on which provider you're using, and which technologies they've deployed in your part of the country. This is the sort of detail that's needed for a meaningful comparison.

On a slightly different point, you see a Linux phone where I see a Libre phone.

[Cree]

To try and be a bit more specific, i understand each of us will have different preferences. My general aim was to get a feel for which distros have the most working software functions as a percent of total functions the hardware is capable of. i.e. if distro 1 has sms, data, calls, camera, mail client, button functionality whereas distro 2 has sms, camera and bluetooth, then rank #1 higher just by the fact it has more working. This of course means people who've tried more OSes can give better insight, but hopefully a wide enough sample will mean we get enough comparisons from people who've tried 2 or 3 different ones.

I don't mind a degree of personal bias either as UX will impart an emotional response relative to ease of use and how intuitive it is. So while it might be bias, its possible the personal biases are founded.

[RTP]

Wait what?

You mean no su or sudo? What do you mean by no Linux apps? They don't have a repo?

You can gain root shell (sudo su) but rootfs not writable by default, libertine containers and apparmor, store control, all coming standard on Ubuntu Touch to enhance security, and safety. For those for whom this is priority. Ubuntu Touch behaves more like  smartphone (without the data collection of Apple/Android, where others, seem a more traditional Linux install. 

being diff operating systems have different uses, I read the poll as 'preferred capability'. Pinephone has many, many Linux users with different needs.

I like the smoothness of UT. Morph browser works very nicely.

But also loving Mobian (my most used as I like traditional openness of Linux, Manjaro is great, PureOS quick.

Hopefully users don't take the poll results too literally, take their time to try each, and decide wat works for them, and when.

[hiimtye]

Wait what?

You mean no su or sudo? What do you mean by no Linux apps? They don't have a repo?

you can use su/sudo but you have to remound the filesystem as rw

UBPorts doesn't use regular Linux apps, it uses apps that are in a closed ecosystem to UbuntuPorts, although it is possible to use regular linux apps, inside a container, if you can ever get it to work (it wasn't working last time I checked). it has a container system called, ironically, libertine, that lets you run regular Ubuntu apps inside a closed container. it's a neat hybrid approach if it ever worked.