Waydroid
Android compatibility layer in Phones & tablets
Runs most Android apps on Linux, and people report it works well for everyday use. The most common caveat is weaker security, since Waydroid disables SELinux and much of Android's app sandbox.
Runs most Android apps on Linux, and people report it works well for everyday use. The most common caveat is weaker security, since Waydroid disables SELinux and much of Android's app sandbox.
45 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 28
- criticize it
- 17
- approval share
- 62%
Recommended in 13 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 28 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 13 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Runs most Android apps on Linux
“Linux has Waydroid so Android apps can be run on Linux at full speed without emulation.”
Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?” “I have personally tried it and honestly it does work great for the most part.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Apple to Soon Take Up to 30% Cut from All Patreon Creators in iOS App” “For the popular apps you mention, there is Waydroid to run Android apps.”
Comment from 25 Jul 2026 in “Android May Soon Restrict On-Device ADB” - Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones”
- Comment from 11 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux”
- Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Motorola GrapheneOS devices will be bootloader unlockable/relockable”
- Comment from 17 May 2026 in “I turned a $80 RK3562 Android tablet into a Debian Linux workstation”
Easy to use on a desktop
“GNOME + Waydroid is the best experience I've had with a desktop OS on a tablet.”
Comment from 30 Nov 2025 in “Bazzite: Operating System for Linux gaming” “you just launch Waydroid, use the app and stop the container afterwards”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “it feels much smoother, despite being another layer on top of the OS”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux” - Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma”
- Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux”
Works on Librem 5 phones
“Personally, I do not use Android apps on the Librem 5, but Waydroid is available in the PureOS repository.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “even then it just works in Waydroid, so I can still use it on a GNU/Linux phone”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” “I've been using Waydroid with microG on a Librem 5 with PureOS for years.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Run Linux containers on Android, no root required” Runs banking and payment apps
“mobile BLIK payments can be done from the Android app which works inside Waydroid with microG”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Lennart Poettering, Christian Brauner founded a new company” “I can run some 'important' apps in Waydroid”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux” “You can run a bank app with Waydroid”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “It's hard to justify buying a Framework 12”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weaker security, SELinux disabled
“Waydroid has far worse privacy and security from Android apps than running them on AOSP or especially GrapheneOS.”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple” “Waydroid disables most of Android's standard privacy and security model through not supporting SELinux”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” “Waydroid disables most of the Android privacy and security model through not having functional SELinux”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” - Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones”
- Comment from 7 Sep 2026 in “GrapheneOS Overhauled Default Apps and Secure Clipboard”
- Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “The Advantages of Mobile Linux over AOSP (LineageOS, CrDroid, GrapheneOS, etc.)”
- Comment from 12 Oct 2026 in “Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?”
Many apps fail or run poorly
“a large portion of Android apps do not work with it because they use APIs unavailable or broken with it”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” “Android apps through Waydroid sort of works, but is unstable and not suitable for daily use.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android” “It has poor app compatibility and isn't a good approach to running Android in another OS.”
Comment from 2 Jul 2026 in “A new Android malware from Google” Needs special kernel and setup
“on a fedora desktop it is a little bit rough. It takes a lot of finagling to get anything that requires Google services running”
Comment from 19 Aug 2026 in “GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones” “Waydroid, for instance, requires that your kernel is compiled in basically "Android mode" (e.g. binder enabled).”
Comment from 7 Dec 2025 in “GrapheneOS is the only Android OS providing full security patches” “the Android-only approach requires Waydroid or a deprecated Windows feature to run on desktop, unfortunately”
Comment from 17 Dec 2025 in “Writing a blatant Telegram clone using Qt, QML and Rust. And C++” Looks unmaintained, latest beta old
“The latest Waydroid beta is over three years old. Waydroid is dead and I haven't found an alternative.”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Run Linux containers on Android, no root required” “Doesnt look like it's still maintained, but it shows it is possible.”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “120 days until Google restricts side-loading, declaring war on Android freedom”
What people said
40 of the 74 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“What you want are the Android TV versions, running on Waydroid or an x86 build of Android TV”
“Waydroid doesn't use SELinux so doesn't have proper application sandboxing anymore”
“run your few Android apps under Waydroid or similar compatibility layer”
“It throws most of Android's strong security model out of the window.”
“Linux has Waydroid so Android apps can be run on Linux at full speed without emulation.”
“Waydroid has very poor privacy and security due to disabling most of the app sandbox.”
“Doesnt look like it's still maintained, but it shows it is possible.”
“a large portion of Android apps do not work with it because they use APIs unavailable or broken with it”
“on a fedora desktop it is a little bit rough. It takes a lot of finagling to get anything that requires Google services running”
“It has SELinux disabled which means the app sandbox and other protections aren't intact”
“the existing apps largely do run on other Linux systems via waydroid”
“Waydroid disables most of the Android privacy and security model through not having functional SELinux”
“Waydroid disables most of Android's standard privacy and security model through not supporting SELinux”
“I can run most Linux apps and most Android apps with Waydroid”
“it feels much smoother, despite being another layer on top of the OS”
“It has just worked out-of-box ever since.”
“I can run some 'important' apps in Waydroid”
“For the popular apps you mention, there is Waydroid to run Android apps.”
“It has poor app compatibility and isn't a good approach to running Android in another OS.”
“even then it just works in Waydroid, so I can still use it on a GNU/Linux phone”
“you just launch Waydroid, use the app and stop the container afterwards”
“Personally, I do not use Android apps on the Librem 5, but Waydroid is available in the PureOS repository.”
“You can run a bank app with Waydroid”
“With Waydroid or another variant of remote Wayland you could even have the GUI part working”
“Many of these apps run fine in Waydroid as well.”
“the Wayland thing can be worked around quite easily by running it under a nested compositor like cage”
“The latest Waydroid beta is over three years old. Waydroid is dead and I haven't found an alternative.”
“I've been using Waydroid with microG on a Librem 5 with PureOS for years.”
“you can absolutely combine Bigscreen, Waydroid and a few other apps”
“Android apps work rather well from what I've seen”
“Waydroid has far worse privacy and security from Android apps than running them on AOSP or especially GrapheneOS.”
“I have personally tried it and honestly it does work great for the most part.”
“Both run as a window on X11 inside of which Waydroid works just fine.”
“mobile BLIK payments can be done from the Android app which works inside Waydroid with microG”
“Android apps through Waydroid sort of works, but is unstable and not suitable for daily use.”
“Waydroid works pretty well, but since you need to rely on it so much”
“the Android-only approach requires Waydroid or a deprecated Windows feature to run on desktop, unfortunately”
“I certainly see no reason why it should make the system no good.”
“Waydroid, for instance, requires that your kernel is compiled in basically "Android mode" (e.g. binder enabled).”
“GNOME + Waydroid is the best experience I've had with a desktop OS on a tablet.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.