Introducing Endless OS 3.1
Endless OS 3.1 is the second release of the Endless OS 3 series, focusing on introducing some exciting new features and general improvements on stability. The following highlights are the major, but not the only, changes of this release.
Video Applications
We are pleased to announce that video playback has been added as an important new feature of the Endless Framework. The Modular Framework is a system that allows us to design and build apps using a library of components. We are excited about including videos since they not only they facilitate the learning process but also have a few advantages over traditional text-based content:
More Engagement
Videos attract more attention, especially for children. People engage efficiently and absorb more information by hearing and seeing rather than reading only.
Accessibility
Videos are much easier for people with less literacy to follow. Making apps accessible for these individuals is a big step forward.
With that, applications were created with video-based content for the first time and are available on Endless OS 3.1. Right now, these apps are specific for the Brazilian flavour.
Overhauled Themes
In Endless OS 3.1, the themes of many applications were overhauled and are now much more pleasant to the eyes. They were carefully rethought and worked on by our design team. Every detail matters.
Third-party Applications
With Endless OS 3.1, we’re building on our support for Flatpak to make it easier to install third-party applications. With growing support for Flatpak, content and application developers will be able to distribute their software with fewer obstacles. In this release, many GNOME applications are now supported on Endless OS. We’ve also added support for an easier method to click and install apps published by the community, using Flatpak repo files to add new apps to the App Center.
Full versions of Endless OS now include the latest stable GNOME runtime and the ability to install several GNOME apps directly from the GNOME flatpak repository, though existing users will see this feature with the upcoming 3.1.1 release. Users who upgrade from 3.0 and users of the smaller “Basic” version of Endless OS will automatically download the GNOME runtime when attempting to install an application from the GNOME repository.
Other Improvements
- Upgrade of the Linux kernel version from 4.4 to 4.8 for improved support for many new hardware devices.
- Many components of the OS were updated to their latest version from Linux, bringing the newest features and improvements available.
- Electron applications can now be installed. This will affect application and content developers.
- Integrated new upstream support for external flatpak apps, allowing us to provide a more robust implementation of services such as Google Chrome, Dropbox, Skype, and Spotify, where the applications are downloaded from the third parties since we don’t have permission to distribute directly from our server.
- Fixed an important bug in opening apps that impacted any users who installed Endless OS versions 3.0.10 or 3.0.11 (the bug did not impact users who started with earlier 3.0 versions and received an over-the-air upgrade).
- New users who download Endless OS or purchase non-Endless hardware that ships with Endless OS will automatically download Google Chrome as a browser option, which may be useful for video sites that require licensed codecs (the licensed codecs are included with the default Internet browser on Endless devices).
- Through a joint effort with the Brazilian Ministry of Education, many new educational applications were introduced for Brazilian Portuguese speakers.
- Improved audio support in Endless applications such as the Chinese app to learn to speak English.
- The Coding Fun application is now available in the app center.
- Desktop translation support for Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Romanian, and German, with app name translations for these languages planned for the upcoming 3.1.1 release.
- A Mexico-specific version with localized content is now available in addition to the Global Spanish version.
- Many more improvements and fixes.