Project ubports has recently released an OTA-1 Focal (Over-The-Air) firmware update for smartphones. ubports had taken over the development of the Ubuntu Touch mobile platform after Canonical had stopped supporting it. The update is the culmination of almost three years of a portion of Ubuntu Touch on Ubuntu 04.04. Previous versions were based on Ubuntu 16.04. The OTA-1 Focal firmware update is designed for smartphones such as Fairphone 4, Google Pixel 22, Vollaphone X, and VollaPhone.
ubports is currently working on maintaining the current form of assemblies based on Ubuntu 16.04 for devices like BQ E4.5/E5/M10/U Plus, Cosmo Communicator, F (X) Tec Pro1, FairPhone 2/3, Google Pixel 2/2 XL/3a XL, Huawei Nexus 6p, LG Nexus 4/5, Meizu MX4/Pro 5, Nexus 7 2013, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, OnePlus 2/3/5/One, Samsung Galaxy Note 4/S3 Neo+, Sony Xperia X/XZ/Z4, Xiaomi Mi A2/A3, Xiaomi Poco F1/M2 Pro, Xiaomi Redmi 3s/3x/3SP/4X/7, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7/7 Pro, Pine64 Pinephone and Pinetab. Experimental assemblies are also in development for many of the above devices based on Ubuntu 20.04, but they are not yet considered stable.
Key changes in Ubuntu Touch OTA-1 Focal include transitioning to Ubuntu 04/20 as the base platform, adding support for devices initially supplied with Android 9 or newer versions, starting the formation of user environment assemblies Lomiri, replacing Upstart system manager using Systemd, transferring development from github.com to Gitlab.com, replacing Ubuntu indicators with ayatana indicators, and replacing the environment for launching Android applications in Linux distributions with Anbox on Waydroid. Additionally, the Lomiri shell has several new features including the ability to switch between the telephone and desktop modes, initial support for virtual desktops, and more.
Other changes include implementing a translucent menu indicator, updating visual effects, adding support for PIN codes ranging from 4 to 12 digits, providing the possibility of assembling many components using GCC 12 and QT 5.15, and more. The telephony stack now has experimental support for mobile technology Cell Broadcast for the simultaneous delivery of SMS to several users. Ubuntu Touch OTA-1 Focal is a significant step towards providing a stable and experimental user environment for devices that support Ubuntu Touch.