Future core phones
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what criteria will be used to select future core phones?
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@iamnotarobot If you quote @mariogrip "It needs HDMI out"
BR
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@Flohack What does that mean exactly? Actual HDMI, or through MHL and SlimPort ok as well?
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@Flohack
I guess not only "HDMI out", most possible it should be Open Source, so that the hardware specification is available. If it is not Open Source and the hardware manufacturer will give all the hardware specification to the developer team it should be also ok.
Reverse engineering is just a pain in the butt and makes life terrible. -
Would Google's Pixel phones be prime candidates for future porting?
I quite like the overall package of the new Essential phone, it being Rubin's creation and running stock Android with promised timely updates and patches a la the Pixel.
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We thought about that, but the fact of the matter is that those phones are just too expensive - too expensive to develop on, to expect people to buy and then reflash to another OS. Also, there are no official Lineage OS ports for the Pixel. My guess is that it's just too expensive. Especially since it'll only get updates for two years (plus security updates for one year after that).
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@UniSuperBox thanks, although i have to say that the Fairphone 2, for all of its admirable qualities, is also rather expensive. The original Pixel (not XL) is now available in England for GBP 399 from time to time (price matching fluctuations). Imagine the web tech and web media insiders having the possibility of running UT on their 'older' Pixel. it would be an interesting strategy to influence those with influence in the industry.
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strongly agree. the price of the pixel is astronomical... thats why iam done with new "googlephones".
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Agree also. Cost of phones is now getting ridiculous for "flagship” models. I personally think it should be aimed at price point or model range that can be available to as many people as possibleas.
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Core phone Est. price
OnePlus One EUR 100 (used)
Fairphone 2 EUR 529 (new, can't find used)
Nexus 5 EUR 100 (used)I have found it rather easy to get hold of the OnePlus One as well as the Nexus 5, while Fairphone 2 doesn't seem to be readily available in the 2nd hand market.
Of the above, the OPO is the most "high-end", but unfortunately appears to be the least functional with UBports (Camera and GPS not working). Given that, I am curious if this phone should be expected to get some more love from developers in the near term? It is a nice phone, but lack of camera (and flashlight) as well as GPS + that it displays some network and bluetooth issues makes it less attractive as a daily driver (still, I am patiently using it as that, instead of my Meizu Pro 5, which has even more network issues).
I borrowed a Nexus 5 from a friend and installed UBports a while ago. While the phone is not bad, I found it far from the OPO in terms of performance and screen size. The Fairphone 2 I find very pricey relative to its specs (could get a OnePlus 5 for similar cost).
I am aware that developer resources are limited and that Halium and 16.04 consumes a lot of resources, but it sure would be nice to have a fully working "flagship" (in relative terms) device to run UBports.
What are your thoughts on this?
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@tomoqv thanks. i'm on the outside of this project looking in and so i don't have a clear understanding of the 'terms' under which the developers are working (time, funds, legal, ip, et.c. et.c.), but i am wondering about the strategy. with limited resources available i'm not sure that trying to get UT on to as many phone models as possible is the right one. personally i would be aiming at the Pixel range because of the demographic profile of its typical user, and then try to leverage that to promote the UT porting project in that network. So long as Google keeps producing Pixel first generation handsets then their price will come down in time. I would also say that if Rubin's Essential phone takes off then it should also be part of the UT strategy. Everything to everyone doesn't work as a way to grow in the early years. there is a right target market to go after, and the target market is defined as the user and not the phone. the user defines the phone to develop for. i don't see anyone in the web tech space using the Fairphone2. the Nexus range was in vogue, but the Pixel has taken over, and the OnePlus experiment is going where in the future? my 2 pennies.
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@Lakota your right. thats realy important.a bigger fanbase of a phone makes it easier to find and convince people to use community-driven ubport-images. i hope that the most people like
not-so-expensive-phones more
only for fairphone i would spend more money ( open source and development ) -
I agree with @Lakota , that it should be available for everyone. I therefore think the team's decision to put priority on Halium is very good. I think it will make it significantly easier to support new phones and therefore attracts more people to contribute. Hopefully deciding about a particular flagship device will then also not be much of an issue as a result. I also think prioritizing Anbox is probably a good idea to attract people to contribute. Finally i think convergence seems like a fantastic feature.
Who knows, but Imho those 3 should be the top 3 priorities to provide for a bright future of ubports,
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I for one would be happy to see a BQ phone being supported going forward. The new BQ Aquaris phones seem good to me. With prices ranging from E170 to E340 and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors too. I have had my E4.5 for what seems like an age now. I remember waiting for the flash sales, that was truly a frustrating way to get to buy a phone. I got one eventually and have used it everyday since. If I could buy a new BQ phone with Ubuntu Touch I'd buy it immediately. I don't really care too much about convergence I use Ubuntu 16.04 LTE at home and I have put an SSD in my corporate machine at work with it on too (shhhh, don't tell the IT Technical services team
. Good file syncing will do at this point.
