Hi, I like the Librem 5 however it is not usable for me and others for daily use because it offers even less apps than desktop version of PureOS. One way how to improve the situation is to run Android apps on Linux. Librem 5 has hardware kill switches (because everything can be hacked and infected with malware), so optionally running Android in a container or optionally running containerized apps would not decrease security so much.
There are at least three areas what can be done here [below are AI generated descriptions]. Which is the tool with highest potential to integrate Android apps to Librem5?
Probably they would not run as native Android (bluetooth support, etc), but at least basic app functionality with PUSH notifications would be nice. Librem 5 is “mobile device” with the disadvantage of using “desktop OS”, and we can not expect that there will be many desktop apps or HTML apps with PUSH notifications for Librem 5.
Will Librem 5 get support for Android apps?
AnBox:
AnBox is a containerized solution that allows Linux users to run Android applications on their desktop environment without the need for dual-booting or using an emulator. It encapsulates Android apps, providing a native feel and experience.
WayDroid (previously known as Anbox-Halium):
WayDroid offers near-native performance by running Android apps directly on Linux through container technologies. It aims to provide a seamless experience, making Android apps feel like they are part of the Linux environment, although it may require specific kernel features for optimal functionality.
Android Studio Emulator:
Provided by Google’s official Android Studio IDE, this emulator allows developers to test and run Android applications on Linux. While comprehensive in its support for various Android features and APIs, it can be resource-intensive and might be overkill for casual users just looking to run Android apps.
Thank you for your correction Antbox → AnBox and your advice to learn more. Nice to see that this post inspired you to respond after 2 years of no-posting. However this thread deals with application support in general, not exact Android tools and tries to find out if there will be better application support for Librem 5 in the future.
There is no support for Android apps on Librem 5. There are forum posts where people try it and one blog post that AnBox worked in 2020 Anbox on the Librem 5 – Purism
Anbox now runs on the Librem 5, getting you access to many additional free software apps that are packaged only for Android. We are also working on streamlining the install process. Soon you’ll just need to:
Install Anbox
Put android.img into /var/lib/anbox/
Reboot
So is it “streamlined” now? Is it supported or possibly working? Can I reinstall PureOS and have access to Android apps or install apps manually with a click from disk? No?
It seems that Android apps are slowly going to Linux distributions. Pure OS is actually build for smartphone made by Pure OS maintainers in one company, so I would expect Pure OS be one of the first distributions to support Android apps. Why there are hardware kill switches on Librem 5 as the ultimate protection if there are few apps to be protected from?
But yes, Librem 5 phones are the most protected phones ever when turned off and laying on the shelf \s
Yes there is, I am using it right now with waydroid and it works decently.
Just read the links that @fsflover posted…
Sure it’s not perfect, but stating that there is “no” support is flat out wrong.
Not natively. But there is an isolation layer (aka “emulator”) that we successfully tested: Anbox. We do not officially support Anbox, however we worked on our software to allow Anbox to run smoothly on Librem 5. Also we can not commit to provide any support for Android apps themselves. FAQ – Purism
We are also working on streamlining the install process. Soon you’ll just need to:
Install Anbox
Put android.img into /var/lib/anbox/
Reboot Anbox on the Librem 5 – Purism
It is not. PureOS is made for more privacy and security and scalability of windows to fit for all possible screen sizes (for being convergent). In additional it gets optimized on battery-usage, of course.
Smartphones are build to catch people into closed eco-systems - like every other “smart device”. But Librem 5 is more like a real PC with root access, ability to repair and upgrade (at least a little bit) and long time support for its hardware. It is easy to install another OS without loosing functionality because of outdated drivers.
It’s like you want compare a car (can mostly drive just on streets) vs a mountain bike (can drive on much more terrain). So better don’t call Librem 5 a smartphone and PureOS “made for smartphones”.
It is not. PureOS is made for more privacy and security and scalability of windows to fit for all possible screen sizes (for being convergent). In additional it gets optimized on battery-usage, of course.
Smartphones are build to catch people into closed eco-systems - like every other “smart device”. But Librem 5 is more like a real PC with root access, ability to repair and upgrade (at least a little bit) and long time support for its hardware. It is easy to install another OS without loosing functionality because of outdated drivers.
It’s like you want compare a car (can mostly drive just on streets) vs a mountain bike (can drive on much more terrain). So better don’t call Librem 5 a smartphone and PureOS “made for smartphones”.
The original quote is:
Pure OS is actually build for smartphone made by Pure OS maintainers in one company, so I would expect Pure OS be one of the first distributions to support Android apps.
The Pure OS is actually build for smartphone made by Pure OS maintainers from the same company. It is compiled that it can run on the hardware and also it contains customized app menu, etc. So you can talk around it whatever you want, the fact is that it is a smartphone and application support is low as of today.
The situation with native Linux apps is constantly improving. Before installing Android emulators, some people may not know where to look for mobile-responsive apps for Linux, finding thus the LinuxPhoneApps.org helpful.
For those interested in native LInux apps that work reasonably on the LIbrem 5, you may wish to browse apps by category.
