postmarketOS: Plasma 6.7 and Rust USB Tooling on Linux Phones

postmarketOS has released a new development update. The key changes: Plasma 6.7, a new Rust-based USB tool, and Duranium improvements.

Plasma 6.7 on Linux phones

The most visible change: KDE Plasma 6.7 is now available in both Alpine Linux and postmarketOS. Supported devices get the latest KDE improvements directly on their smartphones.

usb-signaller: new Rust tool

A new tool called usb-signaller partially replaces the previous role of usb-moded. The Rust-based tool is integrated into postmarketOS edge and offers:

• USB gadget initialization without initramfs scripts
• Transactional mode and gadget switching for better reliability
• Clearer logging
• Handling of missing kernel drivers
• OpenRC support
• USB role switching between host and device mode

Duranium improvements

Duranium, the systemd-based variant of postmarketOS, also gets updates:

• Waydroid via sysext: Android apps can now be enabled more easily with updatectl enable waydroid
• Fallback bootloader: Duranium now uses systemd/bootctl on systems with EFI variable support to keep a fallback bootloader available during updates

Device support

• The linux-postmarketos-qcom-sdm845 kernel updated to Linux 7.1
• LG G7 ThinQ gets working touchscreen support
• armhf (armv6) support removed from postmarketOS edge

Packaging cleanup

Unmaintained packages moved to an archived category. Stricter requirements for testing category devices: kernels must be no older than the oldest currently supported LTS kernel on kernel.org, and must be built with LLVM.

Conclusion

For users looking for a native Linux system on mobile devices, postmarketOS remains one of the most interesting options. Plasma 6.7 and the new USB tooling show the project cares about both user experience and technical quality.