06 Linux on the handset
Ubuntu Touch
A convergent Linux phone with a maintained device roster and no advertising identifier.
- Role
- Mobile OS
- Licence
- GPL / mixed
- Since
- 2013
- Upstream
- Project site ↗
Ubuntu Touch is a Linux phone operating system, maintained by the UBports community since Canonical stepped away in 2017. We deploy it where a handset needs to be a computer the organisation controls.
Why we still choose it
Because a field technician’s device is a data-collection endpoint whether or not you intended it to be. Ubuntu Touch has no advertising identifier, no default cloud sync, and no app store telemetry — which turns a fleet of phones from a compliance liability into ordinary managed hardware.
The convergence story is the other half: dock the handset and it becomes a desktop session. For staff who need one device rather than two, that is a genuine operational saving rather than a demo.
Where it fits
Field services, logistics, healthcare and anywhere a device handles personal data under supervision. Applications are ordinary web or Qt applications, and fleet provisioning is a Nix flake like everything else we hand over.
The honest limit
The device roster is finite and you must choose hardware from it — this is the constraint that decides most evaluations. The application ecosystem is small, so anything you need beyond the basics you will be building. And a consumer expecting the polish of a flagship Android handset will be disappointed.
We evaluate this against Sailfish OS and postmarketOS rather than assuming it wins; two of the three are usually wrong for a given device roster.