How to Run Android Apps and Games on Linux

Do you Want to run some Android applications on a Linux PC? There are lots of available options, but the options that works best is by using Anbox. It is a tool that lets you run your favorite Android apps on Linux without emulating the full OS.

Meet Anbox, Your “Android in a Box”

Having access to your preferred Android apps and games brings a new dimension of productivity to Linux. Mobile apps are, by design, a lot simpler than desktop apps.

Linux users should try out  Anbox, which is a free and open-source tool to run Android apps on Linux PC. It is based on the latest version of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) and it gives you an Android environment that is window-based.

Anbox makes use of containers to separate Android from the host operating system, letting you run Android games on Linux

That’s not all, Anbox has no limits, so in theory, you can run any Android application on Linux.

Which Linux Distros Support Snap?

As much as Anbox is free to use, It also comes bundled as a snap package, which is to say that the binary and any other application dependencies are combined together as a single package, therefore, easing the installation. Unfortunately, it means that your Linux OS cannot make use of Anbox unless it can unpackage and install snaps.

To install snapd, use the following terminal command:

sudo apt install snapd

Installing Anbox on Linux

With the snapd service that is installed on your Linux PC, you are ready to install Anbox. Use the following command, which would install everything that you need:

snap install --classic anbox-installer && anbox-installer

Enter your password when prompted and the snap package will download....then follow the screen prompt to install it.

 

Downloading APK Files to Your Linux PC

Reboot your pc, and you would find out that Anbox is now available on your desktop’s menu. Click on it to launch you will soon see the Anbox window.

Image Credits: Makeuseof

If nothing happens, or you are stuck on a splash screen with the Starting message, cancel or wait for this to end. Then open a new terminal and type in

anbox session-manager

Next, locate and click on the icon that is in the menu again. A moment later, Anbox should start. This is a known bug in Ubuntu 16.04 and shouldn’t affect later distros.

With Anbox running, to add your own games and applications, all you will need to do is to download (or copy them from another device) the appropriate APK files. These are installer files, such as DEB files (or snaps) in Linux, or EXE files in Windows.

Installing Android Apps on Linux With Anbox

Because the Anbox implementation of Android is not a registered one, you would not be able to install Google Play on it. So, you would have to download android applications from other sources on the internet. After downloading, locate your APK files and double-click the first one that you want to install. A moment later, the app or the desired game should be ready and will start running on its own window. Installed games are placed alongside all other Linux applications.

Running Android apps on Linux is that simple!

Now You Can Run Android APKs on Linux

Image Credits: Makeuseof

Since Anbox is in its alpha stage, it may have some stability issues. However, it is encouraging to know how simple it is to set up, install, and run Android apps on Linux Ubuntu with Anbox.