- Android’s Linux Terminal app can now run graphical Linux apps in the latest Canary build, a major step forward for the feature.
- A new “Display” button launches a graphical environment, letting users run full desktop apps that aren’t available on Android.
- Hardware acceleration can also be enabled for better performance, paving the way for running even more powerful Linux software and games.
The Linux Terminal app that Google introduced earlier this year is one of the most exciting new features in Android, not for what it currently does but for what it can potentially do. The Terminal app lets you boot up an instance of Debian in a virtual machine, allowing you to run full-fledged Linux apps that aren’t available on Android. Unfortunately, the current version of the Terminal app is limited to running command line programs, but that’s set to change in the near future. In the new Android Canary build that Google released today, the Terminal app now lets you run graphical Linux apps.
Earlier this year, we ran a Linux port of Doom in Android’s Terminal app to showcase the app’s upcoming graphical capabilities. For months, Google has been working to add hardware acceleration support and a full graphical environment to the Linux Terminal, but the company never pushed these features to any public builds, requiring us to compile Android from source to try them out.