Ubuntu Edge fails to reach crowdfunding goal
The Ubuntu Edge smartphone, which broke the record for most money raised by crowdfunding, has failed to meet its target and won't see the light of day
Sad news for anyone hoping to pick up an Ubuntu Edge smartphone next year: despite breaking the record for highest amount raised through crowdfunding, Canonical’s ambitious project failed to reach its lofty $32 million target and now won’t be going into production.
When it was first revealed, the Edge looked every bit like a high-end smartphone. A 4.5in, 720p resolution display protected by virtually unscratchable Sapphire Crystal glass, “the very latest multi-core processor”, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of flash storage and the option to dual-boot either Android or the Ubuntu mobile operating system certainly turned heads – the campaign raised $3 million overnight, despite asking almost $700 to guarantee a handset at launch.
However, the massive target proved too ambitious, with the total stalling around $12 million. Several last minute price changes weren’t enough to generate interest and when the timer ticked down to zero last night, the project was officially over. As we predicted, the Edge is now one of the best smartphones you’ll never own.
Despite this setback, Canonical is still planning to continue work on Ubuntu for Mobile – according to the Indiegogo description, the company will now focus on “only on commercially available handsets” and all contributions will be refunded.
That means an Ubuntu smartphone could still happen further down the line, but it won’t have Canonical’s name on the back.