Volla Phone with Ubuntu Touch after 2 years
My experience with the Volla Phone running Ubuntu Touch after 2 years of usage.
I show you some of the new features and apps for the system.
Are you using the Volla Phone?
Did you try out Ubuntu Touch by UBPorts yet?
Which features do you miss on Ubuntu Touch?
ubuntu
Good to know: I recently used the UBPorts Installer to switch into Volla OS, and it went well (even if I kept having a warning about unlocked bootloader on every boot). However, after trying to use the UBPorts Installer again to try and lock the bootloader as suggested by someone… I bricked my Volla 22.
We are not interested on Ubuntu touch as this OS is still lagging to develop 4g lte, volte network and 5g network is a dream. This OS supports only 2g or 3g network which are no use for mobile communication now a days. Maximum countries are communicating with 4g/5g network.
I just realised that Waydroid itself doesn't use a lot of battery if I leave it open but set the phone in plane mode.
Still, even if I disable Wi-Fi and mobile data without enabling plane mode, ever since I updated to 20.04 OTA-1, it seems to be more battery hungry than it used to with Ubuntu 16.04.If I had to summarise the Ubuntu Touch experience, I would say: this is not a phone for someone who just wants to plug and play. It works, but you have to be willing to use it. It's not unfeasible, but you won't find your happiness if you don't feel like being a beta tester of some kind.
You know, although I am quite happy with my UT, a part of me is wondering if I should have picked the Volla OS instead, because the multiboot still allows you to switch to UT and any operating system you might want to install. It makes me wonder if, for example, I could install a separate LineageOS with(out) Google Services for office purpose.
It's too bad they only mention it quickly in their advertising but never actually released a video about it though. I feel like trying it out, but I don't know if I want to dump my daily driven UT for it.
One drawback I just came across: I just discovered TrackerControl and it doesn't work within Waydroid (same goes for NetGuard). I suspect it's because there's no real networking going on within Waydroid, which means you cannot block apps trackers if you wanted to.
Is it crypto friendly?
For example using popular apps like metamask or binance?
Is it possible to flash UT on Gigaset GS5 ? from technical side is same phones with Volla 22
Full fledged Ubuntu vs Ubuntu touch?
I forgot to say: thank you, this was the best video I could find before deciding on acquiring a Volla Phone 22 with UT.
A little more about the Volla Phone 22, battery wise.
The battery size is comparable to the Redmi Note 4, and when I close all background apps, they seem to have comparable autonomy (like, 10% lost per day/24 hours). This was tested without receiving notifications, not having Wi-Fi, not having Bluetooth, not having GPS enabled, and only having mobile data enabled.
Today, I tried leaving the phone with nothing but a bare Waydroid running (because killing it requires to reboot the phone to boot it again sometimes). After 11 hours of the same situation as above, it consumed 30% of battery, which is pretty reasonable for my kind of use case since I don't leave any app running in background (basically, in this situation 4:54 for example, I would close everything). I just have to remember to recharge it every night if I don't want to shutdown Waydroid.
I expect the battery would drain a lot faster if you're a heavy phone user; especially if you want to use Waydroid heavily. But since it's interchangeable, I guess you could just swap it out, just like with a GoPro. Or you could purchase external batteries.
FYI, Waydroid is now available on the Volla Phone 22 (although you have to run some commands as specified on the related GitHub issue for now).
I've installed it and it's working really well. With that, my UT is also working as a perfectly functional degoogled LineageOS. After downloading a few APKs (mostly Firefox and Aurora Store), I'm good to 100% daily drive it.
Does Ubuntu touch play any Linux games on it? Like some which run on windows too?
Will the new Volla 22 come with several OS or just one? If I have to choose between UT vs Volla OS which one is better?
I can't see future for UT. Still in development for may years and every review I watch there is Tons of problems. It is a great initiative but there is no hope to turn into a functional product. 🙁
I just realised something with the lock screen and the fingerprint scanner: when you see the ⚠ symbol, it means you cannot use the fingerprint scanner and you have to input your pass code/passphrase. It usually happens when your phone just (re)booted
or after a while. I know the delay to expire on my Redmi on Android was 72 hours, with a message that clearly explained why. Not sure how long it takes to expire yet on the Ubuntu Touch.The only annoying thing is how you are often requested to input your pass code/passphrase in a prompt to perform some action such as opening console, accessing restricted features, installing apps with special authorizations, etc. And when that happens, you cannot use the fingerprint reader. Ultimately, I switched from a passphrase to a pass code because of that. Otherwise, I would spend too much time typing my passphrase over and over again.
I received my Volla Phone 22 this week. It's not as usable as the original Volla Phone yet with Ubuntu Touch. Mostly: Waydroid doesn't work out of the box yet.
Other drawback: even though it's a Linux, you can't just install any package you want, because the system is in read-only; although you can unmount and remount in read-write, but that has other consequences.
is that the same model as vollaphone 22? is the camera any good?
This video convinced me to get a Volla Phone with Ubuntu Touch as a daily driver, as someone who doesn't actively use Android apps. What I need isn't a smartphone; what I need is a pocket computer with basic phone service.
Perhaps the Ubuntu Touch will be suited for "Advanced Dumbphone" rather than smartphone, atleast it can send the email, chat or sms, set alarm, and make calendar schedule. The dumbphone itself might be a "minimalist" alternative trend on the next year, for the zoomer or millennials who tired with their current smartphone especially for privacy.
PS: This is just my opinion :).
My father also uses a Volla Phone now a few years, and mostly it runs fine, i still hope Firefox comes to Ubuntu Touch.