Itching to see more of Samsung’s promising ‘Linux on Galaxy’ initiative? Then you have to watch the following video.
The smartphone giant has uploaded a short clip to YouTube in which it demos ‘Linux on Galaxy’ to a group of Android developers.
And, as you’ll see, they seem impressed by the tech on show.
While the recent Samsung Linux on Galaxy survey revealed that the company is taking this developer-orientated feature seriously.
This video shows how seriously.
This video is our first proper glimpse at Linux on Galaxy running on real-world hardware.
Samsung posted a demo video back in November of last year but it was more of a ‘proof of concept’ mock up rather than real working code.
What is Linux on Galaxy Again?
“An 8-core [mobile] processor that can run Eclipse – full Eclipse”
The ‘Linux on Galaxy’ project is a developer-focused feature that brings desktop Linux to smartphones, specifically high-end, octa-core Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
Linux is installed as an “app” on Android, and when launched it shares the same Linux kernel powering Android.
Linux on Galaxy enables a hybrid desktop PC experience whenever you plug the phone into a DeX dock accessory. The resulting experience blends the files and apps you have on your Android phone with a fully-featured Linux desktop that can power a full development environment.
The conceit will be familiar to fans of Ubuntu convergence.
“Developing applications on a mobile device has never been easier. The full Linux stack is now accessible using Samsung DeX — a rich desktop-like experience, complete with drag-and-drop functionality and multiple, resizable windows,” Samsung explains.
“This solution, when paired with Linux, allows developers to take their apps and programs and code on the go.”
Notes
In the video we can see a number of familiar desktop Linux apps installed (and in most cases running) including Firefox, Thunderbird, Terminal, Eclipse, glxgears, and GIMP.
What’s somewhat interesting — though we should all keep in mind this project is far from finished — is that the Linux on Galaxy demo appears to use an Enlightenment-based minimal desktop UI:
It’s also clear from this video that Samsung wants to position this feature as useful for developers, rather than something Joe Public will want to use.
Even so — consider my interest well and truly piqued, Samsung!