This video is the Ubuntu Touch Q&A 182, streamed on January 24, 2026, by the UBports Foundation. It covers recent developments in the Ubuntu Touch ecosystem, focusing heavily on the transition to Qt6 and the Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) base.
Core Updates & News
- Morph Browser (Qt6): A new version is available in the Open Store. It now supports hardware-accelerated video decoding and camera functionality [01:21].
- Root Filesystem Resizing: Work is underway to resize the root FS across various devices to accommodate the larger Qt6 library footprint [02:21].
- SignOnD Fix: Authentication issues with online accounts caused by library name conflicts during the Qt6 transition have been resolved [06:33].
- Lumiere Cloud Sync: A new core app (formerly Ubisync) is being developed to provide a generic backend for services like Nextcloud, featuring seamless remote folder mounting [08:04].
Qt6 Migration Efforts
The team is currently in the middle of a massive “housekeeping” effort to port libraries and components to Qt6 [20:50].
- Dependency Tracking: They are using a GitLab board to manage the complex dependency tree [13:48].
- New Team Members: A veteran Qt developer from Bangalore and two others have joined to work full-time on the migration [17:41].
- Goal: The immediate priority is providing a stable API for app developers to begin writing or porting their own apps to Qt6 [21:25].
App Ecosystem Highlights
Several new or updated apps in the Open Store were showcased [27:19]:
- Pure Maps (Unconfined): Now allows for offline mapping via OSM Scout Server and improved smartwatch connectivity [28:05].
- Sealed (Bitwarden): A password manager client, though there is ongoing discussion regarding memory security for credentials [28:44].
- Monflow: A native banking app for customers of a specific Dutch bank [31:36].
- UB Connect: A KDE Connect-compatible client for syncing clipboards and files [31:01].
- Twitch Viewer: A native player for browsing and watching Twitch streams [33:40].
Community Q&A
- Data Encryption: To enable the new personal data encryption feature, users need at least 50% of their storage space free for the migration process [47:00].
- 5G Support: On supported hardware (like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 Pro), 5G options should appear in settings if the SIM and plan also support it [49:10].
- Apple Silicon Installer: The native ARM64 build of the UBports installer is currently broken; Mac users should use the x86_64 binaries via Rosetta for now [52:43].
- Future LTS Versions: There is speculation about skipping certain Ubuntu bases to target 28.04 LTS in the future, similar to previous upgrade rhythms [57:41].
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