There are many applications that you can use to run the GNU/Linux Operating System on Android. And now, I want to discuss UserLAnd. This application is one of the new applications that give us convenience in running Linux distributions using an Android device.
But, for now, there are only a few choices of Linux distributions that you can choose from such as Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux, and Alpine OS. In addition to running Linux distributions, you can also run applications such as Firefox, GIMP and others directly from this UserLAnd.
Some of the advantages of UserLAnd:
- Runs well on Android devices with 3GB of RAM that I have.
- You can install Desktop Environments such as LXDE and XFCE4 (I haven't tried other desktop environment).
- Easy to operate with additional VNC applications that have been recommended by UserLAnd. Users become easier to move the cursor with a touchscreen.
- No ads, so the application looks clean and the performance can be maximal.
- It has a default GUI window manager that we can use to run GUI-based applications on Linux.
- Has 3 display services, SSH, VNC, and XSDL.
- No need to rooting your Android device.
UserLAnd disadvantages:
- There are still many Issues. You can see the Issues of Users who also use this application here(But I am sure, developers try to provide the best for users).
Some of the experiments I've done using UserLAnd:
1. Installing the LXDE and XFCE Desktop Environment.
This application runs smoothly when I use LXDE, and when using VNC, LXDE will automatically run. But it's different when I try to install xfce4. It seems that there are some errors that make XFCE4 not run automatically as I installed LXDE. So to run XFCE I need to type command startxfce4 on the terminal.
2. Try to PulseAudio settings.
When I play a video on Ubuntu that is in UserLAnd. The sound does not come out, and I tried to follow a few steps for the PulseAudio setting as posted by one of the users here. But the result, I am still experiencing errors, and the sound still hasn't been heard.
If you are interested in this application, you can install UserlAnd through Google Play or F-DROID. Hopefully useful and Enjoy!
3. Try Arch Linux On UserLAnd
When I tried Arch Linux in this application, I saw the display when running on VNC, it wasn't fullscreen like Ubuntu, even though the settings I used were the same as when running Ubuntu on UserLAnd.
For now, UserLAnd is only available on Android devices. But maybe, it will also be able to run on the iPhone soon!.
Info:
When I first used userland and tried browsing through Firefox, the display that came out was only black. However, yesterday when I tried it again, Firefox ran smoothly on Ubuntu UserLAnd which I used as in the picture below!.
What do you think? Hopefully useful and ENJOY !!!
