[squarefoot]

> I'm not asking why it's not classified as one, rather, why it wasn't made one.

Because Android was intended to be a business platform that creates software artificial scarcity so that it can later be filled with paid products and services. Linux is an operating system which empowers the user by offering multiple choices for every problem. They have nothing in common, especially the kernel, which is ridden with closed source drivers and blobs. Being forced to use mostly one programming language (Java) which isn't exactly known for its performance also has a price to pay.

This is one of the Alpine Linux VMs I'm playing with.

https://ibb.co/rtRzW21

As you can see, a desktop with Firefox, Libreoffice and Gimp (the real ones, not dumbed down mobile versions) loaded can run in under 1GB or RAM and no swap. Note that this is the full x86_64 image one would use for real iron, not the VM optimized one which would probably save some more resources. I have also put it on two laptops and figures are identical. Just think of how many "obsolete" tablets could be saved from a landfill if manufacturers opened their firmware and unlocked old devices bootloaders once they're out of production. Android, as any other proprietary mobile OS, is used to prevent that, therefore I think turning it into a Linux distribution would require too much effort with an end result that would satisfy neither mobile OS users nor Linux hackers. Porting regular distros to mobile platforms is the way to go, although it's a very slow process because of the mobile industry working hard against it.

[smoldesu]

> Android, as any other proprietary mobile OS

You are aware of the AOSP, correct? This project enables other projects like LineageOS to do exactly what you're describing.

[wusspuss]

LineageOS is still buggy as hell (AFAIK it doesn't even make "stable" versions anymore since 2016 or so, just nightlies), still takes more resources than GNU/Linux, still doesn't support any good software from the desktop.

But yeah it can give you updates for a few more years after you purchase your phone if you're lucky. Still laughable compared to DECADES old pcs getting updates.

[squarefoot]

Yes, but the problem is that most platforms (namely tablets and phones) have either closed drivers or locked bootloaders, or both, which makes hard running AOSP on real iron.

edit: minor typo

[smoldesu]

That's just how everyone makes tablets now. I wish things were different, but they aren't.