Advertisement

Article

Canonical announces Ubuntu for phones

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

  • Updated:

ubuntu iconToday Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu operating system has announced its mobile operating system. Simply called Ubuntu for phones, the mobile OS is the final step in creating a cohesive ecosystem for Ubuntu users. Ubuntu users will now be greeted with the same minimalist and intuitive experience on their phones.

While the new operating system looks promising, it is up against stiff competition with iOS and Android dominating mobile. Mozilla also has yet to release their Firefox OS for mobile devices. While both Ubuntu and Firefox OS support HTML5 based apps, only Ubuntu will support natively coded applications for their operating system. Ubuntu for phones also touts its ability to be secure enough for enterprise and easy to use enough for consumers.

ubuntu for phones banner

Here are some of the best features of Ubuntu for phones.

Gestures

ubuntu for phones gestures

Ubuntu for phones is built to run on phones without menu or back buttons. To achieve this, Canonical had to create a bunch of intuitive gestures to control the operating system. Swiping down from the top will reveal a search bar. Swiping up will reveal contextual menu buttons. Swiping from the left edge of the screen will reveal your favorite and recently used applications. Swiping from the right will bring you back to the previous app, which works like multitasking.

Personalized home screen

ubuntu for phones home screen

The Ubuntu for phones home screen dynamically presents content that is most important to you. If you miss a call, it will appear a the top. Your most recently used apps and searches will appear on the home screen. The home screen seems to combine elements of the Amazon Kindle, Windows Phone, and Google Now. We won’t know how well this works until Canonical releases Ubuntu for phones to test.

Full screen apps

ubuntu for phones full screen apps

Ubuntu for phones puts your content first. Menu buttons are hidden and the status bar can be hidden as well so you can focus entirely on what you’re doing within the app. When you need to access the settings or menu buttons, they’re only a single gesture away.

Dynamic search engine

ubuntu for phones search

Since Canonical doesn’t have a search engine product, it will decide to use which ever search engine will give you the most useful information. This can be beneficial to users who don’t care where their information comes from. For Google addicts, Android will still provide the best mobile search experience.

Write an app once, use it anywhere

An operating system is nothing if there are no third party applications. Canonical hopes to attract developers to Ubuntu with easy tools. As mentioned previously, apps can be coded in HTML5 or natively using C, C++, and JavaScript. One application coded for Ubuntu will work across desktops and mobile devices. It’ll be interesting to see if Canonical can get enough developers to create a strong application ecosystem, something Microsoft has been struggling with with Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

There are still many unknowns about Ubuntu for phone like how users will install the operating system on their phones. While Canonical has stated the OS will work on ARM and Intel chipsets, most phones will come locked down with their own operating system. Security is a huge issue for enterprise and we’ll have to wait and see if Ubuntu can face off with Microsoft in the enterprise space.

Still, Ubuntu for phones has the ability to shake up the mobile market. We won’t know if consumers or enterprise will adopt the new mobile OS until they start offering phones with Ubuntu for phones in early 2014. Canonical has a year to hone their operating system but until then, its competitors will only get stronger.

Watch the entire Ubuntu for phones keynote below:

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

Latest from Lewis Leong

Editorial Guidelines