Linux on a smartphone? Now it's a reality.

Man

Professional
Messages
3,077
Reaction score
614
Points
113
Google creates a terminal to run Debian on Android.

Google is actively working on official support for Debian Linux on Android devices through the new Terminal app. This is an important development for developers who have long been forced to find workarounds to run Linux on Android. In the future, they will be able to use a full-fledged Linux environment directly on their devices.

The project was discovered in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), where Google engineers are developing a "Terminal" application that uses virtualization based on the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) to run the Debian virtual machine. This will allow you to execute Linux commands in an isolated environment on Android devices.

Running Linux apps on Android may seem like a niche feature, but it opens up new horizons for developers. They will now be able to develop and test Android apps directly on their phones and tablets, which will significantly improve the quality and stability of software for the Android ecosystem. Problems with errors during the startup phase will become less frequent.

While the Terminal app is still under development, recent updates to the AOSP code hint that Google plans to integrate it right into Android settings. A "Linux Terminal" option will be available, with which users will be able to boot, configure and run a Debian virtual machine.

New features are also expected to be added, such as disk resizing, port forwarding, and partition recovery. These features will be available on Chromebooks, tablets, and Android phones, making development even more versatile.

Google chose virtual machines to implement Terminal because most Android devices run on ARM processors, which can't directly run many Linux distributions. A virtual machine can work around this limitation. It's also another step towards bringing Chrome OS and Android closer together.

At the moment, Google has not announced the exact release date of the new app, but there are suggestions that it will appear along with Android 16 next year.

Source
 
Top