Ubuntu Touch Q&A 190 call for questions.

[UBportsNews]

Ubuntu Touch Q&A 190 is live this Saturday 16th May. If you can, please join us at the usual time of 19:00 UTC.
Before then, if you have any questions on or about Ubuntu Touch and UBports please post them below and we will do our best to answer them in the Q&A.

Remember that questions on porting to device **** or its status, and questions on bugs, will not be answered.

[diego28a]

@UBportsNews "With the 24.04 base now stable (OTA 1.3), the community is looking forward to the 2.x series. My question is about the physical usability of the interface:

1. Ergonomics on Large Devices: On tablets (like the Volla Tablet) and large phones (like the Pixel 3a XL), having the 'Back' button and menus in the top-left corner is very uncomfortable for daily use. Are there plans in the 2.x series to implement bottom-based navigation or thumb-friendly controls to avoid 'finger gymnastics'?

2. Simplified File Sharing: Will the 2.x series finally integrate Bluetooth into the Content Hub? For a 'mainstream' user, not being able to share a photo via Bluetooth from the Gallery is a major dealbreaker.

3. Beyond the Expert User: What is the roadmap to make basic tasks (sharing, file management, settings) intuitive enough so that a non-technical user never has to open the Terminal?

We love the progress on the 'engine' (Kernel, Wayland), but when will we see the 'cabin' (UI/UX) redesigned for modern, large-screen standards?"

[libremax]

@diego28a For Lomiri, there is a general roadmap https://ubports.com/lomiri-roadmap
and also a list of bugs covered by a bug bounty https://os-sci.com/lomiri#Contribute

Furthermore, in addition to work on the ‘engine’ (Lomiri, Qt6, Morph browser/Qtwebengine, Mir2/Wayland, portals, etc.), there are numerous other developments underway: adaptation to rounded corners and notches, ‘AGPS’, an SQL backend for contacts, Bluetooth updates, a printing system...

There is no roadmap for all of this (for the record, given that a significant proportion of developers are volunteers, releases take place when the software is ready), but progress can be tracked on GitLab:
https://gitlab.com/groups/ubports/-/activity

It should also be noted that opinions on what constitutes a blocking issue
vary greatly from person to person: https://forums.ubports.com/topic/11644/smooth-edges-name-pending-let-s-fix-the-bugs-that-drive-you-mad

[gpatel-fr]

@diego28a said:

Simplified File Sharing: Will the 2.x series finally integrate Bluetooth into the Content Hub? For a 'mainstream' user, not being able to share a photo via Bluetooth from the Gallery is a major dealbreaker.

Note that there is an app for that, see this thread:

https://forums.ubports.com/topic/11833/trying-to-revive-ubtd-bluetooth-file-transfer

I succeeded in transfering files to/ from an Android phone (before a kernel update for my Fairphone 5 broke some Bluetooth features unfortunately so I can't test right now if I can send a photo from the gallery but I believe that it could be possible with another phone).

It's a bit new and there could be some space for improvements but it exists.

[diego28a]

Thanks @Libremax and @GPATEL-FR for the links! It's great to see there's an experimental app for Bluetooth. However, my point is about making these features native and intuitive for the 'mainstream' user, so they don't have to search through forums or install experimental tools.

[gpatel-fr]

@diego28a said:

However, my point is about making these features native and intuitive for the 'mainstream' user, so they don't have to search through forums or install experimental tools.

There is another point of view, that is, not overload the base system with many features and keep the core short and small. Unsure what is the % of people wanting to share via bluetooth.