Hands-On Experience: Running Full Desktop Linux Apps on an Android Phone!

An upcoming Android update promises to enhance the Linux Terminal app, allowing it to run graphical Linux applications like GIMP and LibreOffice on compatible devices, specifically Pixel 6 and newer models using a specific Android Canary build.

The Linux Terminal app previously supported only command-line applications but is now moving towards supporting a broader set of graphical software. To access this feature, users will need the latest Android Canary release, as it is not yet included in stable builds of Android 16. While broader support may come with the upcoming Android 16 QPR2 update, it may be more likely to arrive with Android 17 next year.

If you are keen to try this feature, here’s a step-by-step guide:

Enabling the Linux Terminal in Android

1. Open Settings.
2. Navigate to System.
3. Select Developer options.
4. Tap Linux development environment.
5. Toggle (Experimental) Run Linux terminal on Android.

This will add a "Terminal" icon to your app drawer. Before launching the Terminal app, follow these steps to enable hardware acceleration for better performance.

Enabling Hardware Acceleration

1. Create a directory named /sdcard/linux if it doesn’t already exist.
2. Inside this directory, create an empty file named virglrenderer.

Using ADB, this can be executed with the following commands:

adb shell “mkdir /sdcard/linux”adb shell “touch /sdcard/linux/virglrenderer”

When you start the Terminal app, you should see a message that says, “VirGL is enabled,” confirming that hardware acceleration is now active.

Running Graphical Desktop Linux Apps

1. Open the Terminal app, and it will prompt you to download files to boot Debian. Tap “Install” to proceed.
2. Update your package lists and upgrade existing packages:

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt upgrade

3. Install Flatpak and add the Flathub repository:

sudo apt install flatpaksudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

4. You can now install specific graphical applications, such as:

sudo flatpak install flathub org.chromium.Chromiumsudo flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMPsudo flatpak install flathub org.libreoffice.LibreOffice

Launching Apps

To run the installed applications, you need to launch a graphical environment. Connect a physical keyboard and follow these steps:

1. Tap the display icon in the top-right corner of the Terminal app.
2. Type weston and press Enter to start the graphical session.
3. Open a Wayland Terminal window and launch your app by using its package name:

flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

For Chromium:

flatpak run org.chromium.Chromium --no-sandbox --enable-features=UseOzonePlatform --ozone-platform=wayland

Using a Desktop Environment

For a more user-friendly experience, install the XFCE desktop environment:

sudo apt install task-xfce-desktop

After installation, close the Terminal app and re-open it. The XFCE desktop should load automatically. Log in using the username root and a blank password.

Your installed Flatpak applications will now appear in the Applications menu of the XFCE interface. However, note that Chromium still requires the launch flags specified earlier.

For easier installation of additional Flatpaks, you might consider using a tool like Warehouse. If you experience performance issues, you can adjust the allocated RAM for the virtual machine.

This exciting development marks a significant enhancement for Android users who wish to utilize Linux software directly on their devices.

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