Maru OS is a platform that lets you run both Google Android and Debian Linux on a smartphone. Use your device as a phone, and it’ll act like any other Android phone. Connect an external display, mouse, and keyboard and you’ve got a full-fledged Debian Linux desktop environment.
It’s available for the Nexus 5 now.
I would be very interested in giving maruos a shot.
Not many people would choose to run debian on their phone, but TBH I find myself more capable with debian than anything on the android side. While debian offers a lot that android lacks, it can’t completely replace android on a phone. With this, I wouldn’t need to sacrifice android to use debian, which is awesome!
It’s unfortunate that only nexus 5 phones are supported
…and also that it is based on Android Lollipop. I would guess that everyone interested in such an advanced multiboot would want to run M, or actually N at this moment.
Very interesting project, but as always with such projects the hardware support is a big problem and keeping the software current is almost impossible
I’ve been using my Android phone as a desktop computer for about 3 years now, though the latest crop of devices with USB C makes this pretty amazing. Using a USB C Hub with 3 USB C, Ethernet, HDMI and a SD Card reader, I connect a monitor, mouse, keyboard, HD, Intuos Wacom drawing board (yep it works) and a AIO HP Laser Printer in which even the scanner works. Than using the fantastic app, “Second Screen”, I change my desktops DPI to 240, which makes it look more like a traditional desktop OS.
Since I’m now using Android N on my new Vivo Xplay 5 Elite, Qualcomm 820, 6GB RAM, 2K AMOLED curved display. I also have access to multi-window support, in which I enabled floating windows, a hidden feature in Android N. Which means my desktop system, again looks and feels like a normal desktop OS.
Finally, I also have Arch Linux running under a chroot, to startup my Linux applications I use a Xterminal, which I have to say works brilliantly and the applications are very responsive. Though with a Qualcomm 820 and 6GB of RAM it very well damn should be.
Though this new ROM looks interesting and I will definitely be installing it on my Nexus 6 when it becomes available, I think it’s appeal will only draw the most geeky among us and has little to no mainstream appeal. What I would like to see is a phone running Chrome OS and Android together. Google recently announced the convergence of the two, so designing a phone in which displays just Android while mobile and than starts up Chrome OS when docked is not only possible but would be a fantastic concept. No doubt someone will come out with this.
Edited 2016-06-15 06:42 UTC
Holy shit! Nice.
It runs on the phone and looks like a phone, it runs on the desktop and it looks like a desktop, what’s not to like and what is so bleedin’ complicated about it that Microsoft and others can’t get that simple concept.
Well, I cannot say for sure but it looks like it is a dual boot. So when you connect the monitor it shuts down Android and starts Linux. This means you cannot use your apps, contacts/people, etc. 1 device with 2 completely seperate environments is probably not what any consumer wants
avgalen,
It’s true that this is not for ordinary consumers, but this targets a demographic that upstream android has neglected. I’ve tried to use android with a keyboard and root terminal, but it’s sorely lacking to say the least. This would be quite useful for android users who are fans of debian, like me.
From all of this wording I think that they really seperate the two OS’s/Userlands in different Monitors/Terminals. So Android and its apps SHOW on your phone and respond to the phone-input while Debian SHOWS on your screen and responds to the keyboard/mouse. (of course they both RUN on your phone, contrary to what the above quote says).
So even in the best case scenario where both OS’s run at the same time you still cannot use Android on your Screen. A great hobby-project for a very niche market, but even Continuum on Windows 10 Mobile will have more users.
> I expected it to work the way you describe, and maybe it does. There just isn’t enough technical information on the site. I mostly went by this information:
Based on the mention of LXC in the Github repo it looks like Debian is running in a container.
ARM support hardware virtualization since Cortex-A15 (5 years already). I bet SD820 supports it as well.
Probably because Apple set the standard with the first Iphone that a phone OS has to be based on a desktop OS but with a lot of features removed. They did’t want a full computer in a phone, they wanted something that doesn’t work without one. And everyone just copied them, which I now find really annoying as I can’t even download an MP3, even though iOS should be able too.
I just sold my Nexus 5 last month and kept my Nexus 4….
Yea, I know, I sold mine to buy the Nexus 6 when it came out. Though I like my Nexus 6 just fine, the Nexus 5 still seems to be the defacto developers tool for what seems like everything under the sun. So I’m in the process of buying another one from Ricardo.ch. the Swiss alternative to eBay. The Nexus 5 reminds me of the HTC HD2, some phones just don’t want to go softly into the night.
I was this on my OUYA. I’ve wanted this on the OUYA since it launched. It would be what they originally promised.