The OS from Canonical is just starting its journey

Jun 28, 2015 19:10 GMT  ·  By

Now that Ubuntu Touch is in the hands of actual users, one of the most common critiques is that it doesn't feel like a finished product and it cannot compete with the likes of Android or iOS. The problem is not Ubuntu, but the comparison itself.

Canonical has been working on Ubuntu Touch for more than two years and a half, and they finally managed to get it in on a phone and make available for purchase only for a few months. The number of devices that carry the new operating system is now up to three, but some of the users and even parts of the media do not like the new OS. They say it doesn't feel complete and that it can't replace Android just yet.

The truth is that they are correct, in part, and that Ubuntu Touch can't really stand against Android or iOS. It has only a handful of apps, and it lacks many features, so saying that it doesn't match the other OSes on the market is true. The problem is that you can't compare Ubuntu Touch with anything else that's currently available. It's not fair towards the platform developed by Canonical.

Ubuntu Touch is just on par with Android and all the others

I don't know how many users still remember when the first stable Android version was released, but it was a mess. The same can be said about iOS. That poor version from Apple didn't even have Copy / Paste, and it was a mess. It took years until Android became an OS that had no kind of slowdowns in menus, and it's still an issue on most phones that are not all that powerful.

Now, here we have Ubuntu Touch, a new platform that promises a lot and delivers a stable experience. It's not great, it's not complete, but it's different and you can tell that it's going places. If you really want to compare Ubuntu Touch with anything, you should check the first editions of Android or iOS, and then say that it's on par with everything else.

All the other platforms are years ahead in terms of refinement, but Ubuntu is catching on quickly. It won't have to go through all the issues that have plagued other operating systems, and the devs will make sure not to make the same mistakes. In fact, Ubuntu on phones already has features that were completely absent in Android just a few years ago, not to mention the fact that it has things that are not even present on Android or iOS today.

Let's talk about Ubuntu in a couple of years

A fair comparison should be done in a couple of years, that is if Ubuntu takes off that way it's planned. Until then, complaining about the lack of features or about the fact that it is a little laggy in the menu is not really all that relevant. It's already a much better experience than it was six months ago, and there is no reason to think that this trend will stop now.