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

By Gabe Carey January 21, 2016

Mobile World Congress 2024

Read our complete coverage of Mobile World Congress

bq readies ubunty tablet for release screen shot 2016 01 21 at 11 26 am copy — Image used with permission by copyright holder

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

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

Computing

Intel Battlemage GPU: everything we know so far

Intel Arc A770 GPU installed in a test bench.

Despite a rocky start, Intel's Arc GPUs are now among the best graphics cards you can buy. Targeting budget PC gamers, Intel has established itself as a major player in gaming graphics cards, and all eyes are on Team Blue with its next generation of GPUs, codenamed Battlemage.

We know Battlemage GPUs are coming, and Intel has slowly been dropping hints about the graphics cards over the past year. Although we're still waiting on an official release date, specs, and pricing details for Battlemage GPUs, there's a lot we can piece together already.
Intel Battlemage: specs

Music

Spotify vs. Pandora: which streaming service should you choose?

spotify vs pandora on iphone

Let's settle a musical debate: which music streaming platform should you use: Spotify or Pandora?

Both services have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Spotify boasts a more extensive music catalog, robust social features for sharing and discovering music with friends, and a more polished user experience across devices.

Computing

Ryzen AI nearly hits 60 fps in Black Myth: Wukong, but it’s not that simple

OneXFly F1 Pro gamig handheld.

Although AMD APUs appear in some of the best gaming handhelds, the latest Strix Point chips are still hard to find in new releases. However, the new OneXFly F1 Pro gamin handheld is making its debut with the Ryzen AI HX 370 chip in tow, and according to a benchmark in Black Myth: Wukong, it managed to average an impressive 58 frames per second (fps) at a 15-watt thermal design power (TDP). That's an impressive result, but digging deeper reveals that AAA gaming on the go is still not without any sacrifice.

The OneXFly F1 Pro comes with the Ryzen AI HX 370, which sports a total of 12 cores -- four Zen 5 and eight Zen 5c -- as well as 24 threads. The maximum boost clock on the Zen 5 cores reaches 5.1GHz, but the smaller Zen 5c maxes out at 3.3GHz. The default TDP was rated at 28 watts, but it can be configured between 15W and 54W. For an APU, the AI HX 370 delivers solid graphics capabilities, as it's equipped with the AMD Radeon 890M. It also sports a 7-inch OLED screen with a refresh rate of 144Hz.