Do you love taking advantage of Ripper casino bonuses, and playing casino games on your mobile phone? Do you hate iPhones with their obsolete policies? And now Samsung is putting chips into their batteries, so you no longer have the option to replace the battery. Do you want another option?
Well, guess what! Ubuntu has now come out with a mobile operating system. I am currently writing this article on my main computer which is currently running Ubuntu 22.04, and I have used Ubuntu as my main operating system since Ubuntu 12.04 (almost 10 years ago).
To say that I am excited about Ubuntu being available on mobile devices is an understatement. So I am definitely interested in learning what this means in reality.
The Ubuntu Operating System for Mobile Phones
The operating system is called Ubuntu Touch OTA-1 (Based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS). That is the Ubuntu’s last long term support version. The current desktop Ubuntu version is 22.04. The numbers stand more <year released>.<month released>. So 20.24 was released in April 2020. 22.04 was released in April 2024. LTS means that the standard support ends in April 2025 (5 years since it was released). In terms of security release, the operating system is supported until April 2030 (10 years after its release).
To get more information about Ubuntu Touch, check out their website: ubports.com
The whole point of Ubuntu Touch is get out of the iTouch and Google services (and everything that goes with it).
The main disadvantage is that Android apps that are dependent on Google Services cannot run on Ubuntu Touch.
What promoted devices are officially supported by the Ubuntu Touch development team?
These are devices that have been tested by the Ubuntu Touch team. There are other phones where the community has tested Ubuntu Touch, but they have not been officially tested. So as they say … use at your own risk.
Between officially tested devices and community tested devices there are 56 phones to choose from.
- Google Pixel 3a/3a XL ($71-$83)
- Oneplus One ($138)
- Volla Phone ($530)
- Volla Phone X ($550)
- Sony Xperia X ($230)
- Fairphone 2 ($79)
- Google Nexus 5 ($87)
- Volla Phone 22
Community tested phones for Ubuntu touch with no major issues
- Xiaomi Poco X3 NFC ($500)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro (Global) ($180)
- Xiaomi Mi A2 ($71)
- Xiaomi Poco M2 Pro
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro Max
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S/9 Pro (India)
- Fairphone 3 and 3+
- Bq Aquaris E5 HD
- Oneplus 5T
- Oneplus 5
- Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1
- Meizu Pro 5
- Meizu MX4
- OnePlus 6T
- OnePlus 6
I did not check the prices on every phone in the list, but you get the idea that you can find a phone that can have Ubuntu Touch installed on it for a reasonable price. So getting rid of iPhones and/or Android phones is no longer an unobtainable option.
Plus, at least with the Volla phones, they have their own version of an operating system that can run Android applications as long as they are not dependent on Google Services.
Community tested phones for Ubuntu Touch that do have major issues
Beware of any in the list below, because they are missing features. I listed a couple, so you get the idea that these are not always small items.
- Xiaomi Redmi 9C (no wireless external monitor)
- Xiaomi Redmi 9A
- Xiaomi Redmi 9C NFC
- Xiaomi Mi 6
- Xiaomi Poco F1 (no offline charging)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro (no offline charging)
- Fairphone 4
- Xiaomi Mi MIX 3
- Samsung S3 Neo+ (GT-I9301I)
- Xiaomi Redmi 4X (no video)
- Xiaomi Redmi 9 and 9 Prime (cannot shut down or reboot)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 (does not remain stable after being on for more than 7 days)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro
- Xiaomi Mi 8
- Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos)
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (Exynos)
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2XL
- Xiaomi Mi A3
- Oneplus 3 and 3T
- Google Nexus 6P
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
- OnePlus Nord 2 5G
- SHIFT6mq (axolotl)
- Xiaomi Redmi 7
- Oneplus 2
- Xiaomi Poco M3
- Xiaomi Redmi 3X, 3S and 3SP
Due to some “major” problems, I would not trust any of the phones using Ubuntu Touch in the above list.
Can Whatsapp run on phones using Ubuntu Touch?
To quote Volla’s website: The Volla Phone X23, like other devices like it, is not aimed at the common user, but rather at Linux, free software and privacy enthusiasts. Unfortunately, as long as WhatsApp does not release its client, alternative operating systems will continue to be ostracized in the mobility sector.
Of all of the applications that exist in the mobile market, Whatsapp is one that is the hardest to “live without”. Facebook bought Whatsapp, so there lies the problem. And since Facebook does not what to be censored by Google, Apple, etc., Facebook has no reason to encourage alternative operating systems to flourish in the mobile market.
Although, since there is a version of “Whatsapp for Linux” that I am currently running on Ubuntu 22.04, I am not sure why this would not run on Ubuntu Touch 20.04.
What applications does Ubuntu Touch run?
At the current time, there are 1170 application available to run on Ubuntu Touch: https://open-store.io (Whatsapp is not one of them) Although, Telegram (Whatsapp alternative) does run on Ubuntu Touch.
- Accessibility
- Books and comics
- Business and finance
- Communication and social
- Developer tools
- Education and reference
- Entertainment
- Food and drink
- Games
- Graphics
- Health and fitness
- Lifestyle
- Media and video
- Music and audio
- News and magazines
- Personalization
- Productivity
- Science and engineering
- Shopping
- Sports
- Travel and weather
- Utilities
There are a lot of categories. But what about more specific searches?
When I typed in the word “casino”, nothing came up. No “poker”. No “gambling”. No “alcohol”. No “drugs”.
What about “games” in general? There are 34 games. I wonder how long it is going to take online casino companies to tap into this untapped market?
Even the regular games are untapped. There are only a few that caught my eye:
- Solitaire games
- Gearboy Color (gameboy emulator)
- Dos.zone (run Dos games on your phone)
- Packman Pack (who does not love Pacman?)
- Mines (I have in the past wasted way too much time playing this game on Windows)
- SuperTux (love this game for some simple fun)
6 Games with two of them being emulators. Definitely an untapped market.
Summary
At the end of the day, Whatsapp is a critical app. Both people have to have Whatsapp installed. So you can’t use Telegram (available on Ubuntu Touch) and the other person uses Whatsapp and you talk to each other.
On the other hand, Whatsapp does run on Ubuntu 22.04, and there are plenty of “webapp” applications that run on Ubuntu Touch, including Google Maps. So maybe it is more somebody just doing it as opposed to it technologically not being possible to do.
And if you are looking for a translation app, “Google Translate” is available as well as “Translate” (a native translator powered by Lingva).
Maybe it will just take one big player to get the ball rolling. Are you listening Ripper Casino bonuses?
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