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UBports released today the Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 software update for “Ubuntu Phone” devices with numerous improvements and support for new phones.
Coming three months after OTA-15, the Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 update is here to enable stable support for the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo+ (GT-I930I) smartphone, which will now receive regular updates when new OTA (Over-the-Air) releases are made available.
Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 also brings a bunch of improvements to Morph Browser, Ubuntu Touch’s default web browser. These include a revamped Downloads system by replacing the previous full-screen Downloads page with an icon in the headerbar that alerts if a download is in progress.
In addition, Morph Browser now features a “Recent Downloads” panel to shows your downloads history, a new control in the tab management page to let you re-open the most recently closed tab, as well as a new checkbox that lets you enable “Always Deny” location access.
Support for custom user agents has been re-enabled as well, and Morph Browser is now easier to use than ever on tablets or desktops thanks to larger tabs and the fact that the browser will no longer rotate itself whenever its window is taller than it is wide. Lastly, the web page zoom controller has been fixed.
Most of the changes in this release are under the hood, as Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 comes with an updated Qt framework to version 5.12 LTS, which enables UBports to start the migration to the newer Ubuntu LTS series, 20.04 (Focal Fossa), especially that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) is reaching end of life soon.
Furthermore, the newer Qt version enabled the developers to add video recording support to 32-bit Android 7 devices, along with numerous performance improvements and new features.
Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 also comes with an updated GStreamer multimedia framework, which enables hardware accelerated camera viewfinder on the PinePhone.
Moreover, video recording is now enabled on the Sony Xperia X, call audio issues were addressed on both the OnePlus 3 and Sony Xperia X, auto-brightness support and switching of mobile data SIM was improved for Android 9 devices, and there’s now support for controlling the flashlight on devices powered by Snapdragon 835 and 845 chips.
Last but not least, the new Ubuntu Touch update comes with the Anbox installer by default to make it easier for your to install Anbox, which lets you run Android apps on devices that support Anbox. More details on the bug fixes included in this release available on the announcement page.
The Ubuntu Touch OTA-16 update will be rolling out soon to all supported devices, including LG Nexus 5, LG Nexus 4, Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi and LTE models), Huawei Nexus 6P, OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T, FairPhone 2, BQ E5 HD Ubuntu Edition, BQ E4.5 Ubuntu Edition, BQ M10 (F)HD Ubuntu Edition, Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition, Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition, Sony Xperia X, Sony Xperia X Compact, Sony Xperia X Performance, Sony Xperia XZ, Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet, Google Pixel 3a, F(x)tec Pro1, Xiaomi Redmi 4X, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi Mi A2, Volla Phone, Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo+ (GT-I9301I), and Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Last updated 3 years ago
