Canonical Says Ubuntu Phones Will Run Any Linux App on Open Source OS
Smartphones running Ubuntu Linux from Canonical may soon support not just mobile apps, but all programs for open source, Linux-based platforms. That's according to developers working on bleeding-edge versions of Ubuntu for phones.
Smartphones running Ubuntu Linux from Canonical may soon support not just mobile apps, but all programs for open source, Linux-based platforms. That’s according to developers working on bleeding-edge versions of Ubuntu for phones.
Ubuntu-based phones have already been out since early this year. But so far, they don’t fully deliver on Canonical’s longstanding promise to “converge” Ubuntu across multiple form factors—which means giving users the same features and functionality in the Linux-based OS, whether they are running it on a desktop, laptop, tablet, phone or TV.
This week, Ubuntu developer Michael Hall posted proof of Canonical’s progress toward full Ubuntu convergence in the form of a screenshot from an Ubuntu-based Nexus 4 running desktop apps, including GIMP and Firefox.
Hall emphasized that the software in the image remains very much under development. “Lots of work still to do to make these useful, but it’s great to be able to show visible progress,” he wrote.
After Hall posted the screenshot, Softpedia confirmed with him that Canonical’s plan is indeed to make it possible to run any Linux application on Ubuntu.
As Hall recognized, not all Linux applications designed for desktops and laptops are likely to work well on phones, for practical reasons. “I doubt anybody would expect window controls and GIMP to play well on [small screens],” he wrote, noting that the graphics-manipulation program would be difficult to use without a bigger screen and traditional peripheral devices.
Still, across-the-board support for Linux apps on phones would be a standout feature for Ubuntu. Android, the more popular Linux-based mobile operating system, can’t actually run standard Linux apps at all. Generally speaking, Apple‘s (APPL) iOS and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows for phones also don’t support the desktop versions of apps for their respective ecosystems.
So this could prove an important selling point for Canonical in a crowded niche—though, again, whether the feature would appeal to a wide audience depends on how willing open source programmers are to design Linux apps that can be both PC- and phone-friendly at the same time.
Canonical’s been promising
Canonical’s been promising this convergence ever since before the Ubuntu Edge campaign, for which I did plunk down money (refunded after not meeting the goal, of course). In the meantime, my Firefox OS phone does the job of acting like a phone, which is all I really need.
If Canonical ever actually does get this done, they will need to run both Skype and WhatsApp to be taken seriously. Those two apps are just too popular, internationally, to ignore. But if they can…then they’re golden.
I wonder if Canonical, at
I wonder if Canonical, at least initially, are going for something different: that Ubuntu for phone is an extention of the OS. In other words, the apps that Ubuntu for phone will have access to, will be all the Linux apps, rather than pop apps like WhatsApp. I’m not saying that those app builders won’t hop on board once the OS is more stable but, at first, perhaps Converged Ubuntu will appeal more to productivity users…
I think that when Windows 10
I think that when Windows 10 for Windows Phones comes out, it will support universal Windows apps which will have one package that installs on desktop PCs, tablets, and phones. This will be similar to Ubuntu’s move except that Windows app developers will have to change their apps to the new universal Windows app format whereas Ubuntu phones will supposedly install desktop Ubuntu app packages as is.
Make it available on a 6″+
Make it available on a 6″+ screen, 4k mAh battery or higher, don’t get carried away on the number of pixels (720, 1080 is fine) to reduce battery usage, real firewall app w/intrusion detection, MITM attacks — now we’re talking.
Bundle it with laptop dock (something like the ‘casetop’) with NON 16:9 screen, 16:10, 3:2 are better for work. Make the screen matte!
Enter market -> Profit.
and Whatsapp?
and Whatsapp?
.
.
Whilst Gimp et al might not
Whilst Gimp et al might not be very usable on a small touch-screen; connect the peripherals of course, and you get the desktop.
Whether Convergence will come to mean having just one device for everything, is doubtful, but the beautiful thing Canonical’s done is to boil Ubuntu down to its Core, so that the same code runs on servers, desk/laptops, phones, TV and IoT.
i’ll believe it when I see
i’ll believe it when I see it.
This industry is rife with liars that lie and say what Canonical is claiming: that they are the one-and-only, the true. “We we are more open than a …”
It’s a bunch of lies. Google. Microsoft. Apple. All of these companies claim that the OS is is open, which is true. But the target device is CLOSED. A consumer cannot eat an open source OS. They cannot play with it. And open source OS is useless to the average consumer. And open target device – now that is a different story.
I am highly skeptical of Canonical’s claim, because I asked them, point-blank, over year ago, about the nuances in their (possibly deliberate) misleading statements about being able to run standard Linux apps. When I had them cornered in a lie (obvious, otherwise we’d be running Linux apps on their phones right now), they not only refused to answer, but closed my commenting account and removed my comments from the forum.
So I call B.S. from Canonical until I see it.
You want people to believe that you are not just another Samsung, trying to create vendor lock-in with your “store” that only runs applications that are sanctioned by you (and for which you get a cut),
…STOP TALKING. PROVE IT.