Android Apps on Ubuntu - possibilities to install
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Hi there,
i am new to ubuntu touch - currently still using a Jolla Phone, but kubuntu on Desktop.
As i have been using my phone as daily driver and i am thinking about pinephone as my next i got a question:
Are there ways to use Android Apps with Ubuntu touch?
Jolla uses alien dalvik - maybe it would be possible to use this via some license to. Also i know about anbox - but all news i could find about that are some years old.In general i try to use native ones as much as possible - but for some it is impossible and probably always will - like with apps for public transportation (buying tickets) and banking.
As i would need these to use e.g. pinephone with ubuntu as daily driver - and couldn't find answers to that i wanna aks you guys:
is it possible? Which ways are available? -
The only way to run any kind of Android apps on Ubuntu Touch at the moment is with Anbox.
But this solution is not available for all devices. And for the devices it is available on, it has some drawbacks. Battery drain, lack of access to microphone and camera, those are two that come to mind.
This should not be surprising, as it has been released as a preview in the hopes the community could pick it up carry it forward. But so far this has not happened.If you really depend on certain Android apps to work reliably, I would guess that UT might not be the best fit in its current state.
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To echo what @arubislander said, you'll have to check to see if Anbox works for your device. Here are the detailed instructions: https://docs.ubports.com/en/latest/userguide/dailyuse/anbox.html
I installed Anbox on my OneplusOne phone and so far it seems to fit my usecases. Some apps will work and some won't. You'll have to experiment and see which ones work.
If you run into some issues getting apps to work, the following posts might be useful depending on what errors you run into:
https://forums.ubports.com/topic/3406/starting-anbox-container/5
https://forums.ubports.com/topic/3407/anbox-apps-not-working