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The Android 'NexPhone': Linux on Demand, Dual-Boots Into Windows 11 - and Transforms Into a Workstation (itsfoss.com) 51

Posted by EditorDavid from the three-in-one dept.
The "NexDock" (from Nex Computer) already turns your phone into a laptop workstation. Purism chose it as the docking station for their Librem 5 phones.

But now Nex is offering its own smartphone "that runs Android 16, launches Debian, and dual-boots into Windows 11," according to the blog It's FOSS: Fourteen years after the first concept video was teased, the NexPhone is here, powered by a Qualcomm QCM6490, which, the keen-eyed among you will remember from the now-discontinued Fairphone 5.

By 2026 standards, it's dated hardware, but Nex Computer doesn't seem to be overselling it, as they expect the NexPhone to be a secondary or backup phone, not a flagship contender. The phone includes an Adreno 643 GPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 512GB via a microSD card.

In terms of software, the NexPhone boots into NexOS, a bloatware-free and minimal Android 16 system, with Debian running as an app with GPU acceleration, and Windows 11 being the dual-boot option that requires a restart to access. ["And because the default Windows interface isn't designed for a handheld screen, we built our own Mobile UI from the ground up to make Windows far easier to navigate on a phone," notes a blog post from Nex founder/CEO Emre Kosmaz].

And, before I forget, you can plug the NexPhone into a USB-C or HDMI display, add a keyboard and mouse to transform it into a desktop workstation.
There's a camera plus "a comprehensive suite of sensors," according to the article, "that includes a fingerprint scanner, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor....

"NexPhone is slated for a Q3 2026 release (July-September)..."

Back in 2012, explains Nex founder/CEO Emre Kosmaz, "most investors weren't excited about funding new hardware. One VC even told us, 'I don't understand why anyone buys anything other than Apple'..." Over the last decade, we kept building and shipping — six generations of NexDock — helping customers turn phones into laptop-like setups (display + keyboard + trackpad). And now the industry is catching up faster than ever. With Android 16, desktop-style experiences are becoming more native and more mainstream. That momentum is exactly why NexPhone makes sense today...

Thank you for being part of this journey. With your support, I hope NexPhone can help move us toward a world where phones truly replace laptops and PCs — more often, more naturally, and for more people.
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The Android 'NexPhone': Linux on Demand, Dual-Boots Into Windows 11 - and Transforms Into a Workstation More

The Android 'NexPhone': Linux on Demand, Dual-Boots Into Windows 11 - and Transforms Into a Workstation

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  • Unless your a gamer, why? And even that is changing some.

    • It's meant to convert into a _workstation_, so it's nice to cover both Linux and Windows.

    • For those whose data happens to be MS Office files, and who for some reason or other can't switch to LibreOffice or Google Docs/Sheets/Slides. But yeah, since the CPU under is not x64, I won't claim that there are legacy hardware and software that will run under Windows 11 here

    • CAD.

    • Some of us have jobs and don't live in a bubble.

    • People are going to be looking for cheaper alternatives. So yeah you might drop $1,200 on your phone but if it also doubles as a PC you might be able to justify that when a regular laptop is selling for two grand.
  • ... not only the malware spread by the "Play Store", but can also expose all of their Smartphone data to the abundance of Windows malware. Great success, I guess.
    • Wouldn't they be in either separate VMs, or in separate partitions if they're being dual-booted?

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        VMs are not security isolation. Even if often advertised as such. As they increase complexity, they decrease security. There is now a long trail of "VM breakout" vulnerabilities and I predict these will not go away.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by gweihir ( 88907 )

      A big win for "compatibility" indeed! And finally, you do not have to think about data on your phone being better protected (maybe), because that is a thing of the past! Hence also a great win for simplicity!

  • The speed of development of technology is rapid! The internet helped create that. We can get answers in seconds.

  • That thing is so badly broken that apparently the user numbers for Win10 are raising and the ones for Win11 are falling.

    As to Linux, well. It is a phone. For small things, you can always use things like Termux. For large things, it is probably the wrong platform.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by andrewz ( 199936 )

      Windows 11 isn't broken. It's just twisted, contorted, hijacked, and stupid.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by gweihir ( 88907 )

        Close enough.

      • The thing is (monthly patch fuckups notwithstanding) the Windows kernel, driver model, and maybe 50% of Windows userland is all perfectly fine. Under all the bloat and services nobody asked for is a genuinely good OS.

        It's the other 50% of absolute garbage they're dumping in userland that's killing Windows; every supposedly local search redirecting to Bing, Copilot stuffed into every nook and cranny, forced UWP app installs, ads everywhere, etc. Debloating Windows 11 is a never-ending game of Whac-A-Mole.

        If

  • I loved my old Windows Phone. It was a phone that ran full Windows with Office. You could dock it and use it as a workstation. This was 8 years ago!!!

    • That type of use has been a part of Android for years. Probably iPhone, too, but I'm not sure.

    • Nah, the only thing that was better probably were cheaper drugs, other than that the Office for Windows Phone (later renamed to Windows 10 Mobile, than Windows 10 -even if it had nothing in common with "the real" Windows 10 - and then killed) was a pathetic joke. Even compared with the current Android MS Office, which is in fact worse than the web version.

      • Windows 10 Mobile basically was Windows 10 stripped from the legacy APIs - UWP apps ran fine. Of course most people use windows because it runs their legacy apps well, not because it can run UWP apps from an app store no developer cares about.
    • Same here. I had a Lumia 550, and somewhat regret getting rid of it (although the reason I did - no phone service provider supported it). But had I kept it, it may have supported Windows on Arm

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by invisik ( 227250 )

      Yes, that was a cool time. I had the HP version with the dock and everything. Worked great!

      This will be cool to have full Windows 11 versus Windows Mobile of yore.

      Also, can they please put in multiple physical USB ports on the phone? (even if it charges only on 1 port) Who wants to carry around a usb hub......

      -m

  • NexDock work-alike (Score:3)

    by dskoll ( 99328 ) on Sunday January 25, 2026 @01:41PM (#65948154) Homepage

    You can already by a similar thing from Elecrow [elecrow.com].

    It's essentially a monitor that accepts HDMI or video over USB-C, and a USB keyboard and trackpad in a laptop form-factor. You can hook up a phone or a Raspberry Pi to turn it into a working laptop.

    • except most phones won't send HDMI over USB-C

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dskoll ( 99328 )

        OK, didn't know that. I plan on using mine with a Pi 5, so it should be fine.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by caseih ( 160668 )

        Most do. Apple does. Most Android phones do too. It's mainly just Google Pixel devices that don't for some stupid, inexplicable reason. Hooking up a projector to a phone with HDMI over usb to show a video or image for a presentation is very common.

      • External display is a USB 3.x feature.

        *cheap* phones, speaking from experience, will use a USB 2 controller to save a few cents in the dollar. So even if connector is USB-C, it won't carry the extra protocols.

        Yes, manufacturers are that petty. Do read the specs on gsmarena.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          External display is a USB 3.x feature.

          Actually it's a USB-C feature. USB 3 doesn't support USB AltMode since it's just a 4+5 pin connection. USB-C has extra lines for AltMode support. In this case it's DisplayPort over USB (HDMI is not support over USB-C - the standard was abandoned, so all USB-C HDMI adapters contain an active DisplayPort to HDMI chip).

          Lots of stuff uses USB-C AltMode

      • Flagship Samsung Galaxy phones used to provide their own desktop interface (DeX) if connected HDMI over USB-C. It's actually pretty slick, could see myself using it as a workstation in a pinch. Unfortunately it's been discontinued because (drumroll) nobody used it.

  • for a phone that runs Linux natively - and no, Android doesn't qualify as Linux merely because it uses the kernel. I also need to be able to plug it into a docking station and use it the same way I use my laptop. And it has to be viable as a daily-use phone, so the Pinephone doesn't work for me.

    I might be able to compromise on my wants a bit for the NexPhone, if it could be completely de-Googled and if I could totally nuke the Windows partition and reclaim the wasted space it occupies. But I suspect that's

    • for a phone that runs Linux natively - and no, Android doesn't qualify as Linux merely because it uses the kernel.

      Almost like RMS was on to something calling it GNU/Linux :)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by q4Fry ( 1322209 )

      Seconded. I have a PinePhone, and I've been rather disappointed. If Nex was de-Googled, I'd take a closer look out of amusement (since I need a phone anyway), but the Linux-first approach is what I want to see.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by JustNiz ( 692889 )

      Apparently a Linux phone is doable these days and quite affordably if you're prepared to hunt down the right phone and run an installer.

      I've just ordered a factory-unlocked Oneplus N10 5G from ebay (new still sealed in box) for $180, with the intention of installing Ubuntu touch and Waydroid on it (my goal is controlling my privacy more than android+google services allows).

      I'm looking forward to the phone arriving this week, and to finding out how actually usable this will be as a daily driver.
      Maybe the rea

  • How does that make any sense? First, how many people even have a backup phone? And, second, for that small number who do - wouldn't they want their "do it all" phone to be their primary phone?

    The real reason for the very out-of-date hardware is almost certainly they couldn't make the economics work with up-to-date components.

  • Otherwise it might very well replace the Android bootloader with it's own on an update, discover there's not enough room, and brick the phone completely.

  • What's the point of a smartphone you can use as a desktop computer if it has a CPU so weak you won't want to do so?

    • Weak enough for simple tasks.

      It's an underspecced Snapdragon laptop for people that hate laptops; not that I would buy one with my own money but it would be adequate for a vacation using a hotel room TV.

      Anyway, if Google and Microsoft could come together with Qualcomm then one might see triple-boot devices become common which can only benefit the Linux tinkerer.

  • I can see how having all of your eggs in one basket can be convenient, but I'd rather my screwdriver screws and my hammer hams. I don't want a hybrid "screw-ham" where it does neither very well. If I'm docked and working on a spreadsheet, or compiling code, and I get a phone call, am I supposed to shut everything down and take the call? If it's a private call, I don't want it sent to speaker so everyone around me can hear it. This may be one of those, "Not for me, but fine for others" products.

  • I'd be very interested in this if only the base OS was Debian, not Android.
    As for windows, very no thanks. I surprisingly don't want a VERY bloated spyware-ridden piece of unusable crap anywhere near my phone.

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