Ubuntu smartphones get support for every Linux application

Ubuntu for smartphones should be able to run all normal Linux applications in the future. This is evident from a screenshot that appeared on the Google+ page of Michael Hall, one of the developers of Ubuntu for smartphones.

The screenshot only shows Firefox and GIMP running as desktop applications on Ubuntu Touch, with no further integration for the small phone screen. The applications run on top of the Unity 8 phone interface. Developer Hall posted the screenshot that reads “more on this soon.”

Download site Softpedia questioned Hall, who quickly responded to the request for additional explanation. It turns out to be a screenshot of a 4.7″ Nexus 4 screen with XMir X11 applications running on the desktop interface Unity 8, which has been in development for some time. The code that should enable running desktop applications within the mobile interface , is still fresh and still “bug-packed.” Also, the applications do not yet have a mobile or touch-oriented interface.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has long been merging the desktop version of the Linux distribution with the mobile variant. The goal is that in the future a mobile device can be transformed into a desktop version if the intended peripheral equipment is connected. That vision of the future is known as Ubuntu Convergence.

Nexus 4 with Ubuntu for smartphones, Unity 8 and XMir