Ubuntu powered BQ Aquarius phones now available for order globally, do not support 4G in US
Ubuntu powered BQ Aquaris available in US — BQ just announced on their Google Plus page that their Aquaris Ubuntu Edition phones will be available ‘wherever you live’, this makes …
Context & Ripple Effects
BQ's Ubuntu phone line has been scaling in stages: what began as a flash sale of a repurposed mid-range BQ Android handset in the EU became the first commercially available Ubuntu phone in Europe by April, with hands-ons covering both BQ and Meizu hardware running Canonical's mobile OS. Today's announcement extends ordering 'wherever you live' — but the fine print is that the devices lack US 4G support, so American buyers get a phone whose fastest connectivity is effectively crippled.
First-order effects
- Canonical and BQ widen their addressable market from Europe to global direct orders, announced via Google Plus rather than carrier channels.
- US customers who order anyway are locked into slower non-4G service, making the handset a hobbyist purchase rather than a daily driver there.
Second-order effects
- Meizu, the other OEM shipping Ubuntu phones in the related coverage, faces pressure to match BQ's global ordering reach or cede the small but symbolic Ubuntu flagship position.
- Without US 4G certification, neither BQ nor Canonical gains the US carrier distribution that mainstream Android rivals take for granted, keeping Ubuntu sales dependent on enthusiast direct-buy channels.
Third-order effects
- The pattern points toward Canonical leaning on device convergence instead: the later Aquaris M10 tablet with Convergence positions one Ubuntu device as phone, tablet, and PC, a bet that differentiation must come from form factor rather than carrier-grade handsets.
The trend: Ubuntu mobile is expanding from regional flash sales to global direct ordering while pivoting its competitive case from carrier-certified phones toward convergence devices.