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Anbox

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Anbox
Original author(s)Marius Gripsgard, Ricardo Mendoza, Simon Fels, Thomas Voß
Developer(s)Anbox authors
(4)
Initial release11 April 2017; 7 years ago (2017-04-11)
Repositorygithub.com/anbox/anbox
Operating systemLinux
Platformx86-64, ARM, ARM64
TypeCompatibility layer
LicenseGNU GPL v3[1]
Websiteanbox.io

Anbox (short for “Android in a Box”) is a free and open-source compatibility layer that allows Android applications to run on Linux distributions[2] by using containerization techniques. Originally introduced by Canonical, Anbox executes Android applications in a lightweight system container, isolated from the host system for security and efficiency.

Anbox was officially released on April 11, 2017, and rapidly gained attention as a bridge between the mobile Android ecosystem and desktop Linux environments.

Anbox was deprecated on February 3, 2023[3] as it is no longer being actively maintained,[4] as development has shifted to Waydroid[5] (formerly called Anbox-Halium).[citation needed].

Canonical's active development focus shifted to Anbox Cloud, a platform for running Android applications in a cloud environment.[6] Anbox Cloud is a closed-source,[7] enterprise-focused version of the original Anbox, maintained by Canonical, offering extended features, better scalability, and support via Ubuntu Pro.

How Anbox works

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Anbox executes the Android runtime environment by using LXC (Linux Containers), recreating the directory structure of Android as a mountable loop image, while using native Linux kernel to execute applications. It makes use of Linux namespaces through LXC for isolation. Applications do not have any direct hardware access, all accesses are sent through the Anbox daemon.[8] This ensures that Android apps can run on Linux without the need for emulation, offering improved performance compared to traditional methods like Android emulators.

How Anbox Cloud differs from Anbox

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As the original Anbox project has been discontinued, Anbox Cloud has emerged as Canonical's fully supported, enterprise-ready solution for running Android in the cloud. Anbox Cloud is specifically designed to run Android at scale, securely, and independent of hardware requirements. Canonical provides 24/7 Anbox Cloud support through Ubuntu Pro, guidance for custom LXD image builds, knowledge transfer for setting up image infrastructure, and assistance with large-scale Android cloud deployments.

Anbox Cloud logo
Anbox Cloud logo

Anbox Cloud supports deployment across all major cloud platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and private or hybrid cloud environments.

Key features of Anbox Cloud

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  • High Instance Density: Run numerous Android instances on a single machine, maximizing the use of cloud infrastructure.
  • Elastic Scaling: Scale up or down dynamically depending on the workload, with support for automated operations.
  • Full Automation: Easily deploy and manage large-scale Android environments, with minimal manual intervention.
  • Low Latency Streaming: Optimized for ultra-low latency streaming, making it ideal for cloud gaming, mobile application use, or other latency-sensitive tasks.
  • Cross-Platform Support: Run on both Arm and x86 servers, with GPU acceleration for enhanced graphics performance, particularly in gaming and media streaming.

Use cases for Anbox Cloud

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  • Cloud Gaming: Anbox Cloud allows for GPU acceleration, ensuring low-latency, high-frame-rate experiences across platforms, delivering high-performance mobile games to users on any device.
  • Mobile Application Testing: Automate testing workflows by running virtual Android instances on the cloud. Anbox Cloud provides full sensor integration and supports integration into CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing.
  • Automotive Development: Anbox Cloud includes support for AAOS (Android Automotive OS) and VHAL (Vehicle Hardware Abstraction Layer), making it an ideal platform for developing and testing in-vehicle infotainment systems. Custom AAOS images can be easily deployed and tested in the cloud.

See also

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  • Android-x86 - An open source project that makes an unofficial porting of Google's Android mobile operating system to run on devices powered by AMD and Intel x86 processors, rather than RISC-based ARM chips.
  • BlueStacks has developed an App Player for Windows and MacOS capable of running Android applications in a container.
  • The SPURV compatibility layer[9] is a similar project developed by Collabora.
  • Waydroid also uses Android (LineageOS) in an LXC container on a regular Linux system, using Wayland.[10]
  • Wine - A Windows compatibility layer for Unix-like systems.

References

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  1. ^ "anbox/anbox". GitHub. 4 January 2023.
  2. ^ Lynch, Jim (2017-04-12). "Anbox: Run Android apps in Linux". InfoWorld. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  3. ^ "Anbox". GitHub. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  4. ^ "Add deprecation notice to README by morphis · Pull Request #2121 · anbox/anbox". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  5. ^ "README: Important". GitHub. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  6. ^ Lardinois, Frederic (21 January 2020). "Canonical's Anbox Cloud puts Android in the cloud". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  7. ^ "Anbox Cloud official website". anbox-cloud.io. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  8. ^ "anbox/anbox". GitHub. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  9. ^ "Running Android next to Wayland".
  10. ^ "WayDroid brings lag-free Android app integration to the OnePlus 6/6T Linux port". 24 July 2021.
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