[Purism], the "security and freedom-focused computer manufacturer", have officially announced a [new parternship] with UBports to fully support Ubuntu Touch (UT) on the Librem 5 - a phone that is equally dedicated to security and privacy as UBports.
The Librem 5 is a phone that many in the Linux community have heard of and even some outside of the community. To have Ubuntu Touch as one of the three supported operating systems for this device could bring an entirely new crowd of users to UT, as well as UBports. This bodes well for app development and OS development alike. For some people, it even brings back the excitement reminiscent of the proposed and crowdfunded [Ubuntu Edge] project.
Modernity
One of the challenges facing the UBports community has been the inability to point a new person to a brand new community-supported device. There are many now-aging, older devices such as the Nexus 4, Nexus 5 and the Oneplus One. This is a great way to save devices from landfills but many Ubuntu Touch enthusiasts want a "full package" to showcase their love. A full package includes a new device with open and safe hardware, modern and fast components, and an OS (Ubuntu Touch) to smoothly run on top. The Purism/UBports partnership may be the full package the world has been waiting for.
Fairphone vs Librem 5
But what about the Fairphone and Fairphone 2? Wasn't this supposed to be that you ask? Let's compare and contrast
| FAIRPHONE * | LIBREM 5 * |
Ethically Sourced | Privacy/Security-oriented |
Modular | Hardware killswitches |
5" Touchscreen | 5" Touchscreen |
Bluetooth 4 | Bluetooth 4 |
Dual-SIM | Single SIM |
Micro-B 2.0 | USB-C |
Qualcomm® Adreno 330 GPU | Vivante GPU |
Snapdragon™ 801 | i.MX 6 / i.MX 8 |
32 GB Storage | 32 GB Storage |
2 GB RAM | 3GB RAM |
* Specification are subject to change.
The Fairphone ships with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, on which you can install UT, and the Librem 5 ships with PureOS GNOME and *officially* supports the option to install PureOS with Plasma Mobile interface and, of course, Ubuntu Touch. This means that you will be able to have a "pure" Ubuntu Touch experience that is **completely** free of Android and its unseen layers, which are normally required on other devices.
Convergence
And what about convergence? Does the proposed Librem 5 support the dream of convergence?
The answer is . . . . . . . .
YES!
About midway down their [store page], it says:
"Enabling the path for a true convergence device, capable to work as a phone, making video and audio calls, encrypted messaging, email, web browser, that can also become a full desktop computer with an option for a compatible keyboard, mouse, and monitor. It can be a desktop computer and phone all-in-one."
This means that, with the successful production of the Librem 5 device, UBports' dream of true convergence will be able to live on in a brand new device as well as remain possible in the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 devices for those who have already purchased or which to purchase used.
Read more about the new [parternship], get the [Librem 5], and [learn more] about Purism!
@NeoTheThird: As for scaling, it'll be very interesting to see what our friends at @Puri_sm come up with to make GTK more responsive!
What do you think of this?
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