It’s been a while since Linux smartphones have stepped foot in the market, and as you might’ve guessed, they’re not very popular, thanks to Android and iOS already dominating the market. People are yet to try them out, and most smartphones are either very cheap and lacking in specs like the PinePhone, or expensive with two generations old hardware like the F(X)tec Pro.
But there is one problem developers need to take care of, and that is Android app support. For starters, to run Android apps on Linux, Anbox was being used, but it was comparatively slower than WayDroid. However, postmarketOS developer Caleb, on July 24, shared a screenshot of his OnePlus 6 running what looks like an Android emulator running LineageOS smoothly.
WayDroid On Linux Smartphones: This Might Be It!
According to Tux Phones, WayDroid uses the same kernel as the host operating system similar to Anbox but performs smoother than the same. At the end of the day, the apps would run as smoothly as running them natively. Pretty cool, right?
WayDroid supports devices running Droidian or Ubuntu Touch and works on PinePhone and now, the OnePlus 6.
As Android geeks might’ve guessed, at its heart, WayDroid uses the LineageOS. As you can see from the above videos, it’s very similar to running Linux in a VM on Windows, but with no bottlenecks in the performance because it’s using the same kernel as the device’s operating system.
However, there’s a catch. As the name suggests, “Way” Droid (Wayland) is limited to OSes using the Wayland display server. The emulator is in its very early development stages. Hence, it’s hard for an end-user to get it running on their device. However, if you’re a developer, you might want to check out the official GitHub repo to contribute, install, or stay updated with the project’s progress.
This is a great feat and will most definitely contribute to the “reasons why one should switch to a Linux-powered smartphone.” Also, the fact that it will now compete with Anbox will ensure continuous development and better app support in the future.
What do you think of this? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
