Linux 5.17 To Introduce A New Driver Just To Deal With Buggy x86 Tablets

[stormcrow]

I always had suspicions; Android tablets are trash. They only work with the binary blobs they are shipped with. They have so much hardcoded information that Linux kernel has no chances.

This isn't why Android tablets are the unwanted stepchild of the mobile world. it's because Android developers don't bother to check to see if their apps even work or display properly on the form factor. Hence, no one wants them. There are performant Android tablets out there. I have one, but its user experience is vastly inferior to even my low end iPad. It's not the hardware, which is sufficient for a tablet. It's the software experience that isn't great.

The hardware situation isn't even visible to the majority of users. If it was, the awful peripheral I/O situation that exists in the desktop/laptop market would be very different and wouldn't be full of broken, low quality, and impossible to support chips: AMD PSP, Intel IME, buggy UEFI firmware, broken RTCs, non-functional I/O bridge chips, out of spec HDD/SDD, plethora of broken USB connected devices of all descriptions, broken USB HUBs and controller chips, a market flooded with trash USB cables, etc. They get away with it because drivers cover up this mess just to make these computers appear like they're functioning normally when they aren't.

I'd bet it's near impossible to find a single computer, mobile or not, without at least one malfunctioning circuit being covered up either in firmware, drivers, or being sold cheap with the malfunctioning circuit entirely disabled.

That's on top of the fact that no one in their right mind really wants an x86 tablet, and if they buy one, they quickly find out why. It's not quirky hardware. It's SLOW hardware with awful battery life. I also have one of those monstrosities. It's experience is even worse than the arm Android tablets. It wouldn't be saved by putting Android on it.

[Nille]

How is this different compared to broken device tree files on arm?

both try to fix broken design decisions.

[Shtirlic]

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That's great news, thx to all involved, I have old Chuwi Hi8Pro and it's working almost perfect on Arch with latest kernel, even with bluetooth keyboard autoconnection and cryptosetup. With case and keyboard it's very portable device with latest kernel and KDE.