Ah, tech journos…
Ubuntu Touch [is] a great choice if you seek an alternative that prioritizes privacy and open-source ideals.
But
One area that has improved is Google account synchronization. While it’s not flawless, it’s easier to sync services like Gmail and Calendar than it was before.
🤦 I don’t think he fully grasps that Google is the main reason to use a more private OS than (stock) Android.
While true, in order to get Linux mobile more mainstream, you have to have great google compatibility just because of the sheer volume of people that have to use google calendar for sync with family and friends and/or have gmail as a primary email. That’s just a shitty fact of life. Baby steps.
However, indeed you are completely right that at the current time there are probably a very low amount of people wanting to use it right now that are completely reliant on google.
I think they did a decent job. They report on compatibility for those that want it, but demonstrate it can be a Google-free experience. The fact that they also recognize they tested on an older device vs glossing over that was appreciated, too. Any journalist willing to install Ubuntu on their phone is probably going to be a bit more reliable to begin with, too.
“For instance, I often had to rely on the web browser to access services like Reddit, Telegram, and Discord since native apps weren’t available. Web apps work for primary use but can’t always replace dedicated apps, especially for banking or fitness tracking.”
That’s the core of the problem these days. Nowadays, there’s so much that requires an app to work.
Avoiding mobile apps was entirely realistic in the 2010s, but it’s too late for that now. The world has changed, that ship has sailed etc.
If you can isolate yourself from certain realities of the outside worlds, using a fully FOSS system can be done. The technology is there. It’s just that most people can’t isolate themselves to that degree.
It’s really just banking, I can still use the browser for most other things.
I’m pretty sure my bank’s android app is just webview considering it has a cookie banner when starting it and it looks almost identical to the actual bank website. The biggest feature of the bank app is for 2FA, but it’s not like it’s much more convenient than SMS and they really should be supporting FIDO2 and TOTP codes for actually secure 2FA.
I don’t understand the banking comment, and I’ve seen it several times. Don’t other people’s banks have web portals? Other than maybe depositing a check remotely, are there features you actually need a native banking app for?
My bank offers both an app and a website which is nice, but the app is mandatory for doing any kind of operation involving money (which is not that uncommon when logged-in in your bank accounts ;) even when connecting through their website, as the app is used for some ID-ing process.
Then, there are a few not-mandatory but such-an-effing-pain-to-not-use apps, say to ID oneself with some (public) services.
I use a dumbed down iPhone (like, really: no social, no games, no whatever not even email is configured on it) just so I can access those few apps.
Mine does but there’s 2fa using a dedicated app. Although a 2fa machine is available and sent out also.
My bank warned that they are planning to phase out the code booklet and replace it with a mobile app. Sure, you can continue to use a web browser, but how do you verify anything without a mobile app?
Also, some apps are very picky and refuse to work properly unless your android has GAPPS and is in the in an unmodified state just like the OEM intended. That’s bad news for privacy oriented Android users, let alone anyone who wants to run something even more FOSS.
Don’t other people’s banks have web portals?
Sadly, some finance services are app only, app-that-don’t-run-without-Play-Store only.
Another FYI: Ubuntu Touch does not support VoLTE at all, thus it might be more difficult to use it in some networks and countries (for example, USA shut down 3G some years ago)
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the responsive UI, the browser, and Cinny (the Matrix Client)
I wonder why test this on an 11 year old phone?
I have it running on a Pixel 3a and it’s definitely smooth, but it still stutters once in a while. It feels slower than Android to me, but not much.
Battery life is indeed excellent, though mine doesnt seem to fast charge.
The camera app was the standout feature to me. The pictures i take look every bit as good as those from Android. I expected the app to be clunky or to have bad colors, but that is not the case at all.
Edit: Pixel 3a not 3
Key Points:
- Ubuntu Touch offers privacy and control, is free from Google data tracking, and is perfect for privacy-conscious users.
- Installation is straightforward with the UBports installer, even for unsupported devices, but app support can be limited.
- Ubuntu Touch provides good battery life and performance on newer devices but lacks app variety compared to Android and iOS.
I tried and bricked my S10+
Soft bricked, can probably recover but have not got the time to bring it back.
This fear keeps me back to flash custom ROM on my phone! Plus, I can not afford to have those banking apps not working!
If your phone is fully supported and not on the fringe of whatever project your interested in is, you’re not in much trouble most of the time.
So, lineage is the best option for now?
It really depends on what you’re looking for. I’m happy with Lineage, but others go for stricter privacy setups like Graphene. As long as you can avoid G Apps, IMHO you’re fine. But that’s still Android in some form.
The whole Linux phone experiment is a lovely idea that (if I understand correctly) is hampered by the tons of different mobile phone makes and models. Canonical dropped Ubuntu Touch like a hot potato, and it only survived as a community project.
Its the same problem as standardized Unix systems in the 90s. There’s more ideas on how to implement hardware than there are hands to integrate driver software.
When it comes together it’ll be because we either make the manufacturers warp around something like POSIX, or provide a common target on phones like the steam deck.
Otherwise every hardware generation will get the undescribable misery of supporting the last one, from the one they’re on, while writing the next one. The problem tends to compound.
Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!
This is about installing on a Nexus 5 which is from 2013. Sounds painful.
And it will not get upgraded to 20.04, it will stay on 16.04. My biggest issue was that I could not do much with it. It was only a bit better than a dumbphone. Without apps, every mobile OS dies and back in the day I could not even get Signal working. It was a pain to set up webdav for contacts sync and when I gave up and wanted to use my own nextcloud, it refused to work because of my https cert…
