BQ is about to drop an Ubuntu tablet that doubles as a PC

By Gabe Carey Published January 21, 2016

After partnering with Meizu and Canonical last year to make Ubuntu-powered phones a reality, Spanish hardware company BQ has revealed that it’s working on the world’s first Ubuntu tablet PC and that it’s preparing to show off the device at next month’s Mobile World Congress (MWC).

This report originally came last week from OMG! Ubuntu!, which claimed that “at least one new Ubuntu convergence device” would be exhibited at the major industry expo, and thereafter followed up with official confirmation that the aforementioned device is, in fact, a tablet. Delving even deeper into the origins of this news, BQ confirmed the Ubuntu tablet to Spanish tech site Xataka, which published its related story on Tuesday of this week.

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Here’s a rough translation of everything that’s been officially announced by BQ (emphasis ours):

The tablet from BQ, based on Ubuntu, will work both in pure tablet and desktop mode and is expected to have many similarities with the BQ Aquaris M10 that’s been used by engineers from Canonical for the development of this operating system.

Unfortunately, very little information has been offered by BQ itself, likely because the company is holding off for a more substantial news drop next month. Luckily, for those of us eager to find out more, OMG! Ubuntu! decided to introduce some essential specifications.

Dubbed the Aquarius M10 Ubuntu Edition, this 10-inch tablet boasts an impressive 64-bit ARM CPU, 2GB of RAM, and a “high-resolution” display. The convergence factor mentioned earlier means that when connected to a mouse, keyboard, or external monitor, the Aquarius M10 will automatically switch into desktop mode. Furthermore, thanks to improvements to Unity 8 and the Mir display server, the tablet will be able to run both desktop PC software and apps intended for the Ubuntu Phone OS.

While there’s no solid release date slated for the Ubuntu-flavored Aquarius M10, Xataka did report that BQ is aiming for an April 2016 release window, with more information expected as we approach MWC.

Former Contributor

A freelancer for Digital Trends, Gabe Carey has been covering the intersection of video games and technology since he was 16…

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