Canonical, the team behind Ubuntu and Ubuntu Touch, announced a short while back that they have got one high-end partner to launch Ubuntu OS on a phone. From leaks today, it looks like that partner will be Chinese phone maker Meizu and the phone may be the current flagship, the Meizu MX3.
The Meizu MX3 is one of the high-end smartphones competing in the Chinese market and comes in a variation on models, the highest running a octa-core Exynos processor, 2GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and 8MP rear camera.
It is questionable why Meizu would partner up with Ubuntu OS, considering they already have Flyme OS, an Android skin with extras. This is not the first Chinese company to decide to do this and Meizu may see it as a way to break into the Western market, offering their hardware and Ubuntu OS as the software.
Oppo did the same with CyanogenMod, a popular ROM for Android, adding it onto the Oppo N1 and shipping it in the US and Europe. Not only did this gain Oppo presence in those markets, it made CyanogenMod look at adding their ROM onto smartphones before users open the phone.
Canonical needs to start somewhere and securing a high-end smartphone could bring them a lot of success in the future. Ubuntu OS may not only be available on the Meizu MW3, according to recent reports, the new mobile OS will run on a few low-end devices too.
The company did say they were excited about 2014 and it looks like Ubuntu OS will be a fully-fledged mobile OS this year, instead of just a switch between Ubuntu and Android. We are seeing a lot more mobile operating systems come out, including Firefox OS and CyanogenMod.
