Lepton is the name of the compatibility layer for running Android on Linux. Its development looks to be linked to the upcoming Steam Frame.

Valve has been a big proponent of Linux gaming, and now the company is investing in Android support on Linux. It’s already possible to run Android in a Linux container through Waydroid, but Valve has developed a new fork – and it has officially named it Lepton.

Last month, news broke that Valve would soon support Android games on Steam. This was thanks to a sighting in Steam app changelogs for Walkabout Mini Golf, which added an APK file. The VR title is currently available on the Meta Quest (which runs on a custom version of Android), and may run through the Lepton compatibility layer for Valve’s upcoming Steam Frame VR headset, which runs the company’s Linux-based operating system, SteamOS.

  • DNEAVES@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    4 hours ago

    Tbh, I’d love to be able to use this less for games and more for just Android apps.

    I’d love to move more to a less-Google-owned mobile platform that still has the apps I use and the power to run things. I think the two frontrunners are like /e/OS or GrapheneOS.

    But with Lepton: A) there’s a better chance of the idea of a Linux-non-Android phone, since Lepton could allow Android apps run on a Linux phone; or B) make Linux tablets better, again with Android apps.

    I also have an idea in my head that next “upgrade” I can afford I’ll ditch my phone and go for a smartwatch (with 4G/5G) and a tablet (for apps). The best pairing is probably from Samsung, which unfortunately is both Android/Google and now focused on promoting AI features (ew). I’d go for GrapheneOS if I could put it on a tablet of suitable specs, and if a smartwatch would work well with it (which the watch would probably still be Samsung’s, but maybe RePebble can do something great?).

    But if I could use a Linux tablet? That’s a computer at that point, and I could also benefit from having a laptop since there’s also things an Android device couldn’t do that a computer could (I’m a software dev, it’d be painful on Android). Waydroid/Lepton then supplements the part where there are things Android can do that computers can’t, which is just “apps the developer didn’t make a webapp/computer app for”. Still would have to figure out the watch part, but it’s a start