The road to getting Ubuntu on phones has been a long one, but now that Canonical is over that first hurdle, more seem to be coming out, slowly but surely. The Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition was originally released to developers in China last month, but now the phone will be available to everyone. Everyone with an invitation, anyway.
The MX4 Ubuntu Edition will be available in Europe starting tomorrow, Canonical announced on the Ubuntu Insights blog, but will only be available to those who obtain an invite through an “interactive origami wall” on the Meizu website. The origami wall will be “filled with fun and interesting glimpses” of the latest Ubuntu phone, alongside the occasional randomly-generated invite.
Like the other Ubuntu phones released so far, the Meizu MX4 was originally released running Android. It packs a 2.2GHz MediaTek MT6595 octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage, alongside a 5.36-inch Sharp display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The Ubuntu Edition will be available in silver and gold versions.
“Meizu pioneered the new wave of innovative Chinese manufacturers of high quality, high end devices who have mastered the user centric distribution model that is so popular in China,” Canonical mobile VP Christian Parrino said. “Their hunger for breaking down current ecosystem dynamics make them a perfect partner for Ubuntu.”
We managed a look at the MX4 Ubuntu Edition at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, and we mostly liked what we saw. While we found some issues that could use some ironing out, Canonical has had enough time that it’s possible that some of those issues have been addressed.
Ubuntu’s focus on Scopes, which replaces the usual home screen layout, might take some adjusting to, but it provides a way of quickly switching between views focused on different content. Since the launch of the first Ubuntu phone, there are already more than 1,300 Scopes and apps in the Ubuntu Store.
The Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition will sell for €300 (roughly $336), and while we don’t know how many invitations will be available to start, it seems that some will be up for grabs on a daily basis. The link to the origami wall on the Meizu website goes live on June 25.
