Hey everyone,
Starting a new bug fixing project for Ubuntu Touch called Smooth Edges (name pending). The idea is simple: fix the bugs that make people give up on UT or prevent them from trying it in the first place.
The Problem
Look, we all know Ubuntu Touch has rough edges. Some bugs are annoying. Some make daily use frustrating. And some make people pull out their old Android phone after a week. We need to fix those bugs first. I'm not talking about theoretical issues or edge cases that affect small amount of users. I mean the stuff that actually stops UT from being a usable daily driver.
How This Works
Instead of just going through the bug tracker randomly, we're prioritizing based on impact. Two questions:
What bugs stop people from switching to Ubuntu Touch?
What bugs make current users switch away?
Simple as that. Real-world impact over everything else.
Priority Levels
Breaking bugs down into 5 categories:
Priority 1: Core System Stuff - Boot loops, crashes, phone completely unusable. Fix immediately.
Priority 2: Basic Phone Features - Calls, SMS, WiFi, Bluetooth, notifications, camera. If these don't work, it's not really a phone.
Priority 3: Daily Use - Browser crashes, app store issues, keyboard problems, file management. The stuff you hit every day.
Priority 4: Polish - Like those tiny contact navigation arrows that are impossible to see. UI glitches. Things that make UT feel unpolished.
Priority 5: Nice to Have - Advanced features, edge cases, stuff that matters to specific users.
QtWebEngine Upgrade
This is a big one. The browser affects almost everything you do on a phone. We're planning to upgrade QtWebEngine, which should improve a ton of daily use cases.
Finding the Bugs, We're looking at:
Forum posts, support tickets, social media complaints
Comparing UT to Android/iOS to see what's missing
Actually using UT as a daily driver (dogfooding)
Testing
Timeline (really rough estimate)
Roughly 20 weeks broken into phases:
Weeks 1-2: Figure out what needs fixing and how bad it is
Weeks 3-10: Fix the critical stuff (Priority 1 & 2), start planning the QtWebEngine upgrade
Weeks 11-18: Fix daily use bugs (Priority 3), get QtWebEngine upgrade done
Weeks 19-20: Test everything, make sure we didn't break anything
What Success Looks Like
No critical bugs in stable releases
Phone features that just work
You can actually use UT daily without workarounds
People stop complaining about the same issues
UT becomes a real option vs Android/iOS
Not shooting for perfection, just want UT to be solid enough that you'd recommend it to someone.
Need Your Help
This only works if the community gets involved:
Tell us what's broken - What bug almost made you quit UT? What stops you from daily driving it?
Report bugs properly - Help us reproduce issues
Test fixes - Volunteer to test updates
Spread the word - Help gather more feedback
Tracking Progress
We'll measure:
Crash rate
Number of Priority 1-3 bugs
Boot time, battery life, app performance
Community feedback (less complains = winning)
So What Do You Think?
What bugs are driving you nuts? What would it take for you to daily drive UT? Drop your thoughts below.