Google is preparing to let you run Linux apps on Android, just like Chrome OS

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Google once even demoed ChromeOS running on Android, but then walked back on it. Wouldn’t be holding my breath until this actually makes its way into stable Android releases.

It’s actually kinda interesting though - Termux has not been able to upgrade past the Android SDK 28 due to missing features (like the removal of the exec system call). I wonder how this Terminal gets past those limitations, assuming it is on a modern SDK.

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Termux is just a userspace app.

The one that Google is working on can work in one of three ways:

  1. Being integrated into AOSP itself.
  2. The app could just be running with special privileges like Google Play Services.
  3. The app will take advantage of some kind of API that Google hasn’t introduced yet.
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This might be because Google is moving chromeOS more and more android.

As I see it, this terminal app would be for a future where chromeOS is fully Android-based, but you still need to allow users to run Linux apps.

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