Ubuntu Touch OTA-18 Officially Released with Performance Improvements, Bug Fixes

Ubuntu Touch OTA-18

UBports announced today the release and general availability of the Ubuntu Touch OTA-18 software update for Ubuntu Phone and Linux-powered devices.

Still based on the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) operating system series, Ubuntu Touch OTA-18 is here as a maintenance update that plugs various annoyances and bugs to make the entire Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system more stable and reliable.

First of all, Ubuntu Touch OTA-18 introduces a new way for Ubuntu Touch to scale down and display wallpapers without affecting the performance of the system, which mostly benefits BQ Aquaris E4.5 users that use the default wallpaper, but it will also benefit devices with 1GB of RAM, yet the savings will vary depending screen and wallpaper resolutions.

Second, this release comes with an updated Media-hub component, which is being used by Ubuntu Touch for audio and video playback as requested by applications, to provide Ubuntu Phone users with a more stable and reliable mobile OS.

Lastly, some much-needed improvements made their way into this release, such as automatic opening of the on-screen keyboard on a new tab in the Morph Browser, the ability to open the Terminal app with the Control+Alt+T shortcut, support for stickers in the Messaging app, the addition of a degree (°) symbol on the on-screen keyboard, and support for alarms to snooze from the moment they’re snoozed.

And then there are bug fixes to make your Ubuntu Touch experience more enjoyable. Among these, there’s a fix for call audio on Google Pixel 2 devices, but there are also numerous other smaller fixes, so make sure you check out the full changelog for all the technical details.

The Ubuntu Touch OTA-18 update is rolling out now to all supported devices, including LG Nexus 4, LG Nexus 5, Huawei Nexus 6P, Nexus 7 2013 (Wi-Fi and LTE models), OnePlus One, OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3/3T, Google Pixel 3a, Fairphone 2, BQ Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition, BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition, BQ Aquaris M10 (F)HD Ubuntu Edition, Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition, and Meizu Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition.

Also supported are the Sony Xperia X, Sony Xperia X Compact, Sony Xperia X Performance, Sony Xperia XZ, Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet, Xiaomi Redmi 4X, Xiaomi Redmi 3s/3x/3sp (land), Xiaomi Redmi Note 7, Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro, Xiaomi Mi A2, Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo+ (GT-I9301I), Samsung Galaxy Note 4, F(x)tec Pro1, Volla Phone, PinePhone, and PineTab.

Image credits: PINE64/UBports

Last updated 3 years ago

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