Android emulator on linux phone

General Privacy & Security
1

I’m considering replacing my Android phone with a phone that runs Linux. But I still rely on some Android apps. And I don’t want to sacrifice Android’s security (so Anbox/Waydroid are not options). Then the only solution I have is to run those apps in an Android emulator with a up-to-date system image.

Since I don’t have a linux phone to test, I’m not sure what will work. For example, camera, microphone, performance, battery life, and usability of the emulator on a phone screen.

2

Android does not run linux??? as far i know android it is Linux but not Gnu. :wink:

3

Yes, it is Linux. I almost forgot that :smile:. What I really want is a Linux distribution that is usable on a phone and will receive updates for a long long time.

4

The current approaches I know are:

  1. Waydroid on Librem 5.
  2. LineageOS on Raspberry Pi 4.

I would be curious to read if someone at some point manages to run Android in QEMU on Librem 5. Or in fact any other OS in QEMU on Librem 5 would be an interesting read.

Currently any solutions have limitations in areas you mention like using the camera to do video calls ect.

What I currently do is I have Lineage OS running on Raspberry Pi where I run Whatsapp because I have friends and colleagues that use only Whatsapp. So I check Whatsapp on the Raspberry Pi from time to time. The solution works pretty well.

5

I think the goal should be to get Debian to install on the phone without any patches, just like it would install on any old desktop computer. Once that succeeds all doors would open!

Being able to install Sailfish would be my next goal on the L5. Sailfish has Android emulation and does it pretty well (you have t to pay but its worth it). Also Sailfish OS it a lot better than what i tried with Ubuntu Touch, or Volla OS, or other OS’s that also have a Android support running, and Sailfish OS supports being installed on many phones already.

Third would be to run containers on PureOS10 that emulate environments and allow running apps native to say Sailfish OS, or Android, or Windows or any other OS making PureOS10 sortof OS agnostic when it comes to apps (this happens already with Flatpak, but could be expanded).

6

Regarding Sailfish:

  1. The Android App support of Sailfish OS is closed source.
  2. It has been at least partially owned by a russian state company. This has been an unfortunate choice of investors.
  3. If you want to use Sailfish, it makes most sense to buy the officially supported Sony Xperia 10 III. Then you will have everything work great out of the box. And it is not made in China (It is made in Thailand).

So I am personally not interested in Sailfish OS on Librem 5.