Canonical announced its initial Ubuntu Phone manufacturers — Meizu and BQ — and said the first mid- to high-end phones would ship by the end of this year.
Some images of the Ubuntu Touch UI running on a Meizu MX3 smartphone were leaked on Weibo in early January (see image below). Now, the connection has been confirmed, as Canonical announced that both China’s Meizu and Spain’s BQ would ship phones running Ubuntu.
Canonical says its Ubuntu Touch platform will ship in mid- to high-end smartphones with global online campaigns by the end of the year. A month ago, a key Ubuntu developer suggested the first Ubuntu Phones were not likely to ship until 2015.