Canonical’s Ubuntu Phone OS, the latest in a series of new mobile operating systems to hit the industry this year, is set to fast track its plans for a smartphone release from early 2014 to October of this year. According to the Wall Street Journal, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth stated that smartphones running on Ubuntu OS will arrive in October of this year. However, whether the smartphones will be made by Canonical or a licensed OEM is yet to be confirmed.

Ubuntu Phone OS was first announced back in early January, where the software was shown off on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It features a gesture-based UI, similar to that of both BlackBerry 10 and the upcoming Sailfish OS. Canonical came under some criticism for its initial smartphone timeline, where the company’s first smartphones would only be released sometime in 2014. Since then, Canonical has announced that a bootable image of Ubuntu OS will be available for the Galaxy Nexus later this month, and pledged to fast track its smartphone plans.

(Source: CNET)