Earlier this year, Samsung launched the Linux on Galaxy initiative as a way for developers to code on the go. Installed as an app, Linux on Galaxy allows users to run desktop Linux software on their Galaxy smartphones in the DeX environment. Now at SDC 2018, Samsung launched a rechristened version of the app, called Linux on DeX. The app is in beta stage, and will be available for registered developers beginning on November 12. Samsung had also demoed the Linux on DeX at last year’s Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.
Linux on Dex available in beta
Samsung launched the DeX platform along with the Galaxy S8 and S8+ back in February 2017. A year later, Samsung changed the form factor of the platform and launched a flat-laying DeX Pad along with the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Linux on DeX is aimed to bring the seamless mobility of the new Samsung DeX for developers to code on the go. The app enables developers to work on both Android and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions anytime, anywhere. In partnership with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, Samsung will provide Linux on DeX users with a modified version of Ubuntu.
Linux on DeX is currently available only on the Galaxy Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4. So if you don’t own either, you’re out of luck. And there’s no word on if older Samsung flagships will be supported at some point in the future. Also, it remains to be seen if it will be the full Ubuntu experience or one just for coding. Samsung’s officially supporting Android and Ubuntu-based Linux distributions only. So it’d be interesting to see if other Linux distributions work or not.
If you own a Note 9 or a Tab S4, and are interested in trying out the Linux on DeX app, you can register for the beta now. Once registered, you’ll get a download link once the app goes live on November 12. Registrations, meanwhile, are open till November 14.
