Or use everything via the web browser; but yes, I think apps are the main reason we can't just have a generic Linux phone OS on an open hardware platform
Apps make or break operating systems and app stores. Just ask Microsoft (Windows Phone) or Huawei (HarmonyOs). IIRC amazon was paying devs to publish to their app store or something like that.
Thankfully, some apps have both web and native mobile versions but for a modern digital life, the critical apps are sadly not on both versions.
No. There are a few that claim to, but none of them are actually any good. Waydroid, for instance, requires that your kernel is compiled in basically "Android mode" (e.g. binder enabled).
> Waydroid, for instance, requires that your kernel is compiled in basically "Android mode" (e.g. binder enabled).
Waydroid needs you to have a single kernel module, which is in mainline Linux and just happens to be disabled in many desktop builds. That hardly makes it an "Android mode" kernel, and I certainly see no reason why it should make the system no good.
Thankfully, some apps have both web and native mobile versions but for a modern digital life, the critical apps are sadly not on both versions.