14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical has been having some problems with Ubuntu for phones due to some bugs and other issues that blocked any new releases for almost a week. That period is now over, and a new and exciting build has been made available.
The Ubuntu developers have been working hard to fix the problems that arose in the Ubuntu Touch development and it looks like they have been very successful. An even better piece of news is that not only have the problems been fixed, but a number of new features are also available with this new release.
“Image #157 has been dogfooded and marked as a valid candidate, so we moved on an promoted it to the devel channel! #157 might still have some rough edges in it, but a few of the issues present in this image are expected to be fixed by the QtCompositor landing that's being released right now. Therefore we have some hopes for the next image as well!”
“We also had some unexpected test-related problems in our smoketesting which is currently being investigated by Jamie and Paul. Most probably nothing to worry about though. Anyway, this promotion basically means that we are no longer in TRAINCON-0 and we can resume normal landing operations,” says Canonical's Łukasz Zemczak.
Getting the Ubuntu Touch development back on track is certainly a good thing, but the new image also brings a ton of new features and other various improvements. For example, HDR mode support has been added to the camera app, geolocation support has been implemented, the dialer, messaging, and address-book applications visuals have been improved, the Mir display server has been updated to version 0.5.0, it's now possible to make emergency calls, and the Ubuntu keyboard has been improved.
Also, dual-SIM UI support has been implemented in the dialer and messaging, a transfer indicator has been added, a new Ubuntu UI Toolkit is now available, a number of Unity 8-related enhancements, features, and bug fixes have been implemented, and fixes and features for scopes, compositor, telephony, and others have been added as well.
Canonical has been speeding up the rhythm for new features a little, but it has a good reason to do that. The company is working to produce an RTM image for Ubuntu Touch, which should eventually make it into the first phones from Meizu and BQ that are scheduled to arrive this autumn.
Ubuntu developers have a series of automated and manual tests in place that allow them to scan for issues before releasing an image to the public. It makes the release process a lot faster, which is actually good news for the end user.