FLX1S by Fury Labs: A Linux Phone That Actually Works as a Phone
FLX1S by Fury Labs: A Linux Phone That Actually Works as a Phone
The FLX1S by Fury Labs is one of those rare Linux devices that's actually good at being a phone. Let's take a look.
What's in the Box
You get the phone, some cute stickers, and if you order the accessories, a glass screen protector and a case. As a nice surprise, they also included a free pair of USB-C headphones, which is appreciated since there's no headphone jack on the phone.
Quick note on the screen protector though: it's glass, and mine cracked in shipping. I'd love to see a film screen protector option instead.
Button Layout
Let me save you some confusion. On day one, I misidentified the buttons. Here's the actual layout: there's a programmable button, volume keys up and down, and on the other side one large power button right above the hardware kill switches. Not what I expected, but there you go.
The hardware kill switches feel really good to use. They cover the microphone, camera, and modem/GPS. The UI needs a bit of work around these though, as it shows stale data when you flip them off and then shows them reconnect when you flip them back on.
Does It Actually Work as a Phone?
Here's where the FLX1S really shines. You can get calls and text just by putting in a SIM card and booting the device. Pretty slick. And as far as I can tell, they're pretty reliable.
Mobile data had a bit of a hiccup where I had to toggle it off and then back on before I could actually use it. That's pretty basic troubleshooting that most users would be able to handle, and I bet it would be covered by a simple reboot as well.
GPS and Navigation
I enabled the SUPL server settings and took it for a drive. I could watch my icon move as I drove around in Gnome Maps. But a GPS that can actually get a signal is only half the battle. Right now it uses Gnome Maps by default, which is no competitor to Google Maps. It'll do basic mapping and show you where you are, but if you need turn-by-turn navigation, this ain't doing it.
That's not really an issue with the FLX1S in particular. It's more of an issue with the mobile Linux ecosystem having a massive gap for mapping.
Camera
The camera works. It can take photos and record video. The shutter is a bit slow, and the quality is maybe not on par with a standard Android phone, but certainly usable for basic things like snapping a photo of a cable layout you need to duplicate later.
App Store
The app store is Gnome Software, which means it's a bit slow. It's configured with Flatpak by default. This is great for availability, but rough on a phone as it eats up space, memory, and bandwidth. Installing Gnome Secrets took about 3 minutes pulling down all the different runtimes.
The real issue is that a lot of these apps were never tested on this device, let alone mobile Linux in general. It's a bit of a mixed bag of what works, and it takes some trial and error. Persistent people will find cool apps. If you want every app to function, this is not going to be it.
Android Compatibility
This is where the FLX1S gets interesting. You can enable Andromeda, their Android compatibility layer, and install apps from F-Droid. But there's a catch: the apps you can't live without, like banking apps and payment apps, often reject what looks like a rooted device.
Developer Experience
Here's where things get really interesting. You can install Claude Code directly on the device. As a dev box, this is miles ahead of Android and iOS. Full terminal access, the ability to modify software at any layer you want, build compositors, mess with the shell. The FLX1S is a pragmatic middle ground between what Linux phones could be with native support and what Android drivers allow. You have to deal with a lot of compatibility layers if you're going to dig deep on the software stack, but you get a pretty fast device to play with.
Can You Daily Drive It?
I think yes, but with some caveats. Phone calls, SMS, working web browsing, battery life, even Bluetooth are pretty solid. The major things that need work are camera quality and the lack of being able to run certain Android apps.
Who Is This For?
Someone who doesn't need a bunch of apps sucking them in, or people who want to tinker and turn it into something truly epic. It's a phone that takes calls and can do a lot more, but it's proportional to the effort you put in.
If you want hardware kill switches and real privacy, this has them. If you're comfortable troubleshooting, you'll do just fine. I'd probably wait if you need a flawless camera or if banking apps are non-negotiable.
The community around Fury Labs is actually very friendly, and that's one of the better things they've managed to create.