[HN Gopher] iPhone DevOps (2023)
___________________________________________________________________
iPhone DevOps (2023)
Author : ustad
Score : 133 points
Date : 2025-08-14 08:47 UTC (14 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (clearsky.dev)
(TXT) w3m dump (clearsky.dev)
| hnlmorg wrote:
| I've explored this idea of portable computing using a mobile form
| factor for years too. So long that the first devices I tried were
| PDAs with compact-flash micro drives.
|
| I actually preferred those devices for development work because
| the stylus is a much better input device than fat fingers when it
| comes to precision input. However you then lose the one-handed
| feature that the author is keen on.
|
| These days, MacBook Pros have such long battery lives that I
| couldn't imagine wanting to use a phone-form-factor for any
| serious work. But maybe the new style phones bendable screens
| that flip open like a book, might tempt me back to using a phone
| for development work again. Unfortunately such devices are
| currently Android-only at present.
| teekert wrote:
| I've also thought about it a lot, but I just need that big
| screen.
|
| That does not rule out having your phone as your primary
| development device of course. I was already pleasantly
| surprised that when I tried to charge my iPad with the USB-C
| dangling of my ultrawide, the screen came to life! Sadly with
| the iPad's own screen ratio. My screen-attached wireless
| keyboard and mouse did work though!
|
| I still dream of having normal Linux (or GrapheneOS, or
| PostMarketOS) on something like a Fairphone and being able to
| plug it in USB-C and just work (I just need a terminal, perhaps
| an editor, and a browser of course). Ubuntu Phone came so close
| :'( Maybe it becomes workable on the FairPhone 6... (actually,
| it seems like it is working? Can it do the desktop thing? It
| does say "Wired External monitor :check:")
|
| Or you know, at least a Padfone [0] (just kidding, I'm just
| always looking for an excuse to share this masterpiece of a
| video).
|
| [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2ANnpHnUrc
| nehal3m wrote:
| Ubuntu Touch was a little buggy on my FP4 and flashing Calyx
| back over it required some finagling with the sensor suite.
| It was pretty slow and the phone was hot to the touch, so I
| would agree it was not ready for prime time when I tested it
| 2.5 years ago.
|
| In principle however, it worked.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| Some Android handsets can already so think. I think Samsung
| phones might.
|
| I was pleasantly surprised with my Son relatively budget
| Samsung phones, when I plugged it into an external monitor.
| Instead of showing a the phone screen on the monitor (like an
| iPhone would), it loaded up a different desktop that looked
| more like Ubuntu than it did like Android.
|
| I can't remember the specifics but it was definitely designed
| to be used with a keyboard and mouse.
| wisenull wrote:
| It was probably Samsung DeX. Samsung is helping Google to
| develop a similar thing for Android.
|
| You can run the browser without any issues, use ssh with
| JuiceSSH and have the terminal. Running vim on there might
| be an option but another editor that is not a TUI might be
| more troublesome.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| It might have been. it "just worked". I didnt have to do
| anything other than plug a monitor in via USB-C.
| wisenull wrote:
| I think monitors that can act as USB hubs will let you
| connect mice and keyboards too, which can really come in
| handy.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| You can also use a USB-C dock too. Have your monitors
| HDMI plugged into the dock, along with your keyboard and
| mouse. Just like you would with laptops too.
| teekert wrote:
| Yeah I heard this too about Samsung phones. Very nice. But
| I do prefer something more "freedom loving" than Android
| (with Play services) or iOS.
|
| I will keep dreaming and in the mean time keep my Linux
| Laptop close.
| hnlmorg wrote:
| I used to share that dream too. But there's so much
| proprietary hardware needed to make a smart phone that I
| just can't see it happening. Or at least not for anything
| that would be remotely practical to use.
|
| I think the best we can hope for is something that allows
| us to run a sandboxed vanilla Linux container. Which I
| think is already possible on Android?
| danieldk wrote:
| I think Fairphone 6 does not have DP-Alt and only USB 2 data
| transfer, so there is no way to drive a hi-res screen.
|
| Google Pixel is supposed to ship a more complete desktop in
| Android 16 QPR1. Also has a Linux VM.
|
| Of course, Samsung has had a pretty complete desktop on
| phones that support DeX for a while now.
| marci wrote:
| FP 5 has DP-Alt, are you sure the 6 doesn't?
|
| edit: You're right, an unfortunate downgrade
| https://forum.fairphone.com/t/fp6-discussion-about-
| usb-2-and...
| thewebguyd wrote:
| > Google Pixel is supposed to ship a more complete desktop
| in Android 16 QPR1. Also has a Linux VM.
|
| I'm actually really excited for this and am watching it
| closely, although I believe right now it's limited to
| Debian? It might be the thing that finally tempts me out of
| iOS & the whole Apple ecosystem.
|
| I want the one device dream, but I want to be able to run
| my own OS on it, even if it's in a VM for desktop mode, so
| I can bring my arch+hyprland setup with me. It can run
| Android in "phone" mode that's fine, then when I hook it up
| to my dock or a kb+mouse it'll launch arch.
|
| I won't go all in on it though until it looks like Google
| is committed for the long haul. I don't want to switch
| "ecosystems" and rely on it only for them to kill it by
| Android 18 or whatever.
| LeratoAustini wrote:
| TL;DR - Termux + Termux-X11 + proot-distro + BT keyboard + BT
| mouse
|
| Termux is as great terminal, AFAIK it can be run on any
| modern (not even that modern) Android. With that alone you
| can get most common Linux terminal packages, run vim
| (including LSPs), tmux, ranger, compile C/C++, Python, Go,
| Rust...
|
| Termux-X11 lets you run X11/GUI apps. It has settings to
| properly capture mouse (trackball in my case) and keyboard,
| preventing annoyances by disabling Android default keys (eg
| allowing Alt-tab to switch tabs in your Linux desktop rather
| than switching between Android tasks).
|
| Termux proot-distro lets you install loads of Linux distros.
| I've daily driven Ubuntu in the past, currently using Debian
| Bookworm on my Tab S8 Ultra, which although a flagship is a
| couple of generations old now. I run the same setup on a Tab
| S4, which is a 7 year old device now. It's slow for some GUI
| stuff but works well for a lot of things, most stuff in the
| terminal is great.
|
| The above is without root. With root, I've recently changed
| over to chroot as I wanted to try it.
|
| You can get GPU acceleration, I'm currently using turnip,
| there are also virgl drivers, it can take some trial and
| error depending on which GPU your device has (I don't know
| much about GPU stuff so if any of those sentences had errors
| that's why, but it's perfectly googlable).
|
| As I just rebuilt my system a few days ago, here's what I've
| done since then: - Installed Debian Bookworm
| - Installed Chromium and Firefox, both with GPU acceleration
| via a custom command eg: `Exec=env
| MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink /usr/bin/chromium %U` in a
| .desktop file - Compiled yazi (Rust terminal file
| manager) with rustup and `cargo install`ed another couple of
| apps - Been working on a Hugo site, after installing go
| and dart-sass - Compiled dwm with standard gcc stuff
| (dwm is my preferred environment but XFCE etc are around too)
| - Worked on some PSDs in Photopea (Krita, Gimp, Inkscape also
| all work perfectly) - Installed my preferred vim setup
| with nvim-coc, so all the LSPs etc
|
| Node works perfectly. Python works perfectly. As above,
| C/C++, go all work perfectly (ARM64/AARCH64 of course).
|
| What I'm trying to say is, it's strange for me to see so many
| in this thread wondering about if it's possible to do Linux
| stuff on Android. I thought Termux was pretty well known (?).
| I think the first time I installed a full Linux distro on
| Android was about 10 years ago via LinuxDeploy. I've been
| daily driving a setup similar to the above for maybe 5 years,
| on 3 or 4 different devices. I get that this is geeky and a
| bit niche but I'm surprised to see so many comments on HN
| without this stuff being mentioned.
|
| I have a Macbook which I use begrudgingly when I have to
| (Apple lock-in reasons such as needing to compile Flutter
| stuff for iOS/Mac on Apple hardware --- btw Flutter works
| well on my Android Debian compiled for ARM64 Linux, meaning I
| can do most Flutter dev work here and just move over to the
| other hardware when I want to compile/test other
| architectures). I have an AMD ProxMox machine for when I need
| a bit more grunt or have something that requires Windows.
| Despite these other machines, if I can do it on the Android
| tablet I always prefer it (love the OLED display and low
| power usage), meaning 70-80% (guessing) of my work gets done
| there.
|
| Docker can't/won't work, something to do with proot/chroot
| and cgroups I think. In my limited experience (Flutter),
| cross-compiling to different architectures hasn't worked. The
| OOM killer in Android can be annoying so you want a device
| with plenty of RAM, but there are ways to mitigate it, and in
| practice it doesn't bother me (rare and relatively
| inconsequential in my usage patterns) otherwise I wouldn't
| work this way.
|
| I get that people in here today are mainly talking about
| phones, and I'm using tablets. But this all works on phones
| (I used to do it on my Note 3 up until I lost it a few months
| ago, that's over 10 years old). You just need a device which
| outputs video over USB-C, not uncommon nowadays.
|
| I have had to faff a bit to get stuff working. Some people
| will hate this and just want instant. Horses for courses, I'm
| happy.
|
| I haven't tried the new Linux stuff on Android 15 as I don't
| have a Pixel. I get the feeling it won't have much if
| anything to offer over my current setup and might be slower.
| But hopefully it will become standard in future. I don't like
| Dex on Samsung as it forces its own UI sensibilities on you
| (eg last time I tried it windows had huge ugly titlebars,
| which I personally don't like, hence dwm preference).
|
| I've probably spilled most of the beans in this novel of a
| comment, but have written about this stuff before, here
| https://mm-dev.rocks/posts/android-as-a-dev-
| environment/intr...
| pjmlp wrote:
| I keep telling that one scenario I actually would embrace AI
| glady, is fast enough reckognintion so that I can use a digital
| pen across all mobile/tablet apps, I rather use that than carry
| around a 2-1 or detachable keyboard.
|
| On Apple devices it is kind of ok, Android outside Samsung is
| still pretty much hit-and-miss.
|
| Likewise I don't want AI chat boxes, I want to speak with my
| computer, in my native language, again still not there yet.
| alwillis wrote:
| Wispr Flow is shockingly good at dictation; I use the free
| version on macOS [1].
|
| [1]: https://wisprflow.ai/use-cases
| pjmlp wrote:
| Thanks.
| Martha02 wrote:
| I miss physical keyboards, like those on BlackBerry devices.
| Honestly, I think SSHing into Claude Code from a phone with a
| physical keyboard would actually be a decent choice for vibe
| coding today. But maybe I just want a 12-inch M-chip MacBook
| pjmlp wrote:
| It should have a voice controlled way in that case, at least
| that is my point oof view on towards all clusmy chat bot
| interfaces, AI usage should be transparent.
| dijit wrote:
| I was hoping devices like this
| (https://www.fxtec.com/smartphones/pro1x) would catch on, but I
| think people have given up physical keyboards.
|
| (obviously flip out phones have a lot of moving parts to get
| damaged)
| Greenpants wrote:
| I've had this phone as my main device for half a year and now
| using a Pixel 9 Pro Fold sometimes in "laptop" folded mode.
| So far, neither of these devices come close in my typing
| speed to a proper keyboard. The F(x)tec was great though
| because you do get all special characters in tactile buttons;
| on the Fold I constantly need to check my keyboard and make
| sure I'm writing what I think I'm writing. And, it's a shame
| that the space in between letters on the 'Gboard' keyboard on
| the Fold remains unused, when it could've been a perfect
| mouse trackpad.
|
| I think the ideal form factor for a proper development phone
| would be the Astro Slide
| (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-
| slide-5g-transforme...) - I haven't personally used it but I
| can imagine it's the smallest size possible for proper two-
| handed typing. The F(x)tec was a two-thumber instead.
| Ezhik wrote:
| The Fxtec is so damn cool if you can get your hands on one.
| It can actually straight up run Debian. I also managed to run
| VS Code on it natively via Termux.
|
| I also had a Gemini PDA, which is basically the Psion 5mx
| keyboard glued to a shitty Android smartphone. Such a nice
| keyboard, but such mediocre and unsupported CPU...
| fsflover wrote:
| Did you try Pinephone with the keyboard?
| smjburton wrote:
| @levelsio was posting about this last week:
| https://x.com/levelsio/status/1953022273595506910. Haven't
| tested it out yet, but it seems like a cool way to continue
| hacking away at a project while on the go.
| iaalm wrote:
| Tried to develop on mobile too. The only issue is the physical
| keyboard. At that time, I did think about redesign the keyboard
| for phone to get a precise input experience
| nromiun wrote:
| Programming on my phone (with Termux) is the only reason I am
| still using an Android phone. That and a real filesystem. I
| actually use so many terminal tools that I can't imagine
| migrating to a bunch of GUI apps. Like gopass for passwords
| management, git for syncing my notes, nvim for writing etc.
|
| With Android 15 you even get a full blown Linux VM running on
| KVM.
|
| I was actually tempted to switch when AAA games like AC got
| ported to iOS, but then I remembered I love programming more than
| gaming.
| znpy wrote:
| > With Android 15 you even get a full blown Linux VM running on
| KVM.
|
| With Apple discontinuing the small iPhone se and Android being
| able to run on folding phones that unfold to have an 8"
| display... Spending money on an Android phone is interesting
| again.
| antupis wrote:
| Also Gemini and other AI offering is running circles around
| what Apple is offering.
| wiseowise wrote:
| Apple doesn't offer anything. And Gemini is available on
| iOS.
| jl6 wrote:
| My mobile OS dream has always been to have a phone that I can
| plug into a docking cradle (or maybe just a USB-C cable these
| days) to connect it to a full size monitor, keyboard and mouse,
| and then use it as a regular PC, and then unplug it and have
| the same "data state" available on the mobile OS (albeit
| perhaps with different apps, reflecting the different input
| methods and screen size).
|
| Is this any closer to becoming reality with modern Android?
| junon wrote:
| A friend of mine has been doing that for several years now on
| his phone. He does it since he's so incredibly mobile for
| work.
|
| Not sure which model though. So yes, somewhere, somehow this
| is possible.
| nromiun wrote:
| Yes, this is possible with Samsung Dex.
|
| However, when I sit in front of a big screen it is just
| easier to connect a "real" PC to it. Syncing data between my
| desktop and phones are pretty fast anyway.
| TowerTall wrote:
| It was a reality back when Windows Phone was a thing.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Continuum
| guappa wrote:
| Those things were incredibly slow.
| stackskipton wrote:
| I had one and slowness was hardware related as phone
| would heat up. Modern iPhone or Android could easily
| power 4K display for most productivity work.
| fsflover wrote:
| > to have a phone that I can plug into a docking cradle (or
| maybe just a USB-C cable these days) to connect it to a full
| size monitor, keyboard and mouse, and then use it as a
| regular PC
|
| This phone exists: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5, and
| it's my daily driver.
| Xss3 wrote:
| Can we trust that this isnt a law enforcement or
| intelligence agency honeypot like previous such devices
| have been?
| fsflover wrote:
| Which previous devices? Can you provide some links?
|
| Librem 5 has open schematics [0] and runs an FSF-endorsed
| distro [1]. What else do you need for the verification
| [2]? Otherwise Linux could also be a honeypot, right?
|
| [0] https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/l5-schematic
|
| [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25504641
|
| [2] https://puri.sm/posts/hidden-operating-systems-in-
| chips-vs-s...
| VoidWhisperer wrote:
| I think they might be referring to ANOM which was an FBI
| honeypot for criminals seeking encrypted communication
| [0]. However, I'm not sure where they are drawing a
| parallel there beyond librem not being a 'mainstream'
| phone manufacturer.
|
| [0]:
| https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Trojan_Shield
| msgodel wrote:
| I prefer a UMPC with an LTE card and "AR" glasses. It's plug
| and play, works _now_ with no fuss from the manufacturer, it
| 's just normal Linux.
| figers wrote:
| which UMPC do you use for this?
|
| Which AR glasses are good enough in screen quality for
| coding?
|
| Do you wear the AR glasses when you're out and about like a
| coffee shop?
| Cloudef wrote:
| I thought android can sort of do this
| fsflover wrote:
| With increasingly more obstacles with time and no full
| ownership of the device.
| urbandw311er wrote:
| It can -- and all the more so since most recent update
| which adds more features to desktop mode. iPadOS 26 is also
| prioritising increased convergence with enhanced windowing
| support. Definitely been a ground shift recently.
| kreddor wrote:
| It's basically possible with any device that supports DP Alt
| Mode? Any remaining issues are usually software (lack of
| proper desktop environment etc) but there are ways around
| that with Android. Samsung has DeX.
| fsflover wrote:
| There are very few devices that actually run a desktop OS,
| which allows to run any ordinary desktop apps.
| thesuitonym wrote:
| I recall around 2019 or so plugging an Android phone into a
| Dell USB C dock and it just worked. Connected to the monitor,
| USB keyboard and mouse, and even the ethernet port.
|
| The only problems were that the version of Android I was
| running did not have windowing, so every app was full screen,
| and it could only drive one monitor. I guess some of the apps
| were also goofy on a widescreen monitor, but that's not
| really Android's fault.
|
| It felt like the dream was almost there, but as time went on
| it was also obvious that nobody was terribly interested in
| making that dream a reality.
| fsflover wrote:
| > I guess some of the apps were also goofy on a widescreen
| monitor, but that's not really Android's fault.
|
| It _is_ the main Android 's fault. It's not based on
| GNU/Linux, so you can only run specifically designed apps
| and can't run ordinary desktop apps. As such, a large
| screen is almost useless even if it technically works.
| __turbobrew__ wrote:
| I wish Apple would do this. The SoCs in modern iPhones are
| more than enough to power a desktop OS.
|
| I think the issue is that a unified computing platform would
| devour a decent amount of their laptop sales, but in the long
| run I think it would be a superior experience for the user.
| It really is a political problem and not a technical problem
| at this point.
|
| Build a monitor with a base to set the iPhone on with
| wireless charging, you drop the phone on the base and it
| automatically pairs to the monitor and mouse/keyboard. You
| can call the system "Apple One" or something similar catchy.
| There you go Apple, just saved you millions of dollars on
| product development.
| snickerdoodle12 wrote:
| If it was a phone running basically MacOS when plugged in a
| display with an iPhone skin when mobile it would finally
| convince me to buy an iDevice for the first time in more
| than a decade.
| bigyabai wrote:
| Imagine if _developers_ had the tools required to make
| this for you. Apple doesn 't trust users not to
| cannibalize their own markets.
| turtlebits wrote:
| Samsung dex does this fairly well. The problem is that if you
| need to carry around a display and keyboard, you might as
| well carry a laptop.
|
| I think folding phone is the better approach.
| tmarsden wrote:
| I share that dream and, yes, it's getting closer with modern
| Android. IMO Google has seemingly embraced this path (e.g.
| with ChromeOS "merging" with Android) I could see a future
| where docked desktop mode in Android is basically like what
| we have today with ChromeOS.
|
| https://www.androidauthority.com/run-desktop-linux-apps-
| on-a...
|
| "An upcoming Android update will significantly upgrade the
| Linux Terminal app, enabling it to run full-fledged graphical
| Linux programs on supported devices"
| rikafurude21 wrote:
| Thank you for giving me a reason to switch away from iPhones.
| bitexploder wrote:
| Aren't laptops a little more ergonomic and flexible to hack on?
| I am curious what environments one ends up in where a phone is
| the tool of choice for writing code and such.
| kreddor wrote:
| For me personally, it's just the convenience of always having
| my phone in my pocket. Sometimes when out and about and I
| have a bit of free time, but haven't brought my laptop, it's
| nice to be able to just pick up my phone and hack for a bit.
| I wouldn't do full blown project on it though.
|
| I couple of years back, I really liked replit for having
| probably the best integrated IDE on a phone. Everything was
| so smooth and well thought out.
| nromiun wrote:
| Some places are too crowded for even a small laptop. Also, I
| have seen so many people saying wish I could do that
| programming thing but I am on my phone right now. Termux
| allows me to do all of that.
| fsflover wrote:
| > Aren't laptops a little more ergonomic and flexible to hack
| on?
|
| Just judging purely from the weight of devices, no.
| bitexploder wrote:
| Is a 2 lb device a genuine impediment to most people?
| fsflover wrote:
| Depending on circumstances, it can easily be.
| curt15 wrote:
| Do you bring a bluetooth keyboard with you or program with two
| thumbs?
| nromiun wrote:
| I just do it with one finger. People are still shocked at
| this but remember people do a lot of texting with their
| thumbs too.
| Xss3 wrote:
| I don't understand the point youre trying to make with tge
| second sentence...using a single finger is far more awkward
| than both thumbs?
| nromiun wrote:
| My point is that people do a lot of typing on their
| touchscreen, with one or two thumbs. Just like most
| regular people don't need a bluetooth keyboard despite
| doing a lot of texting.
|
| Also, using two thumbs can be more awkward if you have
| big hands.
| Xss3 wrote:
| Generally people just get larger phones instead of typing
| one fingered.
|
| The awkwardness of phone coding isnt the typing of text
| (wherein most people rely on decent prediction rather
| than precise typing), it's the use of symbols.
| nromiun wrote:
| I have a OnePlus 13, which has a nearly 7 inch screen. My
| two thumbs still block most of the keyboard. Do you know
| anything larger? I would get a folding phone but they are
| too fragile.
|
| Not every programming languages require a lot of symbols.
| Like Python, Go, OCaml etc. For me writing many symbols
| is awkward even on a physical keyboard.
| figers wrote:
| Microsoft Bluetooth folding keyboard is great, fits in my
| back pocket.
| rs186 wrote:
| > With Android 15 you even get a full blown Linux VM running on
| KVM.
|
| Is there anything more than a proof of principle that people
| (aka anyone who owns an Android 15 device) can try out?
|
| I didn't find any instructions for actually doing that.
| nromiun wrote:
| It is very easy:
|
| https://deepakness.com/blog/android-linux-terminal/
|
| Basically just go to developer options and enable Linux
| development environment. A Terminal app will be installed.
|
| You just need a non-Snapdragon Android phone. Because
| Snapdragon uses a different hypervisor than other vendors.
| rs186 wrote:
| Didn't find the "Linux development environment" option. I
| guess the article is based on a Pixel phone, and not all
| Android 15 ROMs are equal.
| nromiun wrote:
| Yes, not all ROMs support it in Android 15. But Android
| 16 is supposed to enable it in every phone.
| swah wrote:
| Why not both?
| nromiun wrote:
| You mean using both Android and iPhone at the same time? That
| just adds another device you have to maintain and charge
| regularly. Not to mention it is not as portable as only one
| phone. You also can't use one SIM in two phones. It is just
| awkward overall.
| eadmund wrote:
| > Offline folders
|
| > This is like rsync for your phone. In fact I would not be
| surprised if this is implemented using rsync. Once you configure
| an offline folder, it will two-way sync that folder while you use
| the app. The kicker is: on your phone you can now open that
| folder in another app (like an editor) and make changes. When you
| switch back to the shellfish app, the changes are uploaded almost
| instantly.
|
| One can get this killer feature for free with Android and
| Syncthing. It's definitely pretty nice!
|
| And of course one can also run Emacs and other free (as in speech
| or beer) text editors on Android.
|
| IIRC there are a couple of ways to get a full Linux command line
| environment as well.
|
| I ended up moving away from it just because 'typing' with my
| thumb is painful.
| misterdata wrote:
| For iOS: https://github.com/pixelspark/sushitrain
| prmoustache wrote:
| > I am now using a combination of three great apps that allow me
| to write code in any language using only one hand, holding my son
| in the other!
|
| The last part is kind of depressing really.
| mystifyingpoi wrote:
| Depends on the age of his son. I spent 2-3 hours daily for 3
| months just holding my newborn (because the sneaky one had well
| tuned bed detector and would just cry forever if not held) and
| reading AWS docs for the certification on my phone. Not feeling
| guilty at all.
| cheschire wrote:
| When did this ridiculous parenting guilt trend start?
|
| You do realize that not every minute you spend with a child is
| "quality time" right? Like most responsibilities in adulthood,
| child rearing has many periods where your child simply needs
| your presence. The child themselves cannot handle full time
| mental and emotional engagement either.
|
| Relax.
| RS-232 wrote:
| Pythonista is awesome. Although it hasn't been updated in 2 years
| and only supports 3.10, it's still a beautiful and capable Python
| IDE.
|
| Now that iOS and Android are Tier 3 platforms, we should be
| getting closer to the day that we can generate an IPA or APK from
| our Python project in a single click.
| VagabundoP wrote:
| That would be really cool. I've an iPad pro and keyboard that
| I've love to use more for adhoc coding and projects and not
| just reading comics. :D
| alwillis wrote:
| You can code in Swift and even submit to the App Store using
| Swift Playground using an iPad [1].
|
| [1]: https://developer.apple.com/swift-playground/
| Jotalea wrote:
| As far as I know, you _can_ generate an APK from a Python
| project, using python4android and buildozer. I never got it to
| work though..
|
| But you _can_ compile an APK from Java /Kotlin source (both
| your own and 3rd party OSS apps) and install it on your device,
| the app to do so is called CodeAssist.
| richmans wrote:
| Author here. Awesome that this post got boosted by my latest
| post. As i wrote in an earlier post, my reason for wanting to
| develop on my phone is that i became a dad, and my kids did not
| want to sleep in a bed, so i spent a lot of time sitting in a
| rocking chair with trying to get them to sleep. One arm is needed
| for child support. One arm left to do development...
| mystifyingpoi wrote:
| I just replied to someone else about this. I had exactly the
| same challenge with my first newborn. Simply sitting in a chair
| for hours is really mentally taxing and a huge waste of time.
| Good for you, that you've found something that doesn't get in a
| way of helping your child to fall asleep.
| royletron wrote:
| Baby sling and a standing desk! Get's a little uncomfy in the
| heat, but I could pretty much do a whole workday - with a
| couple of feeding breaks, and milk for the baby of course ;).
| ivanmontillam wrote:
| > _Simply sitting in a chair for hours is really mentally
| taxing and a huge waste of time._
|
| How do people that rawdog international flights do it? No
| phone, no books, no music, maybe just the flight screen with
| the little aeroplane over the map.
|
| You could just let your thoughts wander. That's a form of
| meditation, letting the mind unravel on its own.
|
| I wish I did it more, actually.
| organsnyder wrote:
| I remember going on family road trips growing up, and my
| only options for entertainment were reading or looking out
| the window. We did a road trip a few weeks ago, and my kids
| were beside themselves if they had to go without some form
| of interactive entertainment for more than a few minutes.
|
| Of course, I'm sure I was often annoying as hell during
| long car rides when I was a kid. And the luxury of handing
| kids a magic-zone-out-device is a lifesaver. But I do
| wonder if I'm shortchanging my kids by not forcing them to
| be bored more often.
| ivanmontillam wrote:
| The ability to be "bored" is an advantage today. IMHO, it
| develops patience.
| mystifyingpoi wrote:
| > You could just let your thoughts wander
|
| I tried at first, didn't work. I was frustrated after 15
| mins of this. But don't worry - I had a plenty of thought
| wander time at nights, when I was trying to fall asleep,
| being awoken for the 7th time that night.
| cyberpunk wrote:
| Hah, a flight is at most what, 10-12 hours? Try a zen
| sesshin sometime :}
| cyberpunk wrote:
| One day they'll be so big you can't pick them up anymore.
|
| I've never looked back at all the time I spent with my infant
| son asleep on my arms and thought, damn, what a waste of time
| that was.
|
| Everyone is different I guess.
| corobo wrote:
| Something that might be worth a look at for anyone in this
| situation is the Twiddler, it's a one handed mouse and
| keyboard. Connects via USB and/or Bluetooth
|
| I know of it via a streamer who uses it to control OBS, but
| this is more its native use case haha
|
| https://www.mytwiddler.com/
| dbish wrote:
| This makes me miss the Nokia N800 I had when I was in college and
| working part time tech support. Ran a modified Debian and I could
| whip out a folding Bluetooth keyboard to ssh into a server. Felt
| like you were part of Hackers, even if the screen was tiny. The
| physical keyboard made a huge difference for actually getting
| things done
| ngriffiths wrote:
| Love this. Sometimes being able to work on a phone is perfect for
| things that need to percolate a little while you walk around or
| do something mindless at the same time. I put some effort into
| finding a good writing and markdown rendering app but didn't
| realize a whole IDE is possible too.
| Chris2048 wrote:
| Are there any mobile equivalents of a thin client?
|
| sometimes I'd like to keep my regular phone in my pocket,
| providing internet and cpu-assistance via bluetooth, but the UI
| be another device altoghether.
|
| My thought for this was not for a mobile IDE, but a navigation
| device. iwatch is ok, but still not there.
| Ezhik wrote:
| Secure ShellFish is a very nice app, absolutely worth the money.
| It's really nice to be able to do a bit of scripting. I don't
| even bother taking my laptop with me when traveling anymore, my
| phone/iPad and an external keyboard are enough to quickly jot
| down a proof of concept for any idea that might pop up in my
| head.
|
| By the way, the dev also works on a Git client for iOS, Working
| Copy. I used that together with Shortcuts to make my Obsidian
| vault sync via git in the background.
| JanisIO wrote:
| I just wrote my own WebOS for coding on iOS _rolling eyes_ - >
| jun.is
| lisnake wrote:
| Awesome project. Do you use it to develop itself?
| nunez wrote:
| I tried making my iPad my computer three times. Despite its
| awesome specs, these remain a huge pain in the rear for actual
| dev work.
|
| iPadOS and iPhoneOS will remain useless for actual dev work until
| they unlock hardware virtualization in Virtualization.framework.
|
| Apps on the iPhone and iPad will remain sandboxed, and root isn't
| possible, so being able to run a VM that _can_ run as root is the
| next best thing.
|
| I believe this framework on mobile uses software emulation, which
| is horribly slow and guzzles battery.
|
| Well, this and third-party browser engine support. Mobile Safari
| is absolutely horrible. This doesn't become apparent until you're
| using your iPad full time. Death by a trillion cuts. It also
| burns battery when you start using it with desktop websites.
|
| Until then, the experience is basically you using your iDevice as
| a dumb terminal (don't mean that as a dig against Termius; great
| app given its limitations) to some server somewhere where actual
| work is done. Rendering issues galore if you use vim with color
| schemes.
| terhechte wrote:
| I've by now come to the belief that there's someone high
| ranking in Apple Org responsible for iPad who deeply despises
| developers. Every action done over the past years has made
| development on the iPad worse, not better. Such as spending
| extra legal energy to make sure the recently-introduced
| emulator support on iOS does not cover running any kind of
| computer VM that could allow software development. At the same
| time, Android ships an official terminal that can run a Debian
| VM and X11 apps.
| mathiaspoint wrote:
| They despise users becoming developers. Apple's entire model
| depends on these being separate groups of people (as opposed
| to GNU/Linux OSes where they're assumed to be exactly the
| same.)
|
| Keeping development tools away from users gives Apple a
| substantial amount of power over them that they can rent out
| to approved software development organizations.
| xorcist wrote:
| Apple is a consumer company. They're all about catering to
| the consumer class, and growing that class at any price.
|
| Developers are necessary, and their needs has to be
| tolerated, but only as long as they are successfully kept
| distinct from consumers.
| wpm wrote:
| It's one thing to not have your needs directly catered to
| and delivered on a silver platter.
|
| It's another to have the company go far out of their way to
| they don't even leave the field open for someone to cater
| to your needs.
| rafram wrote:
| I don't think that's true at all. Apple has always marketed
| itself as a brand for creatives. Image/video editing and 3D
| modeling software demands a lot from its hardware, just
| like developer tools do. But removing restrictions on
| developer tools is inherently a security risk, and Apple
| seems very willing to ship less capable devices if they're
| also less vulnerable.
| cosmic_cheese wrote:
| I wouldn't expect third party browser engines to be any better
| on the efficiency front. Under macOS both Chrome derivatives
| and Firefox are worse. I think the real problem is that for
| most web apps, performance and efficiency sit at the bottom of
| the pile in terms of priorities. Nobody cares if they keep your
| CPU from idling, occupy well more than a reasonable amount if
| RAM, and guzzle battery, as long as it technically functions
| it's good enough.
| m-s-y wrote:
| iOS virtualization is already a mature thing:
| https://apps.apple.com/us/app/utm-se-retro-pc-emulator/id156...
|
| Dev site: https://getutm.app/
| saurik wrote:
| The term "virtualization" is being used in this context to
| mean using features of the hardware to build virtual machines
| that run at native performance on computational tasks. In
| contrast, the app you linked to is just relying on JIT
| compilation to emulate the guest CPUs.
| mxey wrote:
| It is not even relying on JIT, because that's not allowed
| unless you are a browser engine and in the EU.
| jsight wrote:
| AFAIK, the version in the app store has poor performance
| compared to the "sideloaded" version. This is due to Apple
| rules.
| prmoustache wrote:
| Why do you need to be root? I am working every day on a VDI and
| I am not root of the machine nor do I have virt capabilities
| enabled
| hk1337 wrote:
| I think it works great if you're good with VSCode and
| developing in Github Codespaces or something similar.
|
| Using an iPad Pro with the keyboard works great, plus you can
| use a bluetooth mouse and even have a second monitor.
|
| Even with all that, I still use my laptop a lot more.
| Xss3 wrote:
| Any dev choosing iOS in my view has a twisted moral compass as
| they're perfectly happy to support the social divide apple
| purposely created and perpetuates to this day with its refusal to
| move to RCS.
| joshstrange wrote:
| iOS has had RCS support since iOS 18 (September 16, 2024)
| m-s-y wrote:
| Good to see Secure Shellfish get a mention. Great x-device
| connection syncing, too. Plus, the full Files app integration is
| a great complement to the shared/sync'd folders.
| wiseowise wrote:
| For the love of God, just buy GPD Pocket 4.
|
| https://www.gpd-minipc.com/products/gpd-pocket4.
| zjp wrote:
| Sometimes I think I have a strong work ethic, and then I read
| something like "I'm coding one handed on an iPhone". Jeez.
| ndom91 wrote:
| Anyone have any new suggestions for similar apps on the Android
| side of things?
|
| I know the full-blown Linux terminal is "released", but only for
| Pixel phones by what I've been able to find. Definitely can't
| install it on my OnePlus 13 yet.
|
| I've been using JuiceSSH for years, but it's getting a bit long
| in the tooth and doesn't receive updates for years anymore
| either.
| lisnake wrote:
| Termius is a great ssh client. For local work, Termux will give
| you basically a full Linux vm in your pocket (with a few
| caveats)
| VMtest wrote:
| has anyone not mentioned the xreal glasses?
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43985513
| figers wrote:
| I just remote desktop into a full Windows computer in the cloud
| to do my C# development in Visual Studio Code.
|
| Works from my iPhone, iPad with Magic Keyboard or Huawei Mate XT
| depending on what I'm out and about with for the day.
|
| Folding bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse
| oulipo wrote:
| Are those terminal apps open-source / source-available? I
| wouldn't trust some random app with my server keys
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