[webdevver]

I wish there was a word about desktop mode. Plugging in my phone and having Windows 11 or Ubuntu or whatever pop up on my desktop has been my lifelong nerd fantasy. Something like DeX, but a "real" desktop OS (where i can open terminals, build stuff, maybe even launch nested VMs), and as a first-class citizen. Maybe Google/Android could have their own desktop skew of Android (like how Microsoft has Azure Linux optimized for their environment), e.g. take Debian and add integrations to it for the rest of the Android system, like when you get notifications, they will appear in the Gnome dock, etc.

[idle_zealot]

I know you said you wanted it as a fist-class citizen, but you can roll your own here. Termux lets you set up a chroot Linux install, and you can run a display server and VNC in it. Then you can get a VNC viewer Android app and hook it up to localhost, hook up an external display+keyboard+mouse and you have yourself a heavily-compromised Linux desktop!

[jauntywundrkind]

The very constrained environment sucks. Limited kernel with sparse modules, probably no root access (and Google's infernal Play Protect/SafetyNet will try to make sure you can't run certain apps if you do have root), lots of additional security layers... Android is antagonistic to userlands; it's no fun.

It'll be interesting to see how much of the Chrome OS work Android steals. ChromeOS also has an immensely locked down world, but they have build all kinds of secure/virtualizing proxies to let container OSes feel like they have access to hardware. Immense NIH is both daunting but also kinda cool, see https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/developer-library/guide...