Hello. Will the Librem 5 phone be developed since it is using it’s own OS to run apps such as KiK or SnapChat or Instagram?
@HeyLinux I’m afraid I don’t understand your question…but I’ll give you all the info on what I know
The Librem 5 will come with PureOS preloaded onto the phone and will not be compatible with any apps currently on either the Google Play store or the iOS app store. There is a stretch goal of I believe $23M to make it compatible with android apps out of the box.
As far as native apps go…I’m not aware of any but since you can always access things like Facebook and Instagram from the web browser, you will be able to use those services, just not from an app.
Odds are good that those with experience making apps will make some for the LIbrem 5, its been my experience that the FOSS community is quite active 
2 Likes
Just to add to @0591ryan, the Librem 5 product page states:
Purism’s Librem 5 phone will be able to run HTML5 applications, which means common applications you use everyday will be available through the web browser. Purism will be able to isolate these applications from the OS, so the applications will not be able to have visibility into other running applications or have access to areas that you do not allow.
So those apps that also have web site versions should be fine. Anything that exists solely as an Android/iOS app won’t work. That said, there is a project called anbox that seeks to allow running Android apps from within GNU/Linux. The functionality probably won’t be there at launch, but it’s at least a project people are working on.
5 Likes
@taylor-williamc I had never heard of this project but believe me when I tell you I sure am glad I have now! Creating snap functionality seems far easier than making Android apps run natively, I wonder if @todd-weaver and co. know about this…thanks for sharing!
I feel certain Purism is aware of Anbox. Anbox has been mentioned several times on the forum, and appears to have close ties to people involved with UBports, which Purism has officially partnered with.
1 Like
@taylor-williamc Why do you think the $10M stretch goal then? why would Purism bother to try and do the programming necessary to run Android apps in isolation? Isn’t it simply easier to build on what others have done? Not being accusatory or anything, nor do I have a true understanding of how much effort is involved in doing these things…but the job is essentially already done for them, anbox was originally run on Ubuntu Touch-A project that Purism is now partnered with and is working to ensure the Ubuntu Touch works out-of-the-box.
I think I’ll give Anbox a spin later tonight, just to see how well it works, but if it works as advertised, then I would say mission accomplished as far as this goal goes…seems like being able to say that would raise viability of the project by leaps and bounds
obviously running these apps natively would be ideal as the overhead of running the full android OS is probably not insignificant for a phone’s hardware
Am I missing something?
Hmm, yeah, that I can’t really say. Perhaps those stretch goals were to have those features at launch?
But otherwise, I’m as confused as you.
Will Libem5 be able to run AppImage or Flatpak apps? With that, its software (app) base will be quite better
I think Anbox is still under development, so if the stretch goal was reached I imagine that Purism would probably contribute to Anbox’s development to help get it to the point of practical usability. (Assuming there isn’t another similar project that Purism thinks is better.)
There would probably be a bit of work to make it integrate well with the rest of the phone’s user experience (e.g. integrate it with the UI, enable apps to have controlled access to contacts/photos etc).
Sorry @nenad, I don’t know the answer to your question.
According to https://developer.puri.sm/Apps.html Debian packages and flatpak will be supported, so Apps will usually be flatpak packaged.
1 Like
hi
there are several applications that I would like: shopping list 
and tetris. Making them with gtk is not complicated.
tetris wxwidget
i am very happy for PureOs Store!
Hello. Will the Librem 5 phone be developed since it is using it’s own OS to run apps such as KiK or SnapChat or Instagram?
The Librem 5 with PureOS will NOT run SnapChat, Instagram, or Kik out-of-the box due to restrictions with the FSF/GNU FSDG Guidelines. They may be supported as a web application or via Anbox in the future.
- SnapChat, Instagram, and Kik are non-free.
However, the Ubuntu Touch version of the Librem 5 should.
Source: Android Apps on Ubuntu Touch with Anbox, Purism & UBports
Note: You may need to install Yalp Store before installing non-free applications.
There was a section of the FAQ dedicated to this: archive.fo/ndOYw#selection-4227.10-4227.17 (with TOR)
I believe this was the meaning behind the 10m goal as well.
Lost of talk about Shashlik as well.