Manufacturer BQ Model M10
M10 FHD Type Tablet computer | Series BQ Aquaris series Predecessor BQ Aquaris E5 (phone) | |
First released M10 & M10 FHD 14 October 2015; 16 months ago (2015-10-14)
M10 Ubuntu Edition 5 February 2016; 12 months ago (2016-02-05) | ||
The Aquaris M10 and Aquaris M10 FHD are Android tablets from the Spanish manufacturer BQ that were released to market in October 2015. The devices shipped with Android 5.1 (Lollipop). BQ elected not to skin the operating system and as such it retains the unmodified "Google Experience", such as found on the Google Nexus.
Ubuntu Edition
On 5 Feb 2016 BQ in partnership with Canonical launched the Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition, to be sold globally. The tablet is available in both the Aquaris M10 FHD hardware (with the 1920x1200 screen) and the Aquaris M10 HD version (with the 1280 x 800 screen) from the BQ store. In April 2016, this became the first tablet to be sold with the Ubuntu Touch operating system.
One of the main features of Ubuntu Touch is convergence, which means that the tablet both has a "tablet mode" and a "desktop mode". In desktop mode, you add a keyboard and mouse and the tablet shows windows with window borders and programs made for desktop Linux run. You may also connect the tablet to a screen through a HDMI port and then the tablet becomes a touchpad. In tablet mode, the tablet uses a touch UI designed for use with fingers on the screen.
Another feature of Ubuntu Touch is Scopes, which are information screens where external information are gathered for your convenience. You do not have to launch an app to see your favourite content, just swipe to the scope that match what you are looking for, and you have all your information there. Apple seem to have copied the "today scope" from Ubuntu Touch as one of their new features for iOS 10.