Android 16's Linux Terminal Runs Doom

Google is enhancing Android 16's Linux Terminal app to support graphical Linux applications, so Android Authority decided to put it to the test by running Doom. From the report: The Terminal app first appeared in the Android 15 QPR2 beta as a developer option, and it still remains locked behind developer settings. Since its initial public release, Google pushed a few changes that fixed issues with the installation process and added a settings menu to resize the disk, forward ports, and backup the installation. However, the biggest changes the company has been working on, which include adding hardware acceleration support and a full graphical environment, have not been pushed to any public releases.

Thankfully, since Google is working on this feature in the open, it's possible to simply compile a build of AOSP with these changes added in. This gives us the opportunity to trial upcoming features of the Android Linux Terminal app before a public release. To demonstrate, we fired up the Linux Terminal on a Pixel 9 Pro, tapped a new button on the top right to enter the Display activity, and then ran the 'weston' command to open up a graphical environment. (Weston is a reference implementation of a Wayland compositor, a modern display server protocol.)

We also went ahead and enabled hardware acceleration beforehand as well as installed Chocolate Doom, a source port of Doom, to see if it would run. Doom did run, as you can see below. It ran well, which is no surprise considering Doom can run on literal potatoes. There wasn't any audio because an audio server isn't available yet, but audio support is something that Google is still working on.

Desktop mode

[ChunderDownunder]

IIRC, this is the port of their Rust-based virtualization from ChromeOS/Fuchsia.

Plug in a USB-C (DP alt mode) to HDMI cable and you have a DeX like environment to launch Linux or (experimentally demoed) Windows 11.

Kinda makes sense if you're under-utilizing an 8 core pocket computer with 16GB of RAM as found in today's flagships. At a pinch you could do all your work on the road plugged into your hotel room's TV with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.

Re:

[bemymonkey]

This makes a lot of sense to me as a travel backup. Keep a USB-C dock/hub (HDMI 4k60 out, some USB-A ports for peripherals, PD in) in your luggage in case you lose/crush/run over your laptop, and in a pinch you can have a trusted computing environment in any home or shared office in the world - all you need is to borrow a keyboard, mouse and monitor with HDMI (or purchase for ~$100-200). As long as the desktop versions of Firefox (or Chrome) and Remmina worked I'd be pretty much set until I could get my lap

Termux?

[short]

TFA does not mention why is Google reinventing Termux?

Re:

[uncle slacky]

My thoughts exactly. Presumably you could run Doom in Termux? (I haven't tried but I guess it would be possible)

Re:

[Kitkoan]

Termux doesn't really do anything graphical, it has to be used with another application. And even then, it only supports X11, not Wayland, and no hardware acceleration. So in short, no Termux (as a standalone) couldn't run (normal) Doom.

https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Graphical_Environment

These aren't really the same thing.

Re:

[uncle slacky]

It looks like someone figured out how to do it: https://www.reddit.com/r/termu... [reddit.com]

Re:

[Kitkoan]

Third instruction states to run a X11 server, which is another application (the two suggestions are also in the suggested links in the Termux wiki link I shared). So it's still not just Termux, which is what I was indicating in my original post. More overhead, more complexity, and possibility of more problems if one updates that the other doesn't like.

Re:

[uncle slacky]

Yes, it looks like the only way to get (a kind of) DOOM to run unaided on Termux is to do it via EMACS: https://www.emacswiki.org/emac... [emacswiki.org]

I was hoping there might be a way to do it via something like ncurses or svgalib, the way the Arachne browser works under Linux for example, but I'm no expert in these matters: http://www.glennmcc.org/aralin... [glennmcc.org]

Re:

[uncle slacky]

Looking around I see there's been a request to add svgalib to Termux, rejected as it is terminal-only. There's also a student project to create a minimal DOOM-like for ncurses: https://github.com/doytsujin/D... [github.com]

Re:

[votsalo]

Termux does not have a gui (windowing system). It seems that the described Android terminal emulator will run a VM that could run any Linux distribution (debian was mentioned). Termux has its own package manager and repositories. I'm curious to find out how Termux does it what it does.

Re:

[drinkypoo]

This is arguably better than Termux in that it provides a containerized full distribution. Termux is great, and I use it! But it's also limited and weird. Having a full Debian means having access to the full range of normal Debian packages without any tricks.

I have also used Linux Deploy, on rooted devices. That gets you a full, non-containerized chroot Linux install, and last I looked you could choose from several.

Re:

[votsalo]

Here are some differences between Termux and a regular Linux distribution: https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/D... [termux.com]

Pretty nice

[Z80a]

But can i disable the feature where it is programmed to kill Son Goku?

Spit out an official distribution for PC already

[drinkypoo]

I've played with Android-x86, at times it has been kind of caught up, but it has never been a great experience.

A proper system that worked with common hardware that you could run normal Linux software could be a decent contender for the desktop. The container functionality is solid, I suppose the display server is probably the big holdup here.