When I read “SP” after software, I always think of Windows XP. It was the first operating system that I used on my own computer, and between the first and the second many things were corrected. If my memory serves me right, which is also possible, I have not seen it again until it has been included in one of the mobile options for Linux that the community likes the most. Although the truth is that it does not appear in images like the one that heads this article, where it only appears postmarket OS 22.06.2.
postmarketOS 22.06.2 should have been the August 2022 update, but was delayed because the new version of phosh it would not start on the Samsung Galaxy S III. They had to understand what was going on and fix it to release a new point version of the operating system. And the jump is important: it has risen from Phosh 0.17.0 to 0.21.0, and from Phoc 0.13.1 to 0.21.1. The project says this makes the update huge, but that's not the only new thing that's come along with postmarketOS 22.06.2 (and I'll write it that way, which I like better than mentioning the Service Pack).
Highlights of postmarketOS 22.06.2
- Phosh 0.21.0 and Phoc 0.21.1 are huge upgrades from previous versions 0.17.0 and 0.13.1. Both have skipped a bunch of version numbers down to 0.20.0 in case you're wondering why. The most exciting thing is that it is now possible to swipe up and down to bring up menus. Also the lock screen has been redesigned, now it's possible to use the top menu there and for everyone who configured Phosh with pmOS tweaks to show battery percentage, we'll be able to see that right on the lock screen too. Seeing all the changes is possible, but you will have to visit many links: Phosh 0.20.0 (and the three betas that link there), 0.21.0 and Phoc 0.20.0, 0.21.0, 0.21.1.
- postmarketOS-welcome 0.6.0 reports how menus now open in Phosh (so users who haven't read this blog post or others on the net don't get confused). The logic has also been changed to appear once on boot in this new version of Phosh.
- linux-postmarketos-qcom-sdm845 5.19.0 is a well tested update from edge for SDM6 based SHIFT845mq, OnePlus 6/6T and Xiaomi Pocophone F1.
- powersupply 0.8.0 (previously 0.6.0) is relevant to the SDM845 SoC as well, as it brings the necessary quirks to display charge/discharge rate, temperature, and USB current limits for the SDM845 as well.
- PinePhone Pro now has a fix to fix audio if you don't have the proper SMBIOS information coming from the bootloader. This was successfully fixed in Tow-Boot 2021.10-005.
- PinePhone: Kernel update to 5.19.2 and AF8133J magnetometer driver is now enabled
- PinePhone Pro: add the upower fwupd plugin to avoid updates (of modem firmware) if the phone is not connected to AC.
- Samsung Galaxy S III - HDMI output had to be disabled as the kernel driver reports the wrong state when unplugged and that leads to the newer Phosh stack not booting. This seems to be a seldom used feature as it requires an original dock/adapter of the time.
Update from the terminal
Some time ago, a tool to update from the terminal. For those who do not have it installed, it can be added with the command apk add postmarketos-release-upgrade, and then launch it with the command postmarketos-release-upgrade. That is if you are in v21.12. For earlier versions, the installation commands would be:
wget https://gitlab.com/postmarketOS/postmarketos-release-upgrade/-/raw/master/upgrade.sh chmod +x upgrade.sh
The tool has been tested enough to be considered stable and secure, otherwise they wouldn't have released it, but it's always wise to back up any important data before applying OS updates, especially one like this. who has made at least two such great leaps. The next version will already be postmarketOS 22.06.3, and fewer changes are expected in that one.