Canonical abandons Unity, Mir, Ubuntu Touch. Goes cap-in-hand back to GNOME.
Canonical has announced that it is abandoning development of the Unity desktop environment, effectively ending its mobile efforts, and will be moving back to GNOME for the next release of Ubuntu. Canonical’s Mark Shuttleworth has officially ended the dream of a converged Ubuntu Phone future, announcing that his company is abandoning development of its phone platform, Unity desktop environment, and associated technologies to concentrate on traditional desktops, servers, and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Canonical first teased its vision of having a pocket-sized device which could operate as both a fully-functional desktop computer and a high-end smartphone in 2013 with the unveiling of the Ubuntu Edge convertible smartphone. The company’s stated aim of raising $32 million through crowdfunding to construct the device, which at the time existed purely as a solid plastic mock-up handset with no electronics and rendered images, was missed by a country mile , though whether that was the company’s plan – to build up hype for the handset with a headline-grabbing record-breaking crowdfunding campaign without risking actually having to build the thing by hitting a more sensible funding goal – remains unknown.
What is known is that the company signed up partners for the Ubuntu Touch mobile platforms off the back of said publicity, though for low-end rather than flagship devices.
