
The latest Gnu Emacs text editor 26.2 now can be easily installed it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 19.04, and even ubuntu 16.04 via Snap package.
Snap is a containerised software package runs in most Linux desktop. It bundles most required runtime libraries and auto-updates itself.
The community build of Gnu Emacs snap package is available a few days ago. And you can easily installed in Ubuntu via following steps.

Install Gnu Emacs Snap in Ubuntu:
For Ubuntu 18.04 and higher, simply search for and install Gnu Emacs in Ubuntu Software utility.
For Ubuntu 16.04, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and install snapd daemon first via command:
sudo apt install snapd
Typer your password for sudo prompts (no visual feedback) and hit Enter.
Then run command to install Emacs 26.2 snap package:
sudo snap install emacs --classic
Like normal software packages, open Emacs 26 from your system application launcher once installed.