Ubuntu to Show Off Community Ports on OnePlus One & Sony Xperia Z1 at MWC 2016

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Ubuntu has given us another reason to look forward to the Mobile World Congress 2016. The team at Canonical have announced the arrival of two new Ubuntu phone ports community ports, namely for the Sony Xperia Z1 and the OnePlus One.

If you’re the lucky owner of a Sony Xperia Z1 you will soon be able to download an image to turn it into an Ubuntu phone and PC!

The good news extends onto the OnePlus One as well, as users can flash and use Ubuntu on the device, giving them a choice in deciding the base OS of their phone. Not only that, but the devices also have the capacity to provide a converged Ubuntu experience: providing the flexibility and portability of a phone and the power of a desktop experience when needed.

The Ubuntu team notes that these community ports would not have been possible without the support of the phone vendors themselves. The OEMs had an active role in pushing open source and its development for their devices, which helped a lot with the community atmosphere. By opting to be voluntarily open source, and complete wherever necessary for that matter, the foundation was set to attract interested developers to further create platforms on these devices.

Of course, the community also has a big hand in the success of these ports. Ubuntu has thanked Marius Gripsgard for the work he has put in for the port on the OnePlus One. You can find his thread for the port over at the OnePlus Forums.

Do note that these ports are non-finalized builds, and as such, will contain bugs and issues. The Ubuntu team has promised to work and collaborate with OnePlus and the Sony Open Devices Community to make sure that the open source community gets all the information and tools that they need for the project.

You can find the port for the OnePlus One here, with installation instructions available over here. The ROM can also be flashed via multirom, which should be convenient for those without access to a Linux-based desktop. The port for the Sony Xperia Z1 will go live soon.

The team will also be showing off both these devices running Ubuntu at the MWC 2016.

Stay tuned for more coverage of the MWC 2016!