Ah, tech journos…
Ubuntu Touch [is] a great choice if you seek an alternative that prioritizes privacy and open-source ideals.
But
One area that has improved is Google account synchronization. While it’s not flawless, it’s easier to sync services like Gmail and Calendar than it was before.
🤦 I don’t think he fully grasps that Google is the main reason to use a more private OS than (stock) Android.
While true, in order to get Linux mobile more mainstream, you have to have great google compatibility just because of the sheer volume of people that have to use google calendar for sync with family and friends and/or have gmail as a primary email. That’s just a shitty fact of life. Baby steps.
However, indeed you are completely right that at the current time there are probably a very low amount of people wanting to use it right now that are completely reliant on google.
I think they did a decent job. They report on compatibility for those that want it, but demonstrate it can be a Google-free experience. The fact that they also recognize they tested on an older device vs glossing over that was appreciated, too. Any journalist willing to install Ubuntu on their phone is probably going to be a bit more reliable to begin with, too.
Another FYI: Ubuntu Touch does not support VoLTE at all, thus it might be more difficult to use it in some networks and countries (for example, USA shut down 3G some years ago)
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the responsive UI, the browser, and Cinny (the Matrix Client)
Ubuntu Touch is optimized to reduce unnecessary background processes, making your phone last longer on a single charge.
Wait… did he just say that Ubuntu runs faster than Android on an Android phone?
Nope. He explicitly only praises battery life in that parapgraph. He experienced some performance issues in his (old) test device:
Ubuntu Touch shines in battery life (at least in my experience). Since the OS is lighter and uses fewer system resources, many users report better battery performance than on Android. Ubuntu Touch is optimized to reduce unnecessary background processes, making your phone last longer on a single charge. However, if you push the OS with more demanding tasks, you may still run into performance issues, especially on older hardware.
“For instance, I often had to rely on the web browser to access services like Reddit, Telegram, and Discord since native apps weren’t available. Web apps work for primary use but can’t always replace dedicated apps, especially for banking or fitness tracking.”
That’s the core of the problem these days. Nowadays, there’s so much that requires an app to work.
Avoiding mobile apps was entirely realistic in the 2010s, but it’s too late for that now. The world has changed, that ship has sailed etc.
If you can isolate yourself from certain realities of the outside worlds, using a fully FOSS system can be done. The technology is there. It’s just that most people can’t isolate themselves to that degree.
It’s really just banking, I can still use the browser for most other things.
What if you have appliances such as a scale, lights, watch or something? Pretty much guaranteed that those won’t work unless you use their app. If you want to go FOSS, you may need to sell all of your smart stuff and replace them with similar devices that work in a privacy respecting strictly FOSS environment.
You can try: https://gadgetbridge.org/ https://github.com/oliexdev/openScale
(although they are android apps)
I don’t understand the banking comment, and I’ve seen it several times. Don’t other people’s banks have web portals? Other than maybe depositing a check remotely, are there features you actually need a native banking app for?
Key Points:
- Ubuntu Touch offers privacy and control, is free from Google data tracking, and is perfect for privacy-conscious users.
- Installation is straightforward with the UBports installer, even for unsupported devices, but app support can be limited.
- Ubuntu Touch provides good battery life and performance on newer devices but lacks app variety compared to Android and iOS.
