Google is working on a Linux Terminal application to transform Android into a full-fledged desktop.
With the Linux Terminal, Google aims to enable developers to create Android applications and run graphical applications and games for Linux directly on Android smartphones. The ultimate goal is to make Android a full-fledged desktop experience.
A Full-Fledged Desktop in your Pocket?
In new documentation, Google states that until now, Android was the only major OS where you couldn’t build apps with the system itself. This step changes that. Android users now have access to a development environment similar to traditional Linux distributions.
The app uses the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) to boot a Debian image in a virtual machine. This gives users access to the terminal to execute Linux commands. The virtual Linux machine is not very fast yet, but in recent tests with a Pixel 8 Pro, it was already possible to run Chromium, GIMP, and LibreOffice graphically; fully locally on Android. The reliability has also significantly improved since the first versions.
This is a major step in Google’s ambition to unite Chrome OS and Android into one platform. To truly compete with Windows and MacOS on desktop, Android still has a long way to go.