Ubuntu Touch, the community-driven mobile OS stewarded by the UBports Foundation, has just released OTA-9 based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (“Focal”). Over the next several days, it will become available on handsets and tablets that include, but are not limited to:
- Xiaomi models: Xiaomi Poco M2 Pro; Poco X3 NFC / X3; Redmi Note 9 Pro / Pro Max / 9S; Redmi 9 and 9 Prime
- Popular smartphones: Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1; F(x)tec Pro1 X; Fairphone 3 and 3+; Fairphone 4; Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL; OnePlus 5, 5T, 6, 6T; OnePlus Nord N10 5G; OnePlus Nord N100; Sony Xperia X; Volla Phone series (Volla Phone, Volla Phone X/22/X23/Quintus)
- Tablets: JingPad A1; Lenovo Tab M10 HD (2nd Gen, Wi-Fi and LTE); Volla Tablet
The main highlight of the new release is that VoLTE support has been updated to work “out-of-the-box” with a wider selection of carriers. It’s worth noting, however, that VoLTE testing has so far been conducted only on a handful of Volla devices.
Consequently, users of other ports may find VoLTE support to be somewhat hit-or-miss: it remains experimental and may not always function flawlessly.
Waydroid—a container-based solution that allows Android apps to run on Ubuntu Touch—has been bumped to version 1.5.1. This update lays the groundwork for compatibility with upcoming official Android 13 images and includes various bug fixes.
As a result, users who rely on Waydroid to access Android-only applications can expect fewer hiccups and, over time, improved support for newer Android releases.
Moreover, Ubuntu Touch used the Emoji One font in earlier releases to render emojis. With OTA-9, the default emoji font is now Noto Color Emoji. This change delivers better coverage for some of the newer emojis that have appeared over the past year.
Lastly, as with most maintenance releases, OTA-9 includes a variety of smaller bug fixes and security patches. These come from both the Ubuntu upstream repositories and UBports’ own repositories.
Check out the release announcement for more details and the complete list of novelties in Ubuntu Touch OTA-9.
The stable channel automatically pushes the update through the system’s built-in Updates screen for existing users. For new ones, installation instructions for your device can be found at devices.ubuntu-touch.io.
