Before the year 2018 ended, the Linux on DeX beta program was released for Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the Galaxy Tab S4. The Samsung Linux on DeX beta APK was made ready to download. It came around a year after it was mentioned the South Korean tech giant would bundle Linux on its docking station. It was finally released for more Galaxy models and it just received a round of update. Running Linux on your Galaxy smartphone is possible through Dex even if your device isn’t a Galaxy Tab S4 or Galaxy Note 9.
This particular update as reported brings support for more devices including the Galaxy Tab S5e, Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S10e, S10, S10+, and the new Galaxy S10 5G. Linux on DeX allows developers to work on Linux distributions right on their phone via DeX.
A modified Ubuntu version will also be available soon. Samsung has already teamed up with Canonical to start working on it.
It took months for Samsung to work on Linux on Dex to be compatible with other Galaxy phones. This version is still in beta. It is said to finally fix the issues with Ubuntu image download on Google Chrome.
Samsung DeX as a platform has been around since 2017. It first worked on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ as a special mobile accessory and the Galaxy S9 and S9+ followed the following year. The DeX hardware was upgraded after a year and its new form factor now allows the DeX Pad to lie flat and the screen to work as a touchpad. The $99.99 DeX also now allows 2K resolution.
We’ve seen the platform go through mods, add-ons, and some changes like that iKey keyboard accessory for Samsung DeX ecosystem, the device turned into a working laptop via DIY, and the Desktop Hub app improving the experience.
