[Guide] FydeOS & openFyde - Rock 5B - the best option 🍺

I don’t need to if I have FydeOS?openFyde do I??

I just thought you might know if kodi installs as an app as it does on Android as then I don’t need to bother with Kodi as an image with no Chromium browser…

So what do you use kodi for exactly? To watch videos or iptv?
There so many apps for that but sure I think you can run kodi.

You dont need to. Im just saying you could try. As you know even fyde has its own restrictions. Either way… I think you would be better installing kodi via terminal instead I think thats how I did it before.

Its not really for me Kodi for some is just the devil they know. I never really use settop boxes but somtimes build them for others as that super simple ‘Chromium’ OS for a person who has no interest in computers but needs a browser and the occasional app.
Plug it into a TV with a wireless keyboard/trackpad and they have 80% needs covered and the other 20% they don’t care about.
Whats the difference between FydeOS & openFyde?

I think you have to understand that we are talking about chromiumOS not chromium browser.
When u mentioned tv boxes none comes as chromeboxes they usually come with android tv.
I have said this before and I still remain intact to this…
If ‘yous’ want a tv box… its just better to grab an google tv chromecast… it gets updated by the core brand it works fine its affordable.

In my case going for a dev board like this one its just more fun to me to use it as my daily pc running chromiumOS because its cool its small and makes your setup really nice tidy and minimal.

openFyde runs android 11 has no google play store and its seen as a more test version of fydeos without yearly subscription (has android sub system with apk pure pre installed).

FydeOS runs android 9 (to be updated soon to 11 so it seems) has widevine installed natively google play store can be installed and has an yearly subscription of 15$.

Why they have two seperate OS while one is free ? I have no idea… but I think they played between different kernels and that openfyde goal was to be for the single board computers focused on rk3588’s using rockchips kernel…

I only (sorry for repeating myself again) suggested if you could try porting an arm64 version of chromiumOS because I know u do for ubuntu (you’re joshuas right?) because I couldnt… Ive did my research and ‘perfected’ a guide for it… but in the end it fails to build. Idk what steps needs done better all I wanted was to be able to make one version that could be more generic or more updated to the actual current version.

Also with openFyde you can build chromium and add fydeos overlay of openFyde (but these steps are even more complex for me to grasp).

Oh this is where I am confusing you and myself as I thought FydeOS and openfyde where chromiumOS based not android (Which is getting increasingly hard to find)

FydeOS and OpenFyde are ChromiumOS forks and not AndroidOS. I just wanted to be clear we are not talking about AndroidOS here.

Well that is what I thought “openFyde runs android 11” its you who wrote that though :confused:

Android sub system not Operative System.
It can run android apps ! Apks can be installed. But its not Android OS its ChromiumOS.

I guess this is well known to most ChromeOS users… apparently its not.

The ChromeOS its an desktop environment with a lot of features linux android etc…

Android OS which everyone loves and I find it boring as f… its just a tablet Android system.

ChromiumOS is desktop ChromeOS which a more mature system imo.

No I not that keen on TV boxes or Android either, ChromeOS as its now called.
But ChromeOS does have a Chrome Browser yes?
openFyde does have a Chrome Browser?

ChromeOS is google operative system for chromebooks.
ChromiumOS is google open source version or ChromeOS for everyone.

AndroidOS is google tablet/phone operative system.

They all can have and have chromium Browser (chromeOS has Chrome Browser).
Both have LaCros which is a new flag that adds a new browser that allows it to be the actual Chrome Browser (makes more sense when used on ChromiumOS as ChromeOS already has Chrome Browser)

AndroidOS is just a mobile/tablet version it doesnt feature a decent desktop mode and its what most only use on tv boxes and buy these boards for… which for me is useless with google tv chromecasts out there for less than 60$…

ChromeOS has a linux and android sub system.
ChromiumOS has a linux but not android sub system.
(Google made it so to provide exclusivity for the chromebooks which sucks) And this is where FydeOS shines as they developed an Anbox mode that works for that replacement.

You can test this quite easily by just flashing ChromeOS Flex into an usb into your x86 pc pen drive without having to format or install it. ChromeOS Flex doesnt has android sub system and its free to all x86 systems.
ChromeOS isnt available to all / only for licensed chromebooks.

In the arm64 field we are lucky to have fyde providing an ChromiumOS fork with android sub system working on rockchips rk3588.

If only people made chromeOS to work on those google tv chromecasts I would be supper dupper happier instead of having to run android os in it… but wont happen… anyway I hope this is clear.

:slight_smile:
Ok what browser is available on fydeOS and can you sideload the android kodi app?

Chromium Browser - Which with the LaCros Flags u will Get the LaCros Browser which is Chrome Browser.

You can install apks so yes. If it will run like a master piece I think not. Most likely as I said installing it on linux terminal will be better. I have not much interest in kodi as I said so its better if you try it and let me know.

Ok showing my lack of knowledge so the linux version of kodi runs great on fydeOS. The apk of kodi likely will look like a android app on a desktop screen…

No not that… it will run as u expect the issue is the performance… the fyde android sub system has its wierd moments where if nothing else is open it might run perfect… but if ure browsing and then out of nothing you decide to open a ‘Kodi’ most likely it will stutters… Its… something fydeOS has to figure I guess… their android sub system is not perfect and sometimes has some window’ing issues.


LaCros - Chromium.


Android Sub-System.


Kodi via Android APK.


Linux version of Kodi

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just curious: so in openfyde, Android is realized using AOSP source compiled (with rockchip patches for driver of course) to run inside Lxc? for me the ability to run Android apk “occasionally” like once a month is really my key target usage, while a regular ChroniumOS will work better IMO as a desktop OS than Ubuntu or Android.

on a regular desktop I am more or less “restricting” myself to do a few things like working with libreoffice stuffs, personal finance stuffs (homebank for now) and regular browsing, which I don’t think regular android in “desktop mode” will do me good.

at last, do you know if the NPU is also exposed in openfyde? do you know of anyone who tried tensorflow in this rock5b+openfyde setup?

not openfyde / chromiumos, but you may look into this one? hope this is helpful

That is from 9 months ago so guess an earlier Panfork than we have now. Not really in respect to FydeOS chromiumos which @DarkevilPT this is a question under the hood does openFyde/FydeOS use the android nnapi? Or does it have native?
I guess it maybe both as drop to the linux terminal and use rknpu2.
The npu by some is overrated as really its x3 cores running at 2 tops and the rating is int8 running a small model as it has to be when used the small reserved npu mem area.
The MaliG610 is actually mighty and seems to be equilivalent to 75% of the Bigcores running Neon optimised ML.
I did a hack or armNN to swap the tflite delegate from cpu to gpu so you can bench with a comparison so the RK3588(s) as a lot of relatively unused ML perf under the hood.

Reborn I sort of don’t like as my preference is for a vanilla desktop without pre-installed apps, a minimal desktop.
Hence my preference for https://github.com/Joshua-Riek/ubuntu-rockchip as everyhting needed under the hood is installed, but its a super clean distro as is the server image which I am more likely to use.

FydeOS isn’t really for me and might not be for a Rock5b but erm cough a cheaper version just as a simple very clean Kodi Browser experience which @DarkevilPT has provided great details on.
Wireless keyboard/trackpad that I may have to ilicit a valium supply to show grannies & aunties how to use it, but think without doubt its the cleanest and simplest which for targetted use is best.

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You guys are making me really hard questions to which I dont know the right answer perharps is better for yous to do some reading here: https://github.com/FydeOS-ArcHero/

Also I think most underestimate ChromeOS sure it will never be an full linux replacement to which yous are used to but for me its very well balanced.

I dont know nothing about NPU so idk what that stands for and what is it yous use it for …

and again… if all you want is Kodi maybe AndroidOS will be even more easier for the granny…

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