On: Librem 5: First Impressions

[k__]

Do such "proper Linux" devices run Android apps?

[seba_dos1 → k__]

I'm running Android app of my bank on my Librem 5 via Anbox. It's rough, but it works for me - YMMV.

[ItsHarper → seba_dos1]

Note that the Anbox developers have developed a more modern solution called Waydroid, you should look into switching.

Edit: looks like you're already aware of that :)

[k__ → seba_dos1]

Rough means?

[seba_dos1 → k__]

Takes some time to boot Android in the container, app compatibility is hit-or-miss, Android apps can't really access the hardware (cameras, sensors etc.), you need to take care to not keep the container running in the background so it doesn't needlessly eat battery up, stuff like that.

You can set up Anbox on your PC and see how that works. It's the same thing on the phone.

[k__ → seba_dos1]

I used Bluestacks to play Android games on Windows, which was quite nice.

But I don't know if a full emulator is a good idea on a smartphone.

[seba_dos1 → k__]

It's a Linux container, so no emulation there - but it's still a fully separate user space that communicates with the rest of the system via a bridge in the same way a virtual machine does.

There's also Waydroid, which works by implementing things like Wayland/PulseAudio clients directly inside Android compositor/sound system, but I haven't ran it on the Librem 5 yet (I know that some people are using it on the PinePhone).

[lights0123 → k__]

Anbox is similar to Docker, not a VM. It uses the host Linux kernel, just running the Android userspace in a namespace.

[ge96 → k__]

I've heard of Waydroid