Android uses the Linux kernel. That's where the similarities between Android and GNU/Linux end. Ubuntu Touch is GNU/Linux. It is largely[1] made up of "standar

Android uses the Linux kernel. That's where the similarities between Android and GNU/Linux end. Ubuntu Touch is GNU/Linux. It is largely[1] made up of "standard" GNU/Linux components (e.g. glibc, systemd [soon], BASH, gcc, Pulseaudio, Gstreamer, NetworkManager, Telepathy, oFono, BlueZ, deb, apt). This has several advantages: 1. People familiar with GNU/Linux can re-use their existing knowledge 2. The GNU/Linux ecosystem is developed by a lot of different parties. If you feel you can do better you can write your own components and swap them in (e.g. as Canonical did with Mir) 3. A community (or business) can develop their own "spins" (distros), which could extend the lifetime of your mobile (security fixes!) 4. It's a real pleasure to develop software on your Linux desktop, knowing there'll be less friction getting it to work on Linux on the mobile. [1] The exception probably being using Mir instead of Wayland