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Android-x86
Unofficial port of Android operating system to Intel x86

Android-x86 is an open source project that makes an unofficial porting of the Android mobile operating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance to run on devices powered by x86 processors, rather than RISC-based ARM chips.

Developers Chih-Wei Huang and Yi Sun originated the project in 2009. The project began as a series of patches to the Android source code to enable Android to run on various netbooks, tablets and ultra-mobile PCs. Huang is the current project maintainer. Currently active developers include Mauro Rossi and Michael Goffioul.

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Overview

The OS is based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) with some modifications and improvements. Some components are developed by the project which allow it to run on PC architecture. For instance, some low-level components are replaced to better suit the platform, such as the kernel and HALs. The OS enables OpenGL ES hardware acceleration via Mesa if supported GPUs are detected, including Intel GMA, AMD's Radeon, Nvidia's chipsets (Nouveau), VMware (vmwgfx) and QEMU (virgl). Without a supported GPU, the OS can run in non-accelerated mode via software rendering. Since release 7.1, the software renderer has been implemented via the SwiftShader project.8

Like a normal Linux distribution, the project releases pre-built ISO images which can run under live mode or installed to a hard disk on the target system. Since release 4.4-r2, the project also releases efi_img9 which can be used to create a live USB to be booted from on UEFI systems. Since release 4.4-r4, the UEFI support was united into the ISO images and efi_img was marked as deprecated.

Except AOSP, the following incomplete list of components are developed from scratch or derived from other open source projects to form the entire Android-x86 codebase:

More and more components may be added to the updated version.

History
VersionAndroid versionRelease dateStatus
Old version, not maintained: 0.91.5 (Cupcake)2009-07-29Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 1.61.6 (Donut)2009-11-20Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 2.22.1 (Eclair)2010-06-30Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 3.23.0 (Honeycomb)2011-08-28Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 4.04.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)2012-01-01Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 4.24.2 (Jellybean)2012-12-25Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 4.34.3 (Jellybean)2013-07-25Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 4.44.4.2 (KitKat)2014-08-08Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 5.15.1.1 (Lollipop)2015-10-07Discontinued
Old version, not maintained: 6.06.0.1 (Marshmallow)2016-09-13Discontinued
Old version, still maintained: 7.17.1.2 (Nougat)2017-06-08Maintained
Old version, still maintained: 8.18.1.0 (Oreo)2019-01-15Maintained
Latest version: 9.09.0.0 (Pie)2020-02-27Maintained
Future version: 10.010.0 (Q)?Source Code10 (Work In Progress)
Future version: 11.011.0 (R)?Source Code11 (Work In Progress)
Legend:Old version, not maintainedOld version, still maintainedLatest versionLatest preview versionFuture version

Bliss OS

An open source OS based on Android-x86. Supported on Chromebooks, PCs, and tablets.12

Project Celadon

A related project, Celadon (formerly Android-IA)13 has been produced by Intel that will run on newer UEFI devices. The project states that its intention is to drive Android support and innovation on Intel Architecture in addition to providing a venue for collaboration.14 It re-used the drm_gralloc graphics HAL module from Android-x86 in order to support Intel HD Graphics hardware. Back as Android-IA, it provided a FAQ15 with more detailed information.

Remix OS

Jide Technologies partnered with Chih-Wei Huang, the main developer of Android-x86, on Remix OS, a closed-source derivative of Android-x86 designed for use on conventional PCs. The first beta of Remix OS was made available on March 1, 2016.16 The project was discontinued on July 17, 2017.17

Android TV x86

In late 2020, a senior member of XDA Developers created Android TV x86 to provide Android TV for PCs, which "should work out of the box because the ROM has its roots in the Android-x86 project".18

See also

  • Free and open-source software portal

References

  1. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 767, 11 June 2018 https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20180611#androidx86 ↩

  2. Android-x86 4.0 review - Not impressed https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/android-4-netbook.html ↩

  3. Android-x86 4.4 review – first Release Candidate | LinuxBSDos.com http://www.linuxbsdos.com/2014/02/17/android-x86-4-4-review-first-release-candidate/ ↩

  4. Android-x86 Just Might Make a Good Linux Desktop Alternative | Reviews | LinuxInsider https://www.linuxinsider.com/story/80145.html ↩

  5. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 630, 5 October 2015 https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20151005#androidx86 ↩

  6. DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 682, 10 October 2016 https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20161010#androidx86 ↩

  7. "Android-x86 Google Group". android-x86@googlegroups. Retrieved 30 June 2021. https://groups.google.com/g/android-x86 ↩

  8. "SwiftShader repo at Android-x86". android-x86 gitweb. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181345/https://git.osdn.net/view?p=android-x86%2Fexternal-swiftshader.git%3Ba%3Dsummary ↩

  9. "Android-x86 Release 4.4". android-x86@sourceforge. Retrieved 31 August 2015. https://sourceforge.net/projects/android-x86/files/Release%204.4/ ↩

  10. "Source code branches". Android-x86.org. 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-03-25. https://www.android-x86.org/source.html ↩

  11. "Source code branches". Android-x86.org. 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-03-25. https://www.android-x86.org/source.html ↩

  12. "Bliss OS For PC". blissos.org. Retrieved 2024-10-29. https://blissos.org/ ↩

  13. "Home". Android Open Source Platform for Intel Architectures. Retrieved 2020-09-15. https://01.org/projectceladon/ ↩

  14. "Home". Android Open Source Platform for Intel Architectures. Retrieved 2020-09-15. https://01.org/projectceladon/ ↩

  15. "FAQ". Android on Intel Architecture. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20131231093457/https://01.org/android-ia/documentation/faq ↩

  16. "[ANNOUNCEMENT] Release of Remix OS for PC Be... | Remix OS". Forum.xda-developers.com. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2017-05-02. https://forum.xda-developers.com/remix/remix-os/announcement-release-remix-os-pc-beta-t3326362 ↩

  17. Jide Tech (2017-07-17). "An update from Jide Team". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved 2020-07-12. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jidetech/remix-io-a-4k-nougat-powered-all-in-one-device/posts/1939337 ↩

  18. "Android TV x86 lets you repurpose your old PC into a media streamer". XDA Developers. 2020-11-14. Retrieved 2020-11-16. https://www.xda-developers.com/android-tv-x86-repurpose-pc-media-streamer/ ↩