Ubuntu Touch was a little buggy on my FP4 and flashing Calyx back over it required some finagling with the sensor suite. It was pretty slow and the phone was hot to the touch, so I would agree it was not ready for prime time when I tested it 2.5 years ago.

In principle however, it worked.

Some Android handsets can already so think. I think Samsung phones might.

I was pleasantly surprised with my Son relatively budget Samsung phones, when I plugged it into an external monitor. Instead of showing a the phone screen on the monitor (like an iPhone would), it loaded up a different desktop that looked more like Ubuntu than it did like Android.

I can’t remember the specifics but it was definitely designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse.

I think Fairphone 6 does not have DP-Alt and only USB 2 data transfer, so there is no way to drive a hi-res screen.

Google Pixel is supposed to ship a more complete desktop in Android 16 QPR1. Also has a Linux VM.

Of course, Samsung has had a pretty complete desktop on phones that support DeX for a while now.

TL;DR - Termux + Termux-X11 + proot-distro + BT keyboard + BT mouse

Termux is as great terminal, AFAIK it can be run on any modern (not even that modern) Android. With that alone you can get most common Linux terminal packages, run vim (including LSPs), tmux, ranger, compile C/C++, Python, Go, Rust...

Termux-X11 lets you run X11/GUI apps. It has settings to properly capture mouse (trackball in my case) and keyboard, preventing annoyances by disabling Android default keys (eg allowing Alt-tab to switch tabs in your Linux desktop rather than switching between Android tasks).

Termux proot-distro lets you install loads of Linux distros. I've daily driven Ubuntu in the past, currently using Debian Bookworm on my Tab S8 Ultra, which although a flagship is a couple of generations old now. I run the same setup on a Tab S4, which is a 7 year old device now. It's slow for some GUI stuff but works well for a lot of things, most stuff in the terminal is great.

The above is without root. With root, I've recently changed over to chroot as I wanted to try it.

You can get GPU acceleration, I'm currently using turnip, there are also virgl drivers, it can take some trial and error depending on which GPU your device has (I don't know much about GPU stuff so if any of those sentences had errors that's why, but it's perfectly googlable).

As I just rebuilt my system a few days ago, here's what I've done since then:

  - Installed Debian Bookworm
  - Installed Chromium and Firefox, both with GPU acceleration via a custom command eg: `Exec=env MESA_LOADER_DRIVER_OVERRIDE=zink /usr/bin/chromium %U` in a .desktop file
  - Compiled yazi (Rust terminal file manager) with rustup and `cargo install`ed another couple of apps
  - Been working on a Hugo site, after installing go and dart-sass
  - Compiled dwm with standard gcc stuff (dwm is my preferred environment but XFCE etc are around too)
  - Worked on some PSDs in Photopea (Krita, Gimp, Inkscape also all work perfectly)
  - Installed my preferred vim setup with nvim-coc, so all the LSPs etc

Node works perfectly. Python works perfectly. As above, C/C++, go all work perfectly (ARM64/AARCH64 of course).

What I'm trying to say is, it's strange for me to see so many in this thread wondering about if it's possible to do Linux stuff on Android. I thought Termux was pretty well known (?). I think the first time I installed a full Linux distro on Android was about 10 years ago via LinuxDeploy. I've been daily driving a setup similar to the above for maybe 5 years, on 3 or 4 different devices. I get that this is geeky and a bit niche but I'm surprised to see so many comments on HN without this stuff being mentioned.

I have a Macbook which I use begrudgingly when I have to (Apple lock-in reasons such as needing to compile Flutter stuff for iOS/Mac on Apple hardware --- btw Flutter works well on my Android Debian compiled for ARM64 Linux, meaning I can do most Flutter dev work here and just move over to the other hardware when I want to compile/test other architectures). I have an AMD ProxMox machine for when I need a bit more grunt or have something that requires Windows. Despite these other machines, if I can do it on the Android tablet I always prefer it (love the OLED display and low power usage), meaning 70-80% (guessing) of my work gets done there.

Docker can't/won't work, something to do with proot/chroot and cgroups I think. In my limited experience (Flutter), cross-compiling to different architectures hasn't worked. The OOM killer in Android can be annoying so you want a device with plenty of RAM, but there are ways to mitigate it, and in practice it doesn't bother me (rare and relatively inconsequential in my usage patterns) otherwise I wouldn't work this way.

I get that people in here today are mainly talking about phones, and I'm using tablets. But this all works on phones (I used to do it on my Note 3 up until I lost it a few months ago, that's over 10 years old). You just need a device which outputs video over USB-C, not uncommon nowadays.

I have had to faff a bit to get stuff working. Some people will hate this and just want instant. Horses for courses, I'm happy.

I haven't tried the new Linux stuff on Android 15 as I don't have a Pixel. I get the feeling it won't have much if anything to offer over my current setup and might be slower. But hopefully it will become standard in future. I don't like Dex on Samsung as it forces its own UI sensibilities on you (eg last time I tried it windows had huge ugly titlebars, which I personally don't like, hence dwm preference).

I've probably spilled most of the beans in this novel of a comment, but have written about this stuff before, here https://mm-dev.rocks/posts/android-as-a-dev-environment/intr...

Wispr Flow is shockingly good at dictation; I use the free version on macOS [1].

[1]: https://wisprflow.ai/use-cases

I've had this phone as my main device for half a year and now using a Pixel 9 Pro Fold sometimes in "laptop" folded mode. So far, neither of these devices come close in my typing speed to a proper keyboard. The F(x)tec was great though because you do get all special characters in tactile buttons; on the Fold I constantly need to check my keyboard and make sure I'm writing what I think I'm writing. And, it's a shame that the space in between letters on the 'Gboard' keyboard on the Fold remains unused, when it could've been a perfect mouse trackpad.

I think the ideal form factor for a proper development phone would be the Astro Slide (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme...) – I haven't personally used it but I can imagine it's the smallest size possible for proper two-handed typing. The F(x)tec was a two-thumber instead.

The Fxtec is so damn cool if you can get your hands on one. It can actually straight up run Debian. I also managed to run VS Code on it natively via Termux.

I also had a Gemini PDA, which is basically the Psion 5mx keyboard glued to a shitty Android smartphone. Such a nice keyboard, but such mediocre and unsupported CPU...

Also Gemini and other AI offering is running circles around what Apple is offering.

A friend of mine has been doing that for several years now on his phone. He does it since he's so incredibly mobile for work.

Not sure which model though. So yes, somewhere, somehow this is possible.

Yes, this is possible with Samsung Dex.

However, when I sit in front of a big screen it is just easier to connect a "real" PC to it. Syncing data between my desktop and phones are pretty fast anyway.

It was a reality back when Windows Phone was a thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Continuum

> to have a phone that I can plug into a docking cradle (or maybe just a USB-C cable these days) to connect it to a full size monitor, keyboard and mouse, and then use it as a regular PC

This phone exists: https://puri.sm/products/librem-5, and it's my daily driver.

I prefer a UMPC with an LTE card and "AR" glasses. It's plug and play, works now with no fuss from the manufacturer, it's just normal Linux.

I thought android can sort of do this

It's basically possible with any device that supports DP Alt Mode? Any remaining issues are usually software (lack of proper desktop environment etc) but there are ways around that with Android. Samsung has DeX.

I recall around 2019 or so plugging an Android phone into a Dell USB C dock and it just worked. Connected to the monitor, USB keyboard and mouse, and even the ethernet port.

The only problems were that the version of Android I was running did not have windowing, so every app was full screen, and it could only drive one monitor. I guess some of the apps were also goofy on a widescreen monitor, but that's not really Android's fault.

It felt like the dream was almost there, but as time went on it was also obvious that nobody was terribly interested in making that dream a reality.

I wish Apple would do this. The SoCs in modern iPhones are more than enough to power a desktop OS.

I think the issue is that a unified computing platform would devour a decent amount of their laptop sales, but in the long run I think it would be a superior experience for the user. It really is a political problem and not a technical problem at this point.

Build a monitor with a base to set the iPhone on with wireless charging, you drop the phone on the base and it automatically pairs to the monitor and mouse/keyboard. You can call the system “Apple One” or something similar catchy. There you go Apple, just saved you millions of dollars on product development.

Samsung dex does this fairly well. The problem is that if you need to carry around a display and keyboard, you might as well carry a laptop.

I think folding phone is the better approach.

I share that dream and, yes, it's getting closer with modern Android. IMO Google has seemingly embraced this path (e.g. with ChromeOS "merging" with Android) I could see a future where docked desktop mode in Android is basically like what we have today with ChromeOS.

https://www.androidauthority.com/run-desktop-linux-apps-on-a...

"An upcoming Android update will significantly upgrade the Linux Terminal app, enabling it to run full-fledged graphical Linux programs on supported devices"

Pixel phones can do this today using shared storage and Termux/OotB Linux VMs from Android 15 onwards, and Android apps for phone UI.

However, Google is evolving Android's security model towards app-specific storage and away from shared/global storage access (for legitimate security concerns), so no telling how long the window will be open.

My old LG Android phones were able to do this - worked quite well. I know the V60 had - not sure about the older V20.

Unfortunately they stopped making phones because they didnt sell well. Which I always thought was odd because they had all the coolest niche features and were fairly priced.

For me personally, it's just the convenience of always having my phone in my pocket. Sometimes when out and about and I have a bit of free time, but haven't brought my laptop, it's nice to be able to just pick up my phone and hack for a bit. I wouldn't do full blown project on it though.

I couple of years back, I really liked replit for having probably the best integrated IDE on a phone. Everything was so smooth and well thought out.

Some places are too crowded for even a small laptop. Also, I have seen so many people saying wish I could do that programming thing but I am on my phone right now. Termux allows me to do all of that.

> Aren’t laptops a little more ergonomic and flexible to hack on?

Just judging purely from the weight of devices, no.

I just do it with one finger. People are still shocked at this but remember people do a lot of texting with their thumbs too.

Microsoft Bluetooth folding keyboard is great, fits in my back pocket.

It is very easy:

https://deepakness.com/blog/android-linux-terminal/

Basically just go to developer options and enable Linux development environment. A Terminal app will be installed.

You just need a non-Snapdragon Android phone. Because Snapdragon uses a different hypervisor than other vendors.

You mean using both Android and iPhone at the same time? That just adds another device you have to maintain and charge regularly. Not to mention it is not as portable as only one phone. You also can't use one SIM in two phones. It is just awkward overall.

You can code in Swift and even submit to the App Store using Swift Playground using an iPad [1].

[1]: https://developer.apple.com/swift-playground/

Baby sling and a standing desk! Get's a little uncomfy in the heat, but I could pretty much do a whole workday - with a couple of feeding breaks, and milk for the baby of course ;).

> Simply sitting in a chair for hours is really mentally taxing and a huge waste of time.

How do people that rawdog international flights do it? No phone, no books, no music, maybe just the flight screen with the little aeroplane over the map.

You could just let your thoughts wander. That's a form of meditation, letting the mind unravel on its own.

I wish I did it more, actually.

One day they'll be so big you can't pick them up anymore.

I've never looked back at all the time I spent with my infant son asleep on my arms and thought, damn, what a waste of time that was.

Everyone is different I guess.

They despise users becoming developers. Apple's entire model depends on these being separate groups of people (as opposed to GNU/Linux OSes where they're assumed to be exactly the same.)

Keeping development tools away from users gives Apple a substantial amount of power over them that they can rent out to approved software development organizations.

Apple is a consumer company. They're all about catering to the consumer class, and growing that class at any price.

Developers are necessary, and their needs has to be tolerated, but only as long as they are successfully kept distinct from consumers.

Android is no panacea either. There are no Android tablets that are anywhere close to achieving parity with the iPad.

I used a Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ with the Book Cover (the one with the track pad) and the Smart Folio (the one without a track pad).

The track pad was horrible. HORRIBLE. Ghost taps, misfired scrolls, and cheap feeling clicks. The track pad on the Magic Keyboard is as good as the standalone Magic Trackpad; this didn't even come close in quality.

The keyboard was fine, but keyboard shortcuts are implemented on a per app basis. This is fine until you want to use CTRL+L in Firefox to navigate to some URL only to discover that Firefox simply doesn't support keyboard shortcuts! Someone opened an issue for this two years ago too because, insanely enough, FF used to support them but simply dropped them because "reasons."

Then there was the cover. The Book Cover provides a Surface like kickstand that's adjustable. Great on a table; unusable on your legs. The Folio solves this by using a tented support, but this forces the tablet into a 25-ish degree tilt that I didn't find comfortable. There wasn't anything like the Magic Keyboard's excellent magic hinge (though maybe later model Galaxy Tabs have an equivalent).

All that said, Termux worked GREAT, and I think I would've gotten mileage out of using an external screen with DeX though I've heard it's lacking in that department. I badly wanted this setup to work, but there were too many quirks.

Also, battery life sucked.

The term "virtualization" is being used in this context to mean using features of the hardware to build virtual machines that run at native performance on computational tasks. In contrast, the app you linked to is just relying on JIT compilation to emulate the guest CPUs.

AFAIK, the version in the app store has poor performance compared to the "sideloaded" version. This is due to Apple rules.

Still can't build native platforms for the device you are using and others within that ecosystem properly. Also not everyone wants to use VSCode.