Earlier today, UBports tweeted that Canonical had gifted them several Ubuntu Touch devices to use for further development. In the tweet, UBports offered to send the gifted devices to users willing to help develop Ubuntu Touch.
Our old friends at @Canonical have given us some more #UbuntuTouch devices to use for further development. So here's the offer: if you want to help develop Ubuntu Touch and need a device let us know here and someone will be in touch. #ubuntu #Developer pic.twitter.com/SHQ8t3K4IK
— UBports Foundation (@UBports) November 13, 2019
Ubuntu Touch (also known as Ubuntu Phone) is the mobile version of Canonical’s popular Ubuntu Linux distro designed primarily for touchscreen devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
Ubuntu Touch
In April 2017, Canonical Ltd. CEO Mark Shuttleworth announced that his company was ending support for the project due to a lack of market interest. UBports promptly adopted Ubuntu Touch as a community project, and Canonical transferred the programming source code for Ubuntu Touch to the non-profit UBports Foundation.
While the exact number of Ubuntu Touch devices that UBports will send to interested developers, there are two BQ Aquaris M10 tablets, at least two dozen BQ Auaris E4 phones, a Meizu MX4 phone, and several other devices that are not yet identified.
Ubuntu Touch uses a Qt5-based touch user interface along with several software frameworks. Using lihybris enables Ubuntu Touch to be used with several Linux kernels used in android, making it easily portable to many recent Android smartphones.
Ubuntu Touch’s core applications include social media and media applications such as Facebook, YouTube, and an RSS reader. It also has standard applications, including an alarm clock, browser, email client, file manager, calculator, and even a terminal. Twelve or more core applications are currently in development. The current release of Ubuntu Touch is 16.04 OTA-11, released last month.
FOSSLinux users looking to get an Ubuntu Touch device and aid in its development should respond directly to UBport’s tweet.
The mission of UBports is to support the collaborative development of Ubuntu Touch and to promote the widespread use of Ubuntu Touch, which they fulfill with the assistance of sponsors, patrons, and the UBports Community.
