Android vs Linux

Thomasz

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As a newbie in this world I have question about the difference between Android and Linux.

Because however I've read at many different sites that the kernel is the same( so teoraticly it should work), but at the same time there must be some differences.

However Android is working with many modern Smartphones,Tablets,Notebooks etc.

Besides the Android itself isn't it also that they are brand specifik ( have their own firmware/ stock/ ROM/ rooted)

If I myself have an Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 ( Android 10), and will use( would say upgrade firmwares), is it simpel to do that?

Will my device be toasted as many says?

Can I use any type of Linux version, can I still use ( have acess to Google store)?
Because however why I'm asking is that via my own personal experienses this devices have a very short life span,and every time the lauch a new OS ( in this case Android 11,the previous versions goes bananas)- I would say crashed unit,corrupted register, and that's there is impossibel to upgrade them since many units have rooted os.
 


The origins of Android lay in a very cut back version of Linux from 20 yrs ago, still under development it was taken over by Google, who saw the chance of making money by producing and selling apps, so the issued the base android codes [and still do] under a GNU license.
NO two Android devices of different makes have exactly the same operating system, as the product producers [say HTC & Samsung] will tweak the base system by adding the drivers needed for their particular products,
the base code is so encoded you cannot download from the app store without a google[tracking] account linked to your machine,
There has been a project running for several years to port android to PC with limited success

https://www.android-x86.org/

Bwiz
 
Can I use any type of Linux version
Absolutely not... not just "any type" of Linux. Android uses a stripped down Linux kernel. The differences in hardware between a smartphone or tablet and a standard computer are great... starting with the CPU (most computers using Intel or AMD, most phones and tablets using ARM). There are Linux versions for ARM, but not all Linux, as you asked. Some ARM versions of Linux may be installed on phones/tablets, but not "just any" phone or tablet either. There are a number of obstacles, starting with locked bootloaders.

Despite sounding so negative above, there ARE ways to install some Linux on some phones/tablets. Some may be fairly easy, some may be fairly hard. Rather than this forum, I would recommend XDA-Developers as the best place for you to find help on this topic. This article is a nice simple analysis of whether this might be a good project for you. This article gives a few more details about how to do it, which Linux versions may work best, and what you can do with or without root on your phone.

Good luck!
 
I've installed Linux on several android devices. I can say, it is possible, and I can say "it runs".
That's about it. Usually the GUI display doesn't work. Usually the wifi network doesn't work. The USB/Ethernet connection works about 50% of the time. The ARM CPUs aren't the fastest.

But I've had much better luck going the other way. There is a project called Android x86


That lets you run android on your laptop or desktop PC. When I tied this, everything worked for me,
(there were a few hardware cavaeats I overcame).
 
Just like being described by @stan. More details here and here.
android-vs-linux.png
 
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