Chromebooks have been able to install Linux apps for years, which isn’t too surprising: After all, ChromeOS is a browser built around a custom Linux distribution. But according to a new report, you’ll soon have similar capabilities to run Linux applications directly on your Android phone.
This will come in the form of a new Linux terminal built right into Android’s developer options menu, which many of you will already be familiar with. Android Authority spotted the updated commits for Android’s open source code in the AOSP repository. While it is currently possible to run a virtual Linux machine on Android, and many recent phones have the computing power to do so, these new changes indicate that Google will offer this as a pre-configured system.
In an ideal scenario, you could tap a few items in the Developer Options menu and enable the Linux terminal, which then allows you to download and install the virtual machine to run compatible Linux apps. It wouldn’t be as easy as downloading Android apps from the Play Store, but it would be about as easy as it could be.
Android Authority spotted these tools being tested on a Pixel Tablet and Pixel 9 Pro XL phone, indicating they could be included in an upcoming Android build for release hardware – presumably Android version 16 before late 2025, at earliest. And here I have to play Debian Downer. It’s always possible that Google will delay these changes to expand this capability much further, or abandon it entirely.
Personally, I doubt Google is in any rush to vastly expand Android’s software horizons. Part of the system’s appeal for most users is its ease of use and security, at least compared to something like Windows, macOS, or even ChromeOS. But experienced users will certainly appreciate the help in getting a Linux VM up and running, assuming it arrives in time.