Ubuntu introduces a new way to enjoy content and services on your smartphones.

The tech landscape is dominated by the smartphone and the tablet. These in turn are lorded-over by two competing operating systems familiar to us all, namely Apple's iOS and Google's Android, which can never be deposed, not even by Microsoft's millions. Right?

Not so. While Apple and Google slug it out with periodic updates to try and outdo each other, and in doing so hopefully tempt us tech buyers to swap from one major operating system to another, there are other smartphone-centric platforms out there vying for to be dominant in the longer term.

For example Windows Phone, has faltered due to its muddled tablet and desktop variants and lack of app support, and hasn't had much of an impact so far, though Microsoft hopes to change its fortunes with Windows 10 Mobile.

And then there are a the smaller and virtually unknown mobile platforms such as Jolla's Sailfish that are now starting to get some attention, with probably the most well-known being Ubuntu.

Several operating systems are fighting for the title of up-and-coming 'third ecosystem', and Ubuntu Phone has emerged as a new challenger.

Ubuntu introduces a new way to enjoy content and services on smartphones, without relying on traditional apps.Ubuntu phones are now available for sale across Europe and in China. You can purchase directly from their partners BQ and Meizu.
For the first time, you can use a phone that revolves around you and the content and services you use the most. Say goodbye to opening and switching between multiple apps and instead, let Ubuntu’s unique scopes bring everything you need to one screen.Ubuntu Phone has been designed with obsessive attention to detail. Form follows function throughout, from the ever-changing welcome screen to essentials like messaging and alarms. And the Launcher puts it all at your fingertips, whatever you’re doing with your phone.



One of the biggest challenges facing new mobile operating systems is the lack of apps. People with an iPhone or Android device are often reluctant to move to a new OS if it doesn't have their favourite apps and games. Just ask Microsoft.

Apps

Although making phone calls and sending text messages is handled in a similar fashion to iOS and Android devices, there is currently no default app for emails preinstalled on Ubuntu Phone. The Gmail web app was also installed, but as this was a web app, it simply took you to the Gmail inbox website, which didn't display properly. The default web browser is Canoncial's own creation, though it's based on the Chromium engine, delivering an experience similar to Google's Chrome web browser.

Another of the platform's own apps is Gallery, an effort to create a timeline-organised history of your life through photos. Yes, it's a bit like Facebook, though don't get us started on that particular social media app for smartphones

Unless you delve a lot deeper, it's all about content to the exclusion of little-used control; pictures are shown as thumbnails, and by 'event' (time taken), are scroll-able left and right, and can be made full-screen, but unless you then touch the bottom of the screen you'll never need to see controls to share, enhance or crop it.

Edge control

From the beginning everything in Ubuntu Phone was designed around the edges of the smartphone screen, and its first act was to impress us with the way it relies on gestures and drags rather than taps on apps.

A quick swipe from the left brings up a list of shortcuts to your favourite apps and Scopes, and is a similar layout to the Unity menu bar in the desktop version of Ubuntu. Quickly swiping your finger up from the bottom edge brings up a list of all open Scopes, while a slow, deliberate drag of the finger from the right-hand side brings up a 3D carousel list of apps and Scopes that you can flick through. A quicker swipe from the right flicks back and forth between your last open app.

With the screen locked notifications can be displayed, which is a nice touch and allows you to quickly open up whatever app the notification belongs to.

Home page

Home screens that hold all your smartphone's apps are mainstays on iOS and Android, but with Ubuntu Phone's focus on Scopes over apps, there currently isn't a dedicated Home page. In an earlier version of Ubuntu Phone that we tried a few years ago there was, but this has been dropped in favour of a series of Scope screens that you can flick through, with the Today scope that lists the weather, calendar and recent calls acting as the default Scope.

Early verdict

Will Ubuntu Phone make an impact? For anyone who has become frustrated with both major operating systems, the streamlined and more intelligently designed, intuitive interface of Ubuntu Phone shows more attention to detail than either iOS or Android, though whether it's revolutionary enough to succeed is debatable.

Ubuntu has enough recognition among Linux users to at least guarantee a niche audience who will be forgiving of the bugs and lack of official apps. However Canoncial has been vocal about its ambitions to bring Ubuntu Phone to the mainstream and tempt people who haven't heard of Linux to ditch Android or iOS. In its current state, Ubuntu Phone has a major struggle on its hands, as it still doesn't have the apps to convince people to migrate.

Ubuntu Phone

The software is also buggy, and although this will no doubt be fixed eventually, at the moment I wouldn't recommend Ubuntu Phone for people who just want an easy life. It does have plenty of potential though, and Canoncial is aiming to bring Ubuntu Phone to retail in around 12 months, so there is plenty of time to iron out some of its problems.

Although you can't buy Ubuntu Phone devices in stores until next year, you can buy the BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition and Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition smartphones online if you can't wait to try out Ubuntu Phone. You can also download the operating system onto older Nexus devices, though I'd be cautious of installing it onto your main smartphone for now.

The biggest question is how will people take to Scopes? As Ubuntu Phone is so focused around the idea, if it fails to catch on it could spell the end of Canoncial's hopes to transcend the desktop.

I like the ambition behind them, and aggregating various services into one easy to digest screen is pretty handy. It's also a good way of getting big names on Ubuntu Phone without having to convince them to spend time writing an app.