The project UBports recently announced the release of the new version of Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 in which a series of quite important updates and corrections have been made, since this not only ensures compatibility improvements, but also improves the system in various aspects.
For those who are still unaware of Ubuntu Touch, you should know that this is a mobile platform distribution originally developed by Canonical which was later withdrawn and passed into the hands of the UBports project.
What's new in Ubuntu Touch OTA-17?
This new version of Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 is still based on Ubuntu 16.04, but the developers have focused more recently on prepare to migrate to Ubuntu 20.04.
As promised in the OTA-16 release post, this release is where we slow down a bit. We are working hard to bring you Ubuntu Touch based on Ubuntu 20.04. Since most of our time is spent on Ubuntu 20.04, there is less time to review and combine fixes and new features for regular OTA releases.
The innovations of OTA-17 include Mir display server update to version 1.8.1 (version 1.2.0 used above) and the implementation of NFC support on most devices originally shipped with the Android 9 platform, such as Pixel 3a and Volla Phone.
Another of the changes that stands out in this new Ubuntu Touch version is that now supports NFC hardware on most devices that run with hardware compatibility with Android 9, including Pixel 3a and Volla Phone.
NFC support gives application developers the ability to read or write NFC tags; or even to communicate with another device using the protocol. People have already been thinking about how to use NFC functions to read from passive medical monitors
Many compatible devices, including OnePlus One smartphone, have resolved camera issues related to flash, zoom, rotation, and focus.
On OnePlus 3 devices, the containers are properly configured to run normal desktop applications using the Libertine application manager.
The Pixel 3a has modified the generation of thumbnails, solves vibration problems and optimizes power consumption.
On Nexus 4 and Nexus 7, crashes were fixed when using the Trusted Store and Online Accounts features. Volla Phone fixes issues with automatic screen brightness adjustment.
Also noteworthy is that a new keyboard layout was added, as well as a fix for word prediction services not loading on Swiss-French and English-Dvorak keyboard layouts.
Finally, for those interested in knowing more about it on releasing this new firmware update, you can visit the following link.
Get Ubuntu Touch OTA-17
The Ubuntu Touch OTA-17 update is formed for the following devices:
- LG Nexus 5
- OnePlus One
- fairphone 2
- LG Nexus 4
- BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition
- BQ E4.5 Ubuntu Edition
- Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition
- Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition
- BQ M10 (F) HD Ubuntu Edition
- Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi and LTE models)
- Sony Xperia X
- Sony Xperia X Compact
- Sony Xperia X Performance
- Sony Xperia XZ
- Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet
- Huawei Nexus 6P
- OnePlus 3 and 3T
- Xiaomi Redmi 4X
- Google Pixel 3a
- OnePlus 2
- F (x) tec Pro1
- Xiaomi Redmi 3s / 3x / 3sp (land)
- Xiaomi Note 7 Redmire
- Redmire Xiaomi Note Pro 7
- Xiaomi Mi A2
- Volla Phone
- Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo + (GT-I9301I)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Separately, without the "OTA-17" tag, updates will be prepared for Pine64 PinePhone and PineTab devices. Compared to the previous version, stable assembly formation has started for Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi 3s / 3x / 3sp devices.
For existing Ubuntu Touch users on the stable channel they will receive the OTA update through the System Configuration Updates screen.
While, in order to receive the update immediately, just enable ADB access and run the following command on 'adb shell':
sudo system-image-cli -v -p 0 --progress dots
With this the device will download the update and install it. This process may take a while, depending on your download speed.