How to Dual Boot between Ubuntu & Android OS – Details, Installation Tips

The Ubuntu team has been showcasing some excellent stuff in the Ubuntu OS for mobiles, and now finally, they have come up with a very exciting news for the developers, where they are going to allow the dual booting between the Android OS and the Ubuntu OS, a developer preview as of now, and would not be available for the normal users right now. The reason for this being available only for the developers, is the risk involved, and it is for those who are comfortable in flashing the devices and know how to flash it with the partition layout.
The Dual boot with Ubuntu supports the several Android ROMs, including the Stock, CyanogenMod or AOSP etc., and the Ubuntu installation is possible with the different versions available in the phablet-flash channels.
Doesn’t all this remind you of the Ubuntu Edge smartphone which was going to come with the dual-boot between Android OS and Ubuntu? yes, the one which didn’t actually work out because the team couldn’t collect the funds they had set as a target.

The best part about this Dual boot with the Ubuntu OS, is that you won’t need to run any command lines to switch between the two operating systems, and a simple application would be able in doing that for you. It would be the same app which would even help in installing Ubuntu, and upgrading it or to switch to the other OS.

Tips to install the Dual Boot on Ubuntu OS

Although we won’t be sharing all the steps here, following are a few things you need to ensure before doing anything to get the Dual Boot running in your device.

• You need to have the Nexus 4 (yes, this is the only device where Ubuntu team has tested this, although they say it should work with Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10) – Check out how to install Ubuntu OS on Nexus 4.
• Should be running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS or higher
• Should have an unlocked bootloader, and at least 2.7GB of free space
• ADB tools running on your desktop computer
• Enable the USB debugging on your smartphone

Keep the device backed up, or take a backup to the computer before proceeding with the installation, as you cannot be sure that all the steps would go right, and the data safety is not guaranteed.
Dual Boot Installation Guide – Link (This includes not just the steps but explains what you are going to do, and how would that be working on the smartphone).