This article covers a guide on the “Termux” Android app that allows you to run command-line programs and scripts on Android devices.

Termux is an open-source terminal emulator application that works on Android devices. It also works as a sort of mini Linux OS, packed with many tools and utilities you commonly see in desktop Linux distributions. You can use Termux to install and run numerous command-line apps through its own package manager. No root access is required to install and run Termux on Android. You can even use a lightweight desktop environment GUIs without hardware acceleration through Termux (via VNC), but they may be slow and not exactly usable on small screen touch devices. Termux is extremely popular among developers and other users who want to access CLI Linux apps on Android. It is the closest thing you get to a Linux OS on Android, and it is a pleasure to use with its touch-optimized interface suitable for small screen devices. Termux features additional keyboard actions making it easy to input symbols, and also features auto-completion through the <TAB> action key located in the top row of the on-screen keyboard.

Use Cases

Some things you can do with Termux:

• Run Python scripts
• Run Bash scripts
• Play command-line games
• Access Vi editor
• Make SSH connections
• Create Python virtualenv
• Develop apps as long as you don’t need GUI access
• Install additional packages with pip, npm, cpan, gem, tlmgr, and other such package managers
• Basically, anything that an installed package allows you to do through its command-line interface

Installing Termux on Android

You can download and install Termux through Google Play or from F-Droid. Launch Termux through the launcher, and you should be greeted with the following screen:

Enabling Storage Access on Termux

To access files in the Termux terminal or to save files from the Termux terminal, you will first need to setup the Termux storage and provide storage access permissions to Termux when prompted. You can do so by executing the following command:

Once you are through the storage setup, you will be able to find Termux files stored in the “shared” folder in the internal storage of your Android device. If the “shared” folder doesn’t exist, you can manually create one. Usually, the full path to this “shared” folder is “/storage/emulated/0/shared”.

Installing and Managing Official Termux Packages

Once you have installed Termux, run the command below to update and upgrade repositories:

Now you can install your desired packages using the following command:

After installation, you will be able to run the command for the installed package in the Termux terminal (just like you would do on a desktop Linux OS):

You can get a list of installable Termux packages from here. You can also search and look for packages in Termux itself. To do so, run a command in the following format:

You can also list all packages using the following command:

Installing Deb Packages in Termux

You can install certain “.deb” packages from Ubuntu or Debian repositories as long as they are made for your mobile’s architecture (these days, mobiles mostly have aarch64 and aarch32 architectures). Note that some packages may refuse to work on Termux. To install a “.deb” package, run a command in the following format:

To remove a manually installed “.deb” package in Termux, run a command in the following format:

To list all manually installed “.deb” packages, you will need to run the following command:

Any “.deb” package from any package source can be installed as long as it meets compatibility requirements. As always, you should be careful when picking up third party packages to prevent the installation of suspicious packages.

Enabling Additional Repositories in Termux

You can also enable extra repositories in Termux to enable the installation of additional packages. To find more repositories, visit this page and click on repositories having names ending with “-packages”. You will find the command for enabling these repositories in their “README” files. The command for enabling extra repositories looks like this:

Below are some examples that have I have tested and found working on Termux:

Some third-party community repositories can also be enabled. You will find a list of these repositories available here.

Installing Termux Add-ons

Termux provides some useful add-ons that can be installed on an Android device through the Play Store. Some of these extra add-ons are free, while others are paid. You can find a list of these add-ons available here.

Conclusion

Some apps on the Play Store allow you to install and run full Linux environments on Android. However, a few of them require root access, and they are not exactly easy to use. As far as user-friendliness is concerned, there is nothing else like Termux on the Play Store.

This article will explain how to install the official Android emulator as a standalone application in Linux. The official Android emulator comes with the “Android Studio” application development suite. However, if you are not interested in developing Android apps and just want a working emulator without installing Android Studio, this article should help you. All the steps mentioned in the article are tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS version.

Install Command Line Tools

Download the latest version of “Android Command Line Tools” from here (scroll down to the command line section).

Extract the downloaded archive and make a new folder named “tools” inside “cmdline-tools” directory. Copy and paste all files from “cmdline-tools” folder to “tools” folder. Your final directory layout should look like this:

Install Required Packages

Go to the “tools/bin” folder, launch a new terminal window and run the following command to update repository details:

Next, run the following command to list available and installed packages:

Install some packages required for the Android emulator to work:

Find Correct System Image to Use

Next you need to make a note of the system image you want to load in the Android emulator. To get a list of downloadable system images, run the command below:

You should get some output similar to this:

You will see some numbers like “27”, “28” etc. in the name of system images. These numbers denote Android API levels. Find the Android version corresponding to the API levels from here and make a note of the appropriate system image you want to use in the emulator and the API level number.

Download System Image and Corresponding Packages

Next, download the following packages using the same API level number you finalized in the step above:

For instance, if you decided to use “system-images;android-29;default;x86_64” as the system image, the command would change to:

You can always use the “list” switch to find correct command and version numbers:

Create a New AVD

AVD or “Android Virtual Device” is a set of configuration parameters that defines values for a virtual device that will emulate a real Android hardware device.

To create a new AVD, you need to use the system image you downloaded in the step above. Run the following command to create a new AVD:

Replace “my_avd_30” with any name of your choice. You may be prompted to alter some configuration parameters. Follow on-screen instructions and change the values as per your requirements.

Confirm that the AVD has been successfully created using the command below:

You should get some output similar to this:

Note the path of AVD in the output above. At the same path, you can find a “config.ini” file that can be used to change configuration parameters of the AVD.

Run Emulator

Go to “emulator” folder (up a few directories) and use the following command to launch the emulator:

Replace “my_avd_30” with the name of your own AVD you created in the step above. Your Android emulator should be now up and running:

You can create as many as AVDs as you want and each AVD / System Image will be treated separately.

Conclusion

Android emulator provides an excellent way to emulate real life Android devices on your desktop PC. You can use the emulator to test some apps that are yet in development or you can use the emulator to regularly run Android compatible apps and games on a Linux PC. The performance of the emulator will depend on your system’s horsepower, virtualization technologies available on your PC and your system’s compatibility with the KVM kernel module.

Mobile music-production applications have, for some time, been viewed as gimmicks, something cool to futz around with during your drive. However, not genuine stages made for proficient musicians. There is no lack of music applications accessible on both Android and iOS. Bolstered our independent research, we gauge that there are presumably among zillion and a bazillion applications.

We have got an inventory of the most straightforward music-making applications for Android devices, along with the features for you. So, let’s get started!

Beat Snap – Make Beats & Music

If you are looking for an application that can render music for a whole album, Beat Snap is a fantastic choice. It is quick to use, and the best part is that it is free. You should correct the rhythm and drama and set up the music for more than thirty times sequentially. It is easy to install and a feature-rich music-making app.

Features

1. The step sequencer contains your most innovative arrangement of songs.
2. Stocks more than two hundred pieces of equipment and five hundred sounds.
3. The sound can be shaped by six live controllable FX.
4. Series of the loop and metronome.
5. There are sixteen receptive pads with two grids.

Roland Zenbeats

Zenbeats looks beautiful and easy to use on a touch device. It works very well on a timeline and LoopBuilder. The step sequencer has an auto-fill function, so you can throw in notes or create beats with a single gesture. It can be programmed to play on an on-screen keyboard or wire an external MIDI controller.

Features

• The Zenbeats App features effects, loops, and innovative instruments to broaden the spectrum of music.

• There are options, regardless of the mood you are seeking.
• Sounds of touch, swipe, modulate, and pitch bent using on-screen instrument motions.
• Sample Verse is a strong platform for recording, manipulating, and recording the world’s sounds.
• Roland Zenbeats gives access to comprehensive beat making equipment and several kits and patterns preset available.

Groovepad – Music & Beat Maker

Groovepad is a convenient tool that incorporates high-quality samples with a user-friendly interface. This is one of the most addictive programs on this list. Open the program, and you will have access to a wide variety of soundtracks that can render almost every kind of music genre, from dubstep to EDM to cool hip. Google Play is currently freely available.

Features

• A vast catalog of exclusive and excenter soundtracks where you can start looking and picking your favorites. Hip-hop, EDM, dance, dubstep, drum & bass, trap, electronics, and many more are among the popular genres. To make your music or mixtapes, use Groovepad.
• Use Live Loops to produce top-class music that can exactly balance all the sounds.
• You will bring life back to your party with some excellent FX effects, such as the filter, flanger, reverb, and pause by music on your drum pad.
• Post your creations and inspire and impress your friends and families with DJing skills.
• The Groovepad software supports professionals, beat-makers, music developers, and even amateur music makers as a practical and straightforward app. Create beats and songs, anywhere and everywhere!

MixPads – Drum pad & DJ Audio Mixer

MixPads should be your first preference if you are involved in composing remixes and song grooves. It is all great for the DJ sound designers. This software makes composing remixes and DJ sounds very simple and easy. About thirty drum pads feature original music loops. There are also a handful of impressive features. This app is a decent choice for the Android app to make music.

Features

• You should blend voice with multiple audio tracks to capture voice.
• Hip-hop music production and remixing in this app are effortless.
• There is a range of sound vans for the DJ.
• There are twelve one-shot pads to promote the initiative.
• There are various reverse effects to reverse your songs.
• A finger drumming option can be used to generate rhythm.

Caustic 3

Caustic 3 employs sequenced audio synthesizers and simulations. It is an easy and intuitive program to use. You should play the beat on Caustic and open an individual wav editor as the beat plays and records for yourself, in which case, you ought to use your headphones so that you can keep the vocal and the real beat separated before merging.

Features

• WAV: 16-bit uncompressed stereo 44KHz that supports most of the device and audio players.
• OGG: Ogg-Vorbis 44KHz stereo format compressed, compliant with most Smartphone MP3 players.
• MIDI: Music file MIDI provides simple note and timing detail, machine names, and structure. Its Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Applications are very compatible.

BandLab  

BandLab incorporates interactive and artistic experiences. You can also create and download your music and find other artists with the same application. But the main thing about this is that the creative aspect of music is pretty good.

Features

• They have a twelve-plot mixed editor that helps you record live audio and import music, blend, and automatically make your album.
• Looper features the beats, patterns, and melodies’ layers to build up.
• Measure and re-activate all the kinds of results, gate and add them.
• There are currently over a hundred plugins to give the right toning to your track guitar, bass, and vocal impact.

Hip-Hop Producer Pads

Hip-Hop Producer Pads will support you a great deal if you want to make rock music for your Band. It is one of the freest Android music applications to create hip-hop and remix sounds. The music is combined with lots of features. Drum is for free here so that the beat and sound can be managed.

Features

• You should arrange lots of song loops.
• Here is an excellent metronome.
• In this case, the drum unit is handy and available here.
• Several samples were used for one-stroke.
• You should make music for your mates, and download it.

Walk Band

Walk Band is a toolkit for virtual musical instruments built by music studio artists. Walk Band is effortless but still a decent sound application that enables you to write music. Piano, drum kit, drum machine, guitar, and bass are included.

Features

• The configuration is straightforward but sounds very good.
• You can pick the chords you like and then press them to make up the song’s structure.
• The guitar can switch between chords and solo so that some cool melodies can be formed.
• By using the sharing function, export the MIDI file and share it via Dropbox.
• It is a cool app and is free for download.

Music Maker JAM   

If you are in the fields of R&B, hip-hop, and other beat-based music, Music Maker JAM can help you more than anything. It enables the music to function in a single spot. With sound loops, beatings, and audio samples of the studio quality, you can render your tracks at any time. This app will clean and make your journey smooth and simple. It has multiple features, along with a stunning and comfortable user interface.

Features

• You will be part of a vast network of over a million music lovers via this app.
• It delivers daily updates, new concepts, and interactive collaboration options for a better overall experience.
• It offers more than three hundred sound mix packs and five hundred thousand plus sound loops to make music simple at all times.
• You can browse thousands of loops and beats of studio-quality to blend easier.
• With only a few clicks and shakes on your Android phone, you can catch your vocal and remix songs.

Add Music to Voice  

Many of you hide a real singer in yourself. But since there are not enough musical instruments, you cannot reveal it. But an album without music cannot give the listener the right feeling. So, behind your music, you need a tone. Add Music to Voice app is the answer for you if you are battling such a problem. It is an app that excellently adds music to your voice.

Features

• You can use some sample music or make your sound.
• There is an intelligent selection system to mix the music seamlessly with your voice.
• There is a rich music catalog to select from an album to be blended with the song.
• Karaoke should be used while music is playing to sing the album.
• Record the music and share it with others immediately.

Conclusion

So, these are the best music-making apps for Android smartphones in 2021. If you have used any other app than those listed here, feel free to share your views with us at  @linuxhint and @SwapTirthakar.

If you do not use any of the top Android antivirus applications on your Smartphone or tablet, you are at risk of being infected by malicious software and other viruses.

The good news is that you have far from limited options. The best smartphone antivirus programs include top-of-the-line malware detection and protection, as well as a range of safety and anti-theft tools.

Sometimes, these applications may also have the ability to back up contacts and other records, follow your phone or tablet using GPS, grab an image of a phone robber using the device’s camera, and even use your smartwatch to find your phone. Many mobile security apps come with a free and charged version, but all Freemium antivirus applications have not been developed in the same manner.

Best Security Apps for Android in 2020

The following article provides a list of the best Android apps that are trusted for maintaining security and privacy for Android phones.

Security Master

For any smart gadget, antivirus and security applications are a must. Security Master is the best application for complete Android device maintenance and wellbeing. Not all Android devices have built-in protection tools, and most of them lack advanced functionality. Security Master comes with built-in VPN, App Lock, and speed booster, and, of course, the antivirus.

Features

• Provides features beyond antivirus and protects smartphones from overuse.
• Includes cleaning files, battery-saving services, and junk management.
• VPN features and Wi-Fi authentication in real-time.
• File lock, AppLocker, and password manager message protection are included.
• Provides smart diagnostic and fraud warning to protect your mobile device.

Bitdefender Mobile Security

The Android security program from Bitdefender offers excellent malware protection, a small effect on device performance, Android Wear watch integration, a VPN client, and a malicious website blocker that runs on most Android browsers.

The device also comes with robust tools, such as App Lock, Wi-Fi scanner, anti-theft functionality, and alerts of data breakdown.

Features

• Multi-level security offered by Bitdefender blocks both proven and emerging threats from your records, photos, and videos.
• Prevents dangerous anti-phishing security.
• When using a Wi-Fi link, secures your bank records, passwords. and hacker updates.
• Senses when you play, work, or watch a movie, so it does not need to annoy you.
• Stops pop-ups briefly and switches graphic parameters to optimize the user’s enjoyment.

AVG Antivirus

Antivirus and malware security are useful tools to keep your system all in one location. AVG Antivirus is an online and offline security application that provides complete protection against cyberattacks and ensures full privacy for your Android device. This app has many luxury features with an attractive user interface, and it can be downloaded for free.

Features

• Offers data security and optimized privacy AppLock features.
• Frees your device of bugs and ransomware.
• Protects your Wi-Fi network.
• Boosts the system and provides seamless file cleaning.
• Offers your ease with VPN features, data control, and speed meters.
• Provides device locations indicated by Google Maps.
• Includes call blocker features and warning integration.

McAfee

The ultimate tool for mobile security is McAfee Mobile Security. With this app, you can defend yourself from viruses, malware, spyware, and ransomware while maintaining your data and your identity. The McAfee app gives you a privacy-protected VPN Wi-Fi connection, mobile encryption, and mobile antivirus protection for your smartphone, all free of cost.

Features

• Complete security goes beyond award-winning antivirus protection to provide a broad range of precautions and defenses for your device.
• Offers the ability to easily encrypt confidential files for families with a range of phones.
• Provides virus and spam protection for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices.
• Allows you to link five to ten phones and defend against cybercriminals and hackers.
• Get the most out of digital identity theft protection with shielding, shaking, removing, and other sensitive file protection features.

VIPRE

VIPRE Android Security, one of the most popular security applications, is a fantastic alternative. VIPRE secures your phone from 20,000-plus identified malware and Android viruses.

Feature

• Powerful features, such as the modified Malware Detector with new intelligence on numerous viruses.
• All applications are automatically scanned upon installation.
• Web defense feature helps you to spot suspicious things when browsing the Web.
• Geo-locating, locking, sound alarm, and wiper phone or tablet may be used for counter-theft functionality on other internet-linked devices.

Cleaner

It is good fortune that Windows and Mac’s best protection software is now available on Android, and you can now use the Cleaner app to protect your Android device. You can use this software in many profitable workplaces. This app is also sufficient to deter viruses from your device and to guarantee that your device is secure.

Features

• Elimination of trash and cleaning of your phone memory.
• Helpful for finding the software that consumes the most data, as well as the most battery.
• Includes features that allow you to uninstall multiple applications with a single press.

Nox

Nox’s all-in-one protection software can defend against malware and other threats to your phone. It is a single tool that allows you to deal with all the most vicious defense issues. Nox Protection facilitates cleaning up files and avoiding power-draining applications, as well as shielding your phone from WLAN attacks.

Features

• Ensures that your phone is protected from malware and viruses.
• Protect and lock the programs to avoid infringement of privacy.
• Block anyone from displaying the menu.
• Spam filtering and suspected calls.

Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus

Kaspersky Smartphone is another free and excellent Android protection tool that you can use free of charge. This app is stable and safe, and it is also effortless to use for many defense activities.

Features

• Protects against theft by helping you find your phone when you lose it.
• Antimicrobial technology that allows you to protect financial details when you buy online.
• Acts as the main antivirus application to keep your device clean.
• Auto-locking and disabling are also provided.
• Reports and activities are filtered, along with junk.

Norton Mobile Security and Antivirus

Norton Mobile Security & Antivirus is an award-winning cell phone encryption and malware prevention provider. This app helps to protect your device against ransomware, viruses, or threats, such as spam, fraud, and websites designed to steal your information and money. This virus sensor and remover helps to deter attacks on your device. Norton is a trusted brand for mobile telephone security applications, with several years of experience delivering antivirus protection for the PC.

Features

• Advanced antivirus protection secures your device against current and new online threats.
• Protects your information securely online.
• Browse via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with no-login privacy and confidentiality.
• Add bank encryption to keep information secure and confidential, including passwords and bank account numbers.
• Manage the activities of your children online.
• Online generation, stocking, and maintenance of passwords, credit card numbers, and other credentials.
• Storage of sensitive files and records to protect data loss due to errors on the hard disc, hacked phones, and even ransomware.
• Alerts you of login attempts and blocks unauthorized access to your webcam.

Systweak Anti Malware

Malware and malicious content are some of the most harmful risks posed to your device. It is best that you get anti-malware software to secure your Android device and ensure that your data is safe against attacks. What better functionality than the Anti Malware in Systweak? Let us explore the app’s features below:

Feature

• Protects in real-time against dangerous mobile apps.
• Searches for suspicious data on your internal memory and SD card.
• Feature available to whitelist trustworthy programs.
• Helps you to explore all pathogens quickly and in-depth.

In this era of technology, where everyone is getting connected through their smartphone devices, the risk of security and privacy breaches is higher than ever. So, you always need to be concerned about this issue and take the necessary steps whenever required. This article covered ten of the best apps to keep your Android device secure from viruses and malware. If you have any queries regarding any of these applications, then do tell us at @linuxhint and @SwapTirthakar.

Using Linux on an Android phone can be useful when you need to use command-line tools. It is also useful for running entire desktops on your phone. A common issue is that you need to root your phone to get a running system, but there are now many systems available for running your favorite distro and desktop on your mobile device. Some of these systems are available for free and even open-source versions exist.

Before choosing how to get started, consider what you are aiming for. Are you looking for a few specific applications, a command-line, or a full desktop? Your choice is important since you can use your phone for many different things. This article shows you how to install entire distributions, as well as a CLI-Launcher, on your mobile device.

Overview

To install Linux on Android without ruining your standard phone by rooting it, you will need the Proot program. This program makes it possible to run applications as if they were in a different root file system. The launchers and installation applications for Android use Proot to install a distribution or application on your phone. When you just want one or two specific applications to run on Linux, you can use the installer for one application at a time. You can also choose to install an entire distribution. You can decide what best fits your needs and choose your tool from there. Remember that you are faking a file system here, so from a security point of view, you are on your own.

The process is simple thanks to the applications that developers have made for us. You can install the helper or the install app from F-Droid or the Play Store, and choose how deep into the rabbit hole you want to go. Most of these applications are available in both stores. Finding the application on APK pure or similar is also an option.

How to Use

The process of installing a distribution is similar to the different options you have, but in principle, all you need to do is pick the options available within the application itself. Most options include setting up a VNC or an SSH process so that you can reach it from other computers.

Linux CLI Launcher

If you are a fan of the command-line, this one is for you! The CLI Launcher comes as an application, which you can pick up from the Google Play store or many of the APK download sites. The launcher gives you most Linux commands, as well as a way to launch your applications. You can type the name of the application and tap on the list below to start the application.

This application is not only for staying true to your keyboard-centered view of computing. You may have some jobs that require power-consuming processes that you want to offload from your main system. Or, vice versa, some low power that you want to have running in your main system.

GNURoot

GNURoot is a solution to run Proot and the setup for installing Linux applications and distributions. Using this, you can install many distributions and applications at once. This application is a tool that can be used to install any root file system on your mobile device.

In practice, you will download GNURoot first, and then your distribution separately. With GNURoot, you will have many distributions to choose from, including Debian, Gentoo, and aboriginal. You even have GNU Octave available. All these distributions start in the terminal as standard. To start using the Graphical User Interface, find the Xserver XSDL application and install it. When this step is done, you can install all the X components in your fake root install. After you run the X server on the local machine, you will have the desktop on your mobile. You can also run the X desktop on your laptop; this way, you have some applications that are separate from your regular system. This may be useful if you have other demanding jobs in your main system.

WheezyX

WheezyX is a rootfs system that you can install using the GNURoot application. However, to make this update, you will need to switch to a newer distribution. You can do this by changing the file in the /etc/apt/sources.list file. This entails updating the entire image to the buster, which can cause problems.

UserLand

With UserLand, you get similar functions, but they are neatly listed on the start screen. You do not have many options, though they are all available right there in the application. The options you do have are several distributions and a few applications. This application is extremely simple to use, and it fetches all the files, unpacks them, and calls the X server, Vnc server, or Xsdl server. When you pick one option and allow it to install, you will need to choose how to display the running environment. Depending on what you choose, UserLand will direct you to the Play Store to download the tool for this purpose. Once the appropriate tool is downloaded, the application will start this tool every time you start the session.

An important warning here is that your new root file system will be updated in this process. Make sure that you have the disk space to accommodate what you are installing. The amount of storage space you need will depend on your choice of application, but a good 10 GB is a good start. If you are short, you may end up with a long install, and then it all crashes anyways due to lack of space.

https://github.com/CypherpunkArmory/UserLAnd

Conclusion

Getting this process started takes much more than a single application. You will require some skills with the command-line and enough disk space to handle it. Your patience may also take a toll, since the first time you run it, you will have to wait for the initial download, and after, that the additional upgrades.

Because there are so many options available, you may become confused when choosing the best music player for your Android device. Several factors must be taken into account when selecting a music player app. In this article, we list the 10 best music players for Android that you can use to listen to your favorite music anywhere, anytime.

Not all the applications hosted in the Google Play Store are legitimate, as some of them show a lot of ads, while others lag when operating. To help you avoid such low-quality applications, we have prepared a well-researched and detailed list of music players for Android for you.

So, let us begin!

1. YouTube Music

YouTube music is one of the best music players for Android devices. With this app, songs are very easy to stream, even with low internet connectivity. The interface is quite user-friendly and even comes with a dark theme for night owls, like me. As this application is from YouTube itself, you can search for any video or audio clip uploaded to the YouTube streaming platform.

Many of you might remember the Google Play Music app on Android devices. Well, that app is now replaced by the YouTube Music app in the Google suite of apps. To play music in offline mode, enjoy ad-free music, and listen in audio mode, you will need to get the premium subscription.

Key Features:

1. Offline mode
2. Audio-only mode
3. HD sound quality

Download Here

2. Spotify

The second pick on our list is Spotify, a Swedish music streaming app that is known for its quality music. When it comes to sound quality, nobody is better than Spotify. You can listen to your favorite songs, artists, and podcasts. There is a huge collection of songs in this application and users can easily access the music by searching by song name or artist.

You can sign up for free and start listening to music with some limitations and ads. Getting the premium subscription will help you get rid of the annoying ads. Spotify is a very popular music app worldwide, and it keeps getting better with every update.

Key Features:

1. HD quality sound
2. Podcasts
3. Frequent updates

Download Here

3. Apple Music

Maybe you are not aware that Apple Music is no longer only for Apple users. It is available on the Android play store, too. Apple is known for its premium services and has done exceptionally good work with the Apple Music app, too. With a huge collection of more than 60 million tracks, you can listen to your favorite songs, create custom playlists, and mark your favorite artists.

Nothing comes free from Apple, and you will have to pay about $10 per month for this application, but it is worth it. You can also try the 3-month free trial. Apple Music also offers Chromecast support to stream your music to any device. Overall, this app comes in a package that any music lover would love to have.

Key Features:

1. Access to 60 million+ songs
2. Beats one
3. Awesome offers with Verizon

Download Here

4. Poweramp Music Player

PowerAmp is indeed a powerful music player for Android, where you can create libraries for family and share. The unique UI of this app gives you a DJ feel, and the equalizer will make great use of your headphones. Poweramp also comes with Google assistant integrated for further commands.

If you are having a huge collection of audio songs on your device, then you can install the Poweramp music player to arrange the libraries and share your music with your loved ones. The spectrums that display while playing songs are also quite attractive. If you are a bass lover, you can create your own equalizer presets, too.

Key Features:

1. Library sharing
2. Attractive UI
3. Bass booster

Download Here

5. JetAudio HD Player Plus

JetAudio is another brilliant music player for Android that can be used to play a variety of file formats. This music player has two versions: the Plus version and the Free version. The Plus version is quite impressive and comes loaded with 20+ band equalizers, whereas the Free version comes with 10 band equalizers and ads.

It is worth mentioning that the equalizer in this application is very rich in graphics. The lock screen widgets are also quite attractive.

Key Features:

1. Intelligent playback controls
2. Support for various audio plugins

Download JetAudio Plus
Download JetAudio Free Version

6. Amazon Music

The Amazon Music player app needs no introduction. This app needs a prime subscription to access its huge collection of music. If you already have an Amazon subscription, then simply download the app, sign up for an account, and you are good to go.

The sound quality produced by this app is just awesome and will make perfect use of your high-quality headphones. If you do not remember a song’s name, simply enter a lyric in the search bar and its intelligent search engine will do the rest. This application has been downloaded over 100,000,000 times.

Key Features:

1. HD sound quality
2. Access to shows and movies with Amazon Prime

Download Here

7. Neutron Music Player

The Neutron Music Player is not for normal users but is good for audiophiles who want to experiment with several audio tweaks available in the application. You can even create high bass presets for yourself.

This application is a bit underrated but serves its purpose smartly. There are two versions of this application: the free version and the paid version. The free version comes with ads, and while the paid version comes with some premium features. If are looking to experiment with sound, then you should get the paid application.

Key Features:

1. Loaded with audio tweaks
2. Good for making customized presets

Download Neutron Music Player App

8. AIMP Free Music Player

The AIMP Free Music Player for Android is considered the best in its category. This app is an all-in-one music player, library, and converter. AIMP delivers good sound quality and expansive customization. This player processes audio in 32-bit for clear sound quality.

The good thing about this player is that it can play up to 20 audio formats. The main audio formats include MP3, OGG, WAV, and WMA. The equalizer, which comes with extra built-in sound effects, is a plus point. If you are looking for a free Android music player, then AIMP is the best choice available.

Key Features:

1. Works well as an audio converter
2. Brilliant sound effects

Download Here

9. GoneMAD Music Player

GoneMad is one of the oldest music players in the Play Store. If you are looking for an application with a variety of themes, then this app is the perfect choice for you. GoneMad supports multi-window and smart playlist features. It comes with a 14-day free trial, and then you need to buy an unlocker to access the application. The premium version costs you around $3.99.

Key Features:

1. Highly customizable
2. Huge collection of themes
3. HD sound quality

Download Here

10. CloudPlayer

We all remember the Doubletwist when it ruled iTunes. Now, Doubletwist has been replaced by the CloudPlayer app for Android. With this app, you will have many cloud services to access your music files. The sound quality is also up to mark.

CloudPlayer comes with a brilliant equalizer tool, but you will need to unlock it using in-app purchases. This app will give you an old-school feel while listening to the radio and podcasts.

Key Features:

1. Can connect to cloud storage
2. In-app Air support

Download CloudPlayer App

Conclusion

This article covered some of the best music playing apps for Android smartphones. If you are a music lover like me, then you will enjoy listening to your favorite music on any of the above apps. Choose whichever app best fits your needs and preferences. Feel free to share your thoughts with us at @linuxhint and @SwapTirthakar.

Anbox

Anbox, which stands for “Android in a box,” is an Android emulator available for GNU/Linux operating systems. However, the term “emulator” might be misleading because Anbox does not use virtualization to run Android. There are many other Android emulators, but Anbox offers the following features:

• Open-source: Anbox is an open-source project, and its source code is available under Apache and GPLv3 licensing.
• Performance: Most popular Android emulators run the Android system in a virtualized environment, which causes reduced performance. Therefore, Anbox, which does not use virtualization, performs significantly better when compared to similar emulators.
• Security: Anbox runs Android apps in tightly contained boxes that cannot directly access your data.
• Integration: Anbox can run on any Linux distribution as long as the kernel comes with the right modules. Furthermore, you can always enable the necessary modules on your own.

Installing Anbox

The Anbox installation consists of two steps. The first step is difficult because it requires working with the kernel modules. However, once the kernel modules are set, Anbox will be ready to go. For our demonstration, we will be using Ubuntu

Configuring kernel modules
Anbox is dependent on two kernel modules: ashmem and binder. For the latest version of any distribution running the latest stable kernel, these modules should already be installed.

To verify if the kernel modules exist, use the following command:

If they do not exist, then they have to be installed manually. To install these kernel modules, your system must have dkms and linux-headers installed. Run the following distribution-specific command to install them.

Debian:

Ubuntu:

For CentOS, RHEL, and derivatives:

For openSUSE, SUSE Linux and derivatives:

Now, let’s install the Anbox kernel modules, which are directly available in the Anbox GitHub module repo.

Run the installation script.

The modules must be manually loaded. Alternatively, you can restart the system to load them by default.

Now, the following command can be used to show if there are two new nodes under the /dev directory.

Install Anbox snap
Anbox is available as a snap package. Therefore, this step will be identical for all distributions. Snaps are universal Linux packages that can be run on any distribution. Check the official snap documentation for the proper snap installation instruction on all supported distributions.

Run the following command to install the Anbox snap.

Because Anbox does not have the full support of snap because it is still in beta, it must be installed using -devmode. Consequently, the snap will not update automatically. To manually update the Anbox snap, run the following command.

Using Anbox

Launching Anbox
Anbox should appear on the app menu. In this example, it is directly accessible from the Ubuntu menu.

This following image shows the base window of Anbox, which lists all the applications that are currently installed.

Now, we will use the Calculator app.

Installing an app on Anbox
To install apps on Anbox, we have to use Android Debug Bridge (ADB). Run the appropriate distribution-specific command to install ADB.

For Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives:

For Fedora and derivatives:

For Arch Linux and derivatives:

For openSUSE, SUSE Linux and derivatives. Check out Android tools at openSUSE:

Once installed, run the following command while Anbox is running to launch the ADB server and recognize Anbox as an Android device connected to the computer.

By default, Anbox does not come with Google Play Store or any other app store installed. We will use ADB to install APK packages on Anbox. Note that apps may not install and run if they contain native binaries that are not compatible with the x86 architecture.

Installing Google Play Store on Anbox
This process, which amounts to running a simple Bash script available on GitHub, is important if you want a full-fledged Android experience. The script will install the Google Play Store along with libhoudini, which is important for running ARM apps.

First, make sure that your system contains all the necessary dependencies to perform this procedure. Run the distribution-specific command.

For Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives:

For Fedora and derivatives:

For Arch Linux and derivatives:

Now, download the script.

Mark the script as an executable file.

Run the script.

Once everything is complete, Anbox is ready to go!

As you can see, the Google Play Store has been installed.

Final thoughts

Anbox is a robust tool for running Android apps on Linux. However, the initial configuration process is complex, and key mapping is lacking. If you can ignore these two flaws, Anbox is a great Android emulator. However, if Anbox is not for you, don’t worry: there are various other Android emulators. Check out the best ways to run Android apps and games on Linux.

Happy computing!

Android smartphones made it easier for employees or users who don’t have a laptop or computer to work on their mobile phones. Even though mobiles phone still not have been successful in replacing computers substantially, but there are some apps which get the job done for the time being. So now, we’re going to have a look at best remote desktop sharing apps for Android phones that can help you access your computer from anywhere.

AnyDesk Remote Control

AnyDesk is a lightweight but very powerful desktop sharing app for Android smartphones. It is one of the most desktop sharing apps out there where you can access all your devices running Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android platforms.

It sports an intuitive and very easy to use user interface, which is one of the fastest and secure out there. It uses the 4096-bit RSA Key Exchange and TLS 1.2 encryption for high-level security. You can get it free for personal use and for commercial use you need to purchase it.

All you need to do is install AnyDesk client on both devices, then enter AnyDesk Id, which is being displayed on the remote side, confirm the session that’s it. Working experience via AnyDesk remote control has been excellent and smooth thanks to the constant frame rate of 60 FPS. The best thing about it is that it works effortlessly on slow bandwidth also. Try it!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Chrome Remote Desktop

Chrome Remote Desktop from Google is another excellent desktop sharing app for Android and other operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. Remote desktop is a very useful tool for power users to provide diagnostic services remotely.

It is one of the most popular desktop sharing apps among Android users. On the computer, you need to download the client from Chrome Web Store to sync your desktop with an Android phone. From the Chrome Remote Desktop app, you need to tap on any online computer from the list to enable desktop sharing.

While testing, I didn’t observe any lag or connectivity problem, the overall working experience was smooth and reliable as compared to many competitors.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

TeamViewer for Remote Control

TeamViewer is the feature-rich remote desktop sharing app for power users. This app lets you control computers running Windows, Mac OS, or Linux from anywhere. The app is very useful for the customer support team to provide support and fix issues at the client-side.

You can also access other mobile devices running Windows 10 Mobile and Android and talking about features you can do file transfer between connected devices, manage computers and contacts, chat and stream audio and video in real-time.

It uses a 2048-bit RSA key exchange and 256-bit session encoding for secure and high-quality connection. App features simple and easy to use user interface so that new users can find it easy to use.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Microsoft Remote Desktop

Remote desktop from Microsoft Corporation is another reliable remote desktop sharing app for Android phones on our list. You can use this app to connect to the remote personal computer or virtual apps or desktops.

It offers high-quality video and audio streaming, support for Windows Professional or Enterprise, and Windows Server edition. The connection centre helps you keep track of all the connections and also managing them.

So it is a lightweight and reliable remote desktop application that gets your work done effortlessly.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

AirDroid: Remote Access & File

AirDroid is a remote desktop sharing app from Sand Studios, which helps you access and manage your Android phone from computer devices running Windows, Mac & Linux from anywhere wirelessly. You can access calls, SMS, and other app notification on your phone from your computer or laptop.

AirDroid is full of feature remote desktop sharing app which allows you to exchange files between your devices irrespective of its type or platform support. It also offers secure screen sharing and phone screen recording; you can also enable the front or back camera on your mobile phone to have a look at the surrounding activity.

You can also get phone notifications your desktop from the Android apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Manager, and Telegram, etc. condition is that app should be allowed for push notification. There is a feature to receive and reply SMS via its desktop client. Apart from that, you can also answer calls and also do back up photos and videos from the phone to the computer.

The best thing about this desktop sharing app is when your device gets lost; you can locate your mobile phone using its desktop client.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

VNC Viewer – Remote Desktop

VNC Viewer helps you turn your Android phone into a remote desktop that gives you access to Computers running Windows, Mac, or Linux operating systems from anywhere. You need to download its desktop client from here.

Connections are encrypted end-to-end for all the sessions, and also password protects al the remote computers out of the box. When the session is running, the screen of the mobile phone works as a trackpad to give you control of the remote desktop.

It offers features like connecting to remote desktop using its cloud service, backup or sync connections between all the devices, and it also offers support for Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. So this is a feature-rich and reliable remote desktop sharing app.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

So these are the best remote desktop sharing app for Android phones. Remote desktop sharing applications and clients have been really useful these days, and if you have used any other client other than those mentioned here, then feel free to share your views with us at @LinuxHint and @SwapTirthakar.

Battery life also depends on the different usage patterns of each and every mobile phone user. So there are many battery saver and performance booster apps for Android smartphones. So get ready to keep your Android phone battery charged for longer with these battery saver apps I’m going to share with you today.

Kaspersky Battery Life: Saver & Booster

Kaspersky is a pioneer in device security, and its battery life app is one of the most top rated battery optimization apps for Android phones on Google Play Store. This app will not only help you improve the battery life of the mobile device but also it helps your mobile keep away with the constant need for charging.

This app is optimized brilliantly that it looks out for apps that are consuming more energy than normal and pushes you the notification asking if you want to halt the application. Also, it keeps watching on apps running in the background and makes sure no app drains too much battery juice.

Apart from that, it constantly monitors your device battery and gives you an accurate prediction of the remaining battery life in hours and minutes. As you can notice in the above screenshots, it also gives you statistics and forecasts in detail for better battery optimization.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

AccuBattery

AccuBattery is a battery optimization app offered by Digibites for Android phones. This app helps monitor battery health and performance using science. Long-lasting battery life is still a dream of many mobile phones, and on top of that, if you’re gamer and play games like PUBG mobile, then usually, your device’s battery drains faster than normal.

So, you need long-lasting battery life without the need to recharging the battery regularly all day to play your favorite mobile games. This app not only protects battery health but also displays battery usage information and measures actual battery capacity based on science.

This app pushes charge alarm whenever your mobile device battery needs charging and also calculates and displays how much battery wear was endured during the last charging session. It also shows battery consumption per app and discharge speed.

This app also comes with pro features, which include Dark and AMOLED Black themes to save more battery life, access to battery sessions older than one day, and detailed battery statistics in phone notifications.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Greenify

Greenify is another popular battery saver app ever since it is first launched in Jan 2013 for Android phones. The best thing about this app is it stops apps from opening automatically in the background and draining battery juice.

Greenify comes with in-app engines such as Aggressive Doze and Doze on the Go to improve battery and device performance. You don’t need to have root access to enable these features on your Android phone.

It identifies apps with uncommon behavior and prevents them from using an extra battery and slowing down mobile performance. This is a lightweight app with so many features and promising performance when it comes to improving battery life.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Green Battery – Power Saver Free, VPU Better

Another battery booster app on our list that not only helps improve battery life but also its charging speed. The app is well known for its accurate display of battery status and remaining time on your phone.

With a single tap, you get the list of apps consuming more battery life than normal and suggestions for apps to be closed to save battery. With options to adjust the screen brightness, screen on time, and Bluetooth settings, it helps you to improve phone standby time.

The advanced power-saving feature automatically detects apps running in the background, stops, and prevents them from automatically starting up. Also, charging boost features helps to boost battery charging speed effectively. Memory clean up features also help improve phone performance as it closes unneeded apps.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Battery Saver & Charge Optimizer – Flip $ Save

Flip your Android mobile phone to save its battery life; that’s how this battery saver app works according to app developers. The app analyzes phone battery charging data and provides you the information about the remaining battery life on your phone.

It also shows the usage and performance pattern of the battery so that you can optimize the battery performance on your smartphone. With one click, you can save battery power and optimize battery consumption patterns.

There are two ways to start saving your phone battery by using this app. One is by flipping down your phone, and second is by going to saving mode settings choose mobile functions to turn on/off to improve battery life.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

There are many other handfuls of battery saver apps for Android phones, but all cannot be trusted in terms of reliability and protecting your phone’s battery. So I have listed the best 5 battery saver apps in terms of overall user experience and their performance on Android phones from various vendors such as Nokia, Samsung, and Xiaomi.

So feel free to share your views with us on the above apps or any other battery saver app you’re using on Android phones at @LinuxHint and @SwapTirthakar. ]]> https://linuxhint.com/install_android_studio_ubuntu/ Thu, 30 Jul 2020 04:46:53 +0000 https://linuxhint.com/?p=64378 Android Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) developed by Google that is used for mobile application development. Android Studio is built on JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA software and is specifically designed for Android application development. Android studio can install on all types of operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux OS. Android Studio was introduced as the replacement for the Eclipse tool, which was the primary IDE used for Android development. Some of the most well-known Android applications were built in Android Studio IDE. This software also features more built-in features that support stability and fast application development.

This article will show you how to install Android Studio in Ubuntu 20.04. Android Studio can be installed in Ubuntu 20.04 via the command line through two different methods:

1. Using the Android official repository
2. Using the snap application

1. Installing Android Studio with the Official Android Repository

You can install Android Studio by adding the Android official repository to the source list in your Ubuntu 20.04 system. Before starting the installation, you must first make sure that all the prerequisite Java packages are installed on your system. If these are not installed, then you will need to install the necessary Java JDK packages on your system. Follow the steps below to install Java JDK on your system.

Android Studio development depends on Java JDK packages. Check whether Java is already installed on your system via the following command.

If Java is installed on your system, then skip this step. Here, Java is already installed on the Ubuntu 20.04 system. Therefore, we do not need to install it on this system again. However, if Java is not installed on your system, you can install Java JDK-11 on your system with the following command:

Once installation is complete, move on to the next step.

Add Official Android Repository

In this step, you will need to add the official Android repository to the source list of your system. To do this, enter the following command in the terminal window:

When adding the repository, you will be prompted to press Enter to continue and Ctrl+c to cancel adding the required repository to your system.

Update apt System Cache

When you have successfully added the Android repository to the source list, then, you will update the apt cache of your system by executing the following command:

Installing Android Studio

Next, install Android Studio on your system. You can install Android Studio by executing the following command:

After entering the above command, it will take time to completely install Android Studio and all its dependencies.

Launch Android Studio

After successfully completing installation of Android Studio, it is now time to launch this tool on your system to verify that the installation has worked. Click on ‘Activities’ and then type ‘android’ in the application launcher bar. You will see the Android Studio icon appear under the search bar.

Next, you will need to configure the Android Studio components in your system. Click on the Android Studio icon and the following dialog will appear on your desktop.

You will select ‘Do not import settings’ from the displaying dialog and click ‘OK.’

After you select this option, the program will find all available important SDK components.

Now, the Android Setup Wizard will start up on your system. Click the ‘Next’ option.

In the following dialog, you will need to select the install type. Choose the ‘Standard’ option for the install type and click ‘Next.’

Next, you will select the user interface theme for Android Studio. The most popular theme among users is ‘Light.’ Therefore, you might want to choose the ‘Light’ UI theme. Continue by clicking  ‘Next.’

Now, you will be asked to verify or review the installation settings. Click ‘Next’ if you are okay with the installation settings. Otherwise, click ‘Previous’ to change the installation settings.

In the next dialog, the emulator settings will be displayed in the window. You are now at the end of the setup process, so you will click the ‘Finish’ option.

In the next dialog, all the necessary Android components will start to download on your system.

Once the download process is completed, click ‘Finish.’

You will see the following Android Studio window open on your system. Here, you can choose to create a new Android Studio project, open an existing project, or perform other tasks for the program.

Congratulations! The installation and configuration processes of Android Studio on your system are now complete.

2.  Installing Android Studio with the snap application

You can also install Android Studio in Ubuntu 20.04 using the snap application manager, simply by executing the following command:

If you no longer wish to use Android Studio, you can also uninstall the program using the following command:

Conclusion

That is all on how to install and configure Android Studio in Ubuntu 20.04. You can use this tool to explore more features on Ubuntu 20.04 system. I hope this article expanded your knowledge of the Android Studio program.

Ever since cameras were introduced into phones, there has been a consistent problem: often, we are unable to get that perfect snap, even after a series of attempts. Even though now we have more powerful and better cameras compared to earlier days, there is still a need for photo editing applications to make the picture-perfect.Social media has played a very important role in the rise in popularity and development of photo editor apps for Android phones. From normal users to digital creators or influencers on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, everyone uses photo editing apps nowadays. Photo editor apps offer so many options, and there are various photo editor apps to match every user’s needs.There are many photo editing apps available in the Google Play Store. With such intense competition in the field, it can be difficult to choose one that matches your specific requirements. With that in mind, this article covers some of the best photo editor apps available today.

1. Adobe Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is not just a photo editor app, but it also offers a pro camera feature. The pro camera feature helps you capture stunning images and you can edit the photos later in the same app. The pro camera also allows you to set exposure, timer, instant presets, and raw imaging before taking a shot. Lightroom also offers various capture modes, such as Professional and HDR.

Now, it is time to discuss editing. Let me tell you, this app does not disappoint. Lightroom is a great app for professional photographers. You can edit raw photos using this Android photo editor application. This app stands as one of the best when it comes to user interface, which is intuitive and easy-to-use.

The Lightroom editor helps you edit every minute detail in your photos. You can use the Healing Brush to remove almost anything from your photo. Bring dull photos back life with hue and saturation adjustments in just a few clicks. The presets offered by this app make photo editing even more convenient, and the filters come with unlimited customization options.

Lightroom also offers an interactive tutorial, which helps you learn how to use the photo editor to its full potential. This is a great app that you can use to improve your photography and photo editing skills.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

2. Adobe Photoshop Express

Another app from Adobe has made it onto our list. It is not a surprise, given Adobe’s reputation for creating and publishing photo editing tools for many years and on many different platforms. Photoshop express is a photo editor and collage maker app for Android phone users. This app is one of the best photo editing apps available, with a simple, easy-to-use, and attractive user interface.

This app not only helps you edit your images and make collages; it also offers quick fixes for crooked and distorted images. Using this editor, you can choose from hundreds of looks, effects, and filters to make your images well worth sharing on social media platforms.

In regards to tools, you get Spot Healing for reducing blemishes and spots from selfies and portraits, Quick Fixes for adjusting the contrast and exposure, Personalise for making stickers and creating memes and captions, and Apply Blur to blend out backgrounds and bring the subject to focus. There are also many more tools and features that you will notice as you continue to use this great editing app.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

3. Snapseed

Snapseed is a professional-quality photo editor that is useful for professional users. This is a very popular photo editing app among Instagram users and influencers. Developed by Google, Snapseed is one of the best and simplest photo editing apps available for Android users.

When it comes to features, Snapseed has 29 tools and filters available, including perspective, selective, healing, lens blur, and other useful tools. In addition, you can save your customized looks and filters so that you can use them on any image in the future.

This app is simple, but it is one of the most useful photo editing apps available, with a variety of tools and features offered. The best thing about this app is that it is completely free to users, despite offering professional features and tools.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

4. Pixlr

Pixlr is a “freemium” photo editor for Android users and is one of the best among its competitors. This app does have some in-app purchases if you need them, but everything else is free. They are also currently offering 30% off the annual subscription.

This app offers many features that every professional photographer needs. You can create collages with a variety of presets, grid styles, customized ratios, and backgrounds. The auto-fix feature allows you to adjust the color of your photo. There is a tool to remove blemishes and red-eye and smooth your skin. You can also adjust the tone of the photos with overlays and filters. You can add your preferred effects and overlays to your favorites so that you can easily access them in the future.

Apart from editing, this app also allows you to share photos directly to various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other social media platform. All in all, this is a great photo editor app with great editing tools.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD                     

 5. Prisma Photo Editor

The Prisma Photo Editor is another highly rated photo editor application featured in our article. The main feature of this photo editor is that it turns your photos into paintings. There are more than 300 artistic style collections to choose from to turn your picture into a painting.

In addition, Prisma releases a new art style every day. There is also a Prisma creator community that you can join to share your creations and chat with community members.    

With the photo enhancement mode, you can also fine-tune your pictures with a wide range of tools to adjust contrast, exposure, sharpness, brightness, etc. Prisma is a popular app among those who like to play with photo editing.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

6. Google Photos

Google Photos comes pre-installed in all Android smartphones alongside the suite of other Google apps. This is a simple app that allows you to manage all the photos on your phone’s memory. The Google Photos app also helps you with essential photo edits. Despite being a simple and minimal photo editing app, Google Photos performs almost every task a normal user needs.

Apart from editing your photos, this app also helps you securely back up your photos on cloud storage. You can access the edited photos from anywhere, whenever you want.

Google Photos sports some powerful editing tools that help you transform your photos in a few clicks. This is a smart gallery app by Google that covers all the essential features of a photo editing app, including shared albums, automatic creation, and an advanced editing suite.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD  

7. LightX Photo Editor & Photo Effects

LightX Photo Editor is another highly rated photography app available in the Google Play Store. This app includes a variety of features and easy-to-use tools, and it is popular among photographers and social media users. You can make a photo collage, include photo frames, change the background, and blur photos using this application.

Features such as cutout and combine, changing the background image, adding color splash photo effects, merging or mixing two photos to make impressive photo effects, advanced photo transformation tools, and professional photo editing tools make this app a standout among its competitors.

In addition to tons of features, LightX provides a collection of stickers to add to your photos, doodle and draw on photos, add text to photos, shape manipulation tools, and a range of filters. Overall, this is a well-rounded photo editor app for Android phones.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Conclusion

Above are listed some of the best professional-level photo editing apps for Android in 2020. These apps were chosen on the basis of overall user experience, so if you use any other photo editing app on Android that you think we missed, feel free to share your views with us at @LinuxHint and @SwapTirthakar.

In order to debug any web page currently visible in Chrome browser or webview on an Android device, you will need to enable USB debugging and connect your Android device to a Linux PC via a USB cable.

Enabling USB Debugging on an Android Device

The USB debugging toggle can be found under the hidden “Developer Options” menu on Android devices. To enable the developer options view, you have to tap “Build Number” entry 7 times in system settings. As there are numerous Android devices with different user interfaces and versions, there is no one set standard way to find the build number. You can use the search bar in Android system settings to locate and directly go to the build number option, or you can manually navigate system settings to find it. Usually, it lies in the same menu that shows the Linux kernel version on an Android device.

Once you have enabled developer options, toggle the switch for USB debugging. Be careful not to touch other settings in developer options as misconfiguration can lead to system breakage. For reference, here is how the USB debugging option looks like on my Samsung Android device:

Installing Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on Linux

ADB is an official debugging tool provided by Google to debug Android OS and Android devices. It facilitates data sharing and communication between a PC and an Android device. ADB is required for remote debugging of a web page currently live on an Android device. It is also used to authenticate and verify your Android device’s connection with your Linux PC.

To install ADB on Ubuntu, run the command below:

ADB packages are available by default on almost all major Linux distributions. If you are using a Linux distribution other than Ubuntu, search for the term “ADB” in the package manager and install it from there.

Now connect your Android device to your Linux system through a USB cable. In case you are connecting your USB debugging enabled Android device for the first time, you will receive an authorization prompt on your Android device. You must accept it to proceed further. Run the command below after accepting the prompt to check the successful connection and authentication status:

The screenshot below shows the output of the command. If you can see a serial number under the “List of devices attached” heading, a successful connection has been made. If there is an “unauthorized” keyword just next to the serial number, unplug the device, reconnect it and then accept the authorization prompt again (you may have missed the prompt or accidentally closed it).

Remote Debugging a Mobile Web Page on Desktop Chrome Browser

Type “chrome://inspect/#devices” URL in the Chrome address bar and hit enter key. Check the “Discover USB devices” checkbox. You will now be able to see a list of all websites/web apps opened in Chrome, Chromium, or any Chrome / Chromium-based browser or webview on your Android device.

Just click on the “inspect” link to start debugging. You will get the same full set of developer tools that is available for debugging websites on a desktop PC.

Note that the website or webapp your debugging should be visible and live on your Android device. If you switch apps, tabs, or turn off-screen, the preview area may be greyed out.

Conclusion

Connecting your Android device to a Linux PC for remote debugging websites is pretty straightforward and takes a couple of steps. While you can debug responsive layouts and simulate mobile views on the desktop itself, remote debugging is especially useful if you are developing hybrid apps for Android or using webviews.

1. Need For Speed: No Limits

Need For Speed is one of the my favorite racing games, ever since playing Need For Speed Most Wanted on my PC for the first time more than a decade ago. Since then, the publisher Electronic Arts (EA Sports) has released various titles in the Need for Speed series. Need For Speed No Limits is a racing game released for Android and iOS. This game was first launched in September 2015, and since then, has received continuous updates. At the time of writing this article, the last update for this game was released in April 2020.

Graphics, controls, and gameplay are the best in the competition, but races are short compared to other games. Gameplay features a Campaign Mode which is actually a story mode, Car Series races where you can win in-game rewards, and Rival Races, which can be played in the multi-player mode. High-quality visuals and free access are what make this game attractive compared to its competitors.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD  

2. Asphalt 9: Legends

Asphalt 9: Legends is a high-end graphic racing video game released in 2018, developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft. This game is the ninth major release in the popular Asphalt franchise. Asphalt 9: Legends is a free-to-play mobile video game with lot of in game content to keep you engaged.

The game features a roster of real sports cars from real manufactures, such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche. You can pick any car of your choice and race through various locations across the map. The game gives you a console-like experience with stunning visuals and an HDR technique.

The gameplay features a career mode with 60 seasons and 800 events, and an online multiplayer mode where you can race against 7 other rival players from all over the world.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

3. Grid Autosport

Grid Autosport is the first paid game on our list and it is slightly on the expensive side. But I must say that the high price tag is justifiable, because the game’s quality is just amazing. Initially, this game was released for console and PC, but later, the game was ported for Android phones as well, thanks to Feral Interactive.

This game is detail-oriented with a primary focus on making the gaming experience as real-life as possible. The visuals high-quality and the controls are easy to learn, making Grid Autosport a realistic racing game for Android smartphones. The game features high-performance, real-world machines with tons of tracks, loops, roads, and laps. The game is amazing and engaging, but the only limitation is that this game is only available for flagship Android smartphones.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

4. Hill Climb Racing 2

Developed and published by Fingersoft, Hill Climb Racing 2 is the successor to the very popular Hill Climb Racing game. This game has been one of my favorite racing video games since it came out, because of its entertaining game play. Hill Climb Racing 2 is simple game with simple controls, but beautiful graphics. Game play is as simple as it could be; all you have to do is race up and down the hill against opponents. If you do not have internet access, do not worry, as you may also play this game in offline mode.

Regarding features, you can customize vehicles and tweak them however you want them to work for optimum performance. The gameplay contains an interesting campaign, an online multiplayer mode, daily tasks, achievements, and challenges to keep you engaged and entertained. The graphics on this game are not so high-end, so you can play this game on older Android smartphones.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

5. Motorsport Manager Mobile 3

Motorsport Manager Mobile 3 is a team strategy game that gives you the experience of managing a racing team. You can manage everything right from scratch, including hiring drivers, making big decisions, developing your team car, creating race strategies, and investing in technology to boost your team performance.

This game comes with stunning features. As team managers, players can grow their team’s presence around the globe, such as at invitational races. Mechanics are important crew members and you must ensure that crew members have a good relationship with driver.

You can watch races in real-time and take control of the action by jumping over to strategy screens. I find this game to be the best in the business to give you a reality-based, lifelike experience of managing a racing team business.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

6. Real Racing 3

Real Racing 3 is another EA Sports franchise on our list. Developed by Firemonkeys Studios, Real Racing 3 includes Formula 1 Grand Prix and Championship events. This game gives you the ultimate racing experience, thanks to officially licensed tracks with 40 circuits at 19 real-world locations, a 43-car grid, and over 250 cars from sports cars manufacturing giants like Aston Martin, Porsche, Bugatti, Audi, Ford and Chevrolet.

Real Racing 3 gameplay features real-time, multiplayer gameplay, social leaderboards, time trails, and night racing. You can race with anyone, anytime, anywhere thanks to the game’s Time Shifted Multiplayer technology.

In terms of graphics and visuals, Real Racing 3 is a high-end game, so you will need to have an Android smartphone with at least 4GB of RAM to play this game. This game is great for Formula 1 fans and followers.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

7. Rebel Racing

Rebel Racing is a 3D driving game from Hutch Games. You can drive and race in beautiful locations along the US West Cost. The goal of this game is to become fastest racer in America. During gameplay, you can pick real-world cars from popular manufacturers and upgrade the cars for best-in-class performance.

In terms of graphics and controls, Rebel Racing is one of the best racing games for Android smartphones. The controls for this game are really simple and easy to adjust to. Be sure to use the turbo at the right moment, as it can be used only once in the race, and using it at the right moment can make a real difference in the race.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

This article discussed some of the best racing games for Android, as of mid-2020. If you think we missed any Android racing game here, feel free to share your favorite game at @LinuxHint and @SwapTirthakar. ]]> https://linuxhint.com/android_apps_games_linux/ Sun, 22 Mar 2020 19:29:22 +0000 https://linuxhint.com/?p=56970 It’s been some time since Android smartphones came into our lives. The Google Play Store is now home to around 3 million Android apps and games, many of which are so useful or entertaining that many Linux users would like to run them on their favorite operating system.

Thanks to the hard work of some talented developers, there are now multiple ways to run Android apps and games on Linux, and we describe seven of them in this article.

Why Running Android Apps Don’t Run Natively on Linux?

Considering that Android and Linux share the same kernel, one might assume that it would be easy to run Android apps natively on Linux, but it isn’t. That’s because the kernel is just the core of an operating system, and it takes a lot more software than just the kernel to run the applications you interact with on a daily basis.

Furthermore, Android APK files are not straightforward executables (like .exe files on Windows). They are essentially installer packages whose purpose is to extract files to certain specific locations. When executed, the extracted files call certain functions of the Android operating system to access the file system, hardware components, and so on.

Popular Linux distributions make no effort to be compatible with Android apps, so Linux users have to simulate Android devices on their computers using Android emulators or use an operating system that’s compatible with Android apps.

1. Anbox

Anbox is conceptually similar to Wine (a free and open-source compatibility layer that makes it possible to run Windows applications on Linux) because it abstracts hardware access and integrates Android applications with the Linux operating system.

The entire project is open source and licensed under the terms of the Apache and GPLv3 license. The goal of its developers is to make it so that every Android app and game can run on Linux. Because Anbox runs without hardware virtualization, it offers decent performance and tight integration with the host operating system.

Because Anbox is distributed exclusively as a snap (its developers claim that snaps make their lives much easier and allow them to frequently release updates without the need to customize them for multiple distributions), you can install it only on supported distributions unless you install Snap manually, which takes just a few simple commands, all of which are described in detail on Snap’s website.

With Anbox installed, you can add APKs using the Android Debug Bridge (adb). Afterward, you can launch your applications via the host system application launcher and manage them just like all other applications running on your system.

2. Arc Welder

If you’re a Google Chrome user, you can run Android apps on Linux using ARC Welder, also known as App Runtime for Chrome. This Chrome extension is actually intended to let Android developers test and publish their Android Apps to Chrome OS on other platforms, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it for your personal purposes.

Because Arc Welder is a tool for developers, it doesn’t provide access to apps published in the Google Play Store. In order to run an Android app, you first need to find and download its APK file and then open the file using Arc Welder. Fortunately, there are many websites that let you easily download APK files, including APKMirror, APKPure, or APK Store.

Unfortunately, Arc Welder was last updated in June 2018, so bugs are to be expected. Still, you would be hard-pressed to find and easier way to run Android apps on Linux.

3. Genymotion

Because this is the year 2020, we can’t recommend the once-popular Android emulation solution called Shashlik anymore. The last version of Shashlik was released in 2016, and its developers have been quiet ever since. However, we can recommend something even better: Genymotion.

This cloud-based Android emulator is a boon to all Android developers who would like to streamline app testing and enjoy virtually unlimited scalability thanks to the computing power of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Alibaba Cloud.

Genymotion can emulate over 3,000 Android device configurations and simulate every imaginable scenario thanks to its full set of hardware sensors. The only problem is that you get only 60 minutes of use for free, and then it’s 5 cents per minute.

4. Android-x86

Android-x86 is a project whose aim is to port Android to the x86 instruction set. Because Android-x86 is a complete operating system, you need virtualization software like VirtualBox to run it inside your Linux distribution.

When setting up a VirtualBox virtual machine for Android-x86, Set Type to Linux, and Version to Linux 2.6 or newer. Allocate at least 2 GB of RAM and create a new hard disk image with 8 GB of storage space or more. Load the Android-x86 installation image and follow the official installation instructions.

When running Android-x86 inside a virtual machine, you can’t really expect great performance because Android-x86 is meant to run on bare metal.

5. Android Studio IDE

Android Studio IDE is Google’s official integrated development environment for Android. It’s built on JetBrains’ IntelliJ IDEA software and runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS. Included with Android Studio IDE is an Android emulator intended for running and debugging apps in the Android studio.

To install the emulator, choose the Android Emulator component in the SDK Tools tab of the SDK Manager. Open the app you want to run and click the green play-like button in the menu bars at the top. When asked to choose a device, click the Create New Virtual Device button and specify its properties. Once you’re finished, select it from the list of available virtual devices and click OK. The virtual device should start up right away and automatically open your application.

The Android Emulator inside Android Studio IDE doesn’t exactly amaze with its performance or usability, but it gets the job done when you just want to run a single Android app on Linux without installing it on your smartphone.

Installing Pyairmore Module

To automate the sending of messages from your android device on another android device, first of all we have to install PYAIRMORE module. We can install this module by running the following command in the terminal.

The above command will install this module and now we can use this module to send text messages on Android.

What is AirMore?

AirMore is a very useful app to transfer data between mobile and PC. It supports both android and iOS. This app can connect a mobile with PC and we can control our mobile from PC. In this article, we will discuss only one function of this app, that is sending text messages on android device by writing a script.

Installing AirMore in Android Device

After installing PYAIRMORE, now we will connect our Android with PC so that we can send messages from android by writing a python script in PC. This can be done by installing AirMore app in Android. To install AirMore app in android, click on the link given below.

https://airmore.com/

After installing AirMore in android device, we will connect our device with PC. There are two ways we can connect our Android device with PC. You can follow any of them. Both methods have been described below.

Connection Using IP Address

After installing AirMore app in your android, now launch the AirMore app and turn on the hotspot as shown in the figure below. When you turn on the hotspot, it will show you Name, Password and IP address.

After this, connect your PC to the hotspot of your Android device and provide the password. Now open browser on PC, enter IP address, we got from AirMore app in the search box and press enter. A blue box will appear on the android screen to confirm connection. Confirm connection and now your PC is connected with Android.

NOTE: Note the IP Address and Port Number shown in the above figure, as they are required in the script we will write later.

Connect using QR Code or Radar Function

After installing AirMore app in your android, go to the following link and click on “Launch AirMore web to connect”.

https://airmore.com/

A window, as shown in the following figure, will be opened.

Open AirMore app in your android and tap “Scan to Connect” button. Now you can connect by scanning QR code on your PC with your android device or by clicking the android device icon in radar on your PC.

Checking Connection

After connecting android device with PC now we can check whether the connection has been established or not by writing a few lines of code as given below

If the android  is connected with PC then output of the code will be “True”, otherwise it will be “False”. After successful connection, now we write a python script to send messages.

Writing Python Script to Send Message

So far we have connected our android device with PC and authenticated the connection, now we move to the python script to send message from android to another android. Following is the complete python code to send message

Adding Script to Crontab

So the above script will send a text message from android device via python script. But it will work when we run this script. To run this script automatically, we will add this to crontab. Run the following command in the terminal to edit crontab file.

A file will be opened in your favourite editor. Go to the end of the file and add the following command to automate the task

This will run the script at exact 08:00 AM every day. If you want to run this script at another time, it can also be done. In the above command, the first digit from left indicates the minutes, next indicates hours, then days of week, then number of month and last indicates the day of the month.

We can schedule this task at any time, any day and any month by using this command.

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed about sending text messages using your android cell number by writing a python script. First, we installed PYAIRMORE module then we discussed about AirMore app and how to install AirMore in android. There are some other modules in Python as well that can be used to send SMS messages via your SIM card. Similarly, if you want an SMS service for your business and you don’t want to use a SIM card, then you can buy a commercial API service such as Twilio and that can save you a lot of effort. ]]> https://linuxhint.com/wireless_file_sharing_apps_linux_android/ Wed, 27 Nov 2019 20:03:35 +0000 https://linuxhint.com/?p=51007 If you are looking for effortless and minimum configuration GUI apps to share files between Linux and Android devices over a local wireless network, this article will help you out.

While it is possible to share files in Linux using tools like Samba, FTP and SSH, these utilities often require fiddling with terminal commands and there is no GUI in most cases. A lot of people prefer these methods, however this article focuses on easy to use GUI alternatives that provide similar functionality.

So let’s jump in.

GSConnect / KDE Connect (Between desktops, desktops to/from Android)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have either GSConnect or KDE Connect Android app installed and running during file share.

GSConnect is an implementation of KDE Connect, adapted especially for GNOME desktop.

KDE Connect is a free and open source cross-platform app that allows your Linux and Android devices to communicate with each other as long as they are on the same network. You can securely share content like notifications, files and SMS messages. KDE Connect also allows you to control your desktop through Android phone.

GSConnect is available as a Gnome Shell extension and it can be installed from here. KDE Connect Play Store app can be downloaded from here. Note that GSConnect may not work if KDE Connect desktop application is installed on your device, so you are advised to install only one of both.

After installing the extension, click on the power icon on the top panel, then click on “Mobile Devices” to expand it, followed by a click on “Mobile Settings” as shown in the screenshot below:

Click on the three dot button located at the top bar of the new application window just launched, then click on the “Share” button to start sharing file with another device either having GSConnect or KDE Connect Android app installed. If you are asked to “pair” the device, just follow on screen instructions to pair the devices.

You can also send a file from Android device to desktop PC. Option to send files will appear once you complete the pairing process. You may also have to give storage access, read and write permissions to KDE Connect Android app.

LAN-Share (Between Desktops)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have LAN-Share app installed and running during file share.

LAN-Share, as the name suggests, is a Local Area Network (LAN) file transfer application for Linux. It can be used to wirelessly transfer a whole folder or multiple files without any need of additional configuration.

Latest build of LAN-Share in the form of AppImage can be downloaded from here. After downloading the app, make it executable using your file manager. The GUI is pretty straight forward, you just have to click on “Send” button, select a file and then select a receiver to start file sharing.

Teleport (Between Desktops)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have Teleport app installed and running during file share.

Teleport is a simple and minimalistic GTK3 app to share files between Desktop PCs running on the same local network.

To install teleport on Ubuntu, run commands below:

To run the app, click on the app icon in application launcher or run the command below:

Once you launch the teleport app, it will automatically detect another teleport app running on a different PC on the same network. All you have to do is click on “Send File” and follow the onscreen instructions.

NitroShare (Between Desktops)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have NitroShare app installed and running during file share.

NitroShare is a simple but effective cross-platform app to share files between devices on the same local network. What makes it different from others is its ability to share files between different operating systems for desktops. NitroShare is available for Linux, Windows and macOS.

NitroShare can be downloaded from the official Ubuntu repositories, you can install it by running the command below:

You can launch NitroShare from the application launcher, however you may not see any GUI window as it opens docked to the system tray. Just click on the indicator in the system tray and it will give you a small menu to view and initiate the transfers.

TrebleShot (Between Desktops, Desktop to Android, Android to Desktop)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have either TrebleShot-Desktop or TrebleShot Android app installed and running during file share.

TrebleShot is a free and open source application for Android and desktop devices that allows you to send and receive files over local network.

TrebleShot Android app can be downloaded from Play Store. Desktop app can be downloaded from here in the form of AppImage.

After launching the app, you will find “Transfers” tab with a “Send Files” button at the bottom. Just click the button to initiate file transfer and follow the onscreen instructions. TrebleShot also allows you to share text messages between devices using “Text stream” tab.

The Android app UI is clean, minimalistic and functional.

Snapdrop (Between Desktops, Desktop to/from Android, Between Device and Chrome or Firefox Browser)

Requirements: Both receiver and sender must have https://snapdrop.net/ URL opened in supported browser.

Snapdrop is a local file sharing web application that runs in your browser. Inspired by Apple’s Airdrop, It creates a P2P connection using WebRTC to share the files. Your files are never stored on any server and it doesn’t even use a database.

To start sharing files, just open https://snapdrop.net/ URL in a browser running on both the receiver’s and sender’s device.

Snapdrop will automatically detect receiving device and it will show an icon, platform and browser name. Click on the device icon to start sharing.

Snapdrop running in Chrome for Android correctly detects Firefox running in Ubuntu with https://snapdrop.net/ URL opened in a tab, as shown in the screenshot below:

Once you have shared the file, the receiver will get a notification in browser to download the file.

This is by far my favorite method to share files between devices and it is not restricted to any specific OS. File sharing is limited to peers in local network only and as stated earlier, you don’t have to worry about your files going to any third party servers.

To conclude, I would recommend you to try out these apps at least once to gauge their utility according to your use cases. A lot of these apps provide additional functionality besides file sharing. KDE Connect / GSConnect is basically a swiss army knife that allows you to do a lot of stuff remotely on your Linux Desktop PC.

Qemu is a hardware virtualization solution for Linux that enables emulation of an entire OS installed on a virtual disk. VirGL is an OpenGL renderer added to recent QEMU builds, it allows you to create a virtual 3D capable graphics card inside QEMU virtual machine.

Using a combination of Android-x86, QEMU and VirGL technologies, we will boot and install complete Android OS in a virtual machine.

A compatibility note: This guide has been tested with Ubuntu 19.04 and instructions below will work for Ubuntu 19.04 or newer versions. QEMU in older versions of Ubuntu lacks VirGL support. You also need to have a Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) compatible CPU on your system. Most modern CPUs have support for KVM but you can check its presence by running command below:

Any number greater than 0 implies KVM support. You still need to make sure that virtualization is enabled in the BIOS though. More information can be found here.

Prerequisites

We will start by installing required QEMU packages and adding username to KVM group. Run commands below:

Reboot your system. Download Android-x86 ISO image from here. Run the following command to create a virtual hard disk:

You can replace 10G with any number and it will create a virtual disk of that size in GB.

Android-x86 QEMU Installation Walkthrough

To boot into live image of Android-x86 inside a QEMU virtual machine, execute command:

Notice the “hda” and “cdrom” arguments. You have to make sure that they match names of virtual hard disk and downloaded Android-x86 iso image. If you have followed instructions correctly upto here, you should see a new window popup:

Select the “Installation” entry and wait for the partitioning screen to come up.

Choose “Create/Modify partitions”, and then GPT to be “Yes”.

Ignore warning on the next screen, just press any key to continue. You will see a partition manager.

Select “New” and then continue to hit the <Enter> key for next four prompts. You don’t have to specify anything in prompts. Once done, you will see newly created file system in partition manager, as shown in the screenshot below:

Hit “Write” option and then type “yes” to confirm. Select “Quit” option to exit partition manager. Choose “sda1” partition on next screen.

Select “ext4” to format the partition and select the “Yes” option when prompted.

Choose “Yes” when prompted about GRUB boot loader.

On the next screen, you may see a warning about conversion to “MBR”. Select “Yes”.

Wait for the installation to finish.

Don’t select any option, just close the window on the following prompt:

Android-x86 is now completely installed in a QEMU virtual machine. To boot into newly installed OS, we will use the same lengthy command from above while omitting “cdrom” argument.

You will see Android boot logo and then first run setup screen.

Wait for the installation to finish.

Just go through the setup to arrive at the home screen. Android-x86 has full Play Store support built-in. Note that the running virtual machine will grab all keystrokes and mouse events. To release the hold, you will have to press <CTRL+ALT+G> key combination.

3D hardware acceleration support is present.

Important Things You Should Know

• You can customize the command we have used above to some extent: “-m” switch is for RAM, “-smp” switch is for CPU cores. If you want to explore all options, Gentoo Wiki has a pretty good explanation.
• <CTRL+ALT+F> will toggle immersive full screen experience.
• You can activate internet connectivity inside Android-x86 by tapping on “VirtWifi” option in “Wi-Fi” settings.
• Not everything will work in virtual machine, bluetooth for example.
• Hardware acceleration compatibility and performance will depend on your PC’s graphics card, drivers and CPU horsepower.
• Latest release of Android-x86 comes with free-form windows support. You can minimize, maximize, restore windows and snap them to corners, just like you would do on a desktop OS.
• Android-x86 lags behind current Android release by a version or two. It won’t however affect your ability to run apps and games.
• Android-x86 in QEMU virtual machine may not be a 100% smooth sail. You can expect some random crashes and force closes now and then.

Improving App Compatibility in Android-x86

Some android apps may refuse to work with x86 architecture. Android-x86 includes a compatibility library that helps greatly but you may still find issues with certain apps. To enable the compatibility layer, toggle “native bridge” in system settings.

Lastly, we have a small issue yet to be fixed. Resolution of the Android-x86 virtual machine. If you have low end PC hardware, I would suggest you to run Android in windowed mode only at the default resolution (disable “Zoom To Fit” in “View” menu). If you have capable hardware, you can increase resolution by following the instructions below.

Changing Resolution of Android-x86 Installation in QEMU Virtual Machine (VM)

WARNING: All the command mentioned below are meant to be executed in Android-x86 VM installation (guest). DO NOT attempt to run these commands in your Ubuntu installation (host).

To permanently change resolution of Android VM, we need to run some commands in a terminal launched inside our running VM instance. Android-x86 comes with a terminal emulator app, launch it and run following commands one by one (allow root access when prompted):

Press <I> once you see the text file to start editing mode. In the first entry, add your desired resolution in “video=widthxheight” format, as shown in the screenshot below:

To save the file, first hit <Esc> key, then type “:wq” without quotes and then press <Enter> key. Run the command below to safely unmount our mount point.

Reboot the Android VM. Your desired resolution is set now. You may see some clipping in windowed mode if your VM’s resolution is equal to your monitor’s resolution as window title bar and borders take some space. To fix this, you will have to enable “Zoom To Fit”, as shown in the screenshot below:

If you toggle fullscreen by pressing <CTRL+ALT+F>, there won’t be any clipping. To confirm correct resolution, go to “Dev Tools” app and then select “Configuration” option. Height will be slightly less as height of navigation bar at the bottom is deducted from resolution height.

Showcase

This article claims to run 3D Android games in Linux, it would be a crime to not include any footage. So here is some gameplay footage of SuperTuxKart running at full speed inside QEMU virtual machine with Ubuntu 19.04 as host. I am controlling the game with keyboard arrow keys, but the game itself is running in Android-x86 VM. GIF below is sped up and has lost quality during conversion:

This concludes the long post. If you like to run Android apps and games on desktop PC, this method is much better than using third party emulators having crazy privacy policies, plus it doesn’t require you to meddle with system partitions for a dual boot.

Note that, Anbox is still in beta version. So, don’t expect a bugless experience with Anbox.

In this article, I am going to show you how to install Anbox on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. So, let’s get started.

Installing Anbox Kernel Modules:

First, you have to install the required kernel modules for Anbox. Otherwise, Anbox won’t run. The kernel modules that Anbox need are not available in the official package repository of Ubuntu. But, you can easily add the morphis/anbox-support PPA and install them from there.

To add the morphis/anbox-support PPA, run the following command:

Now, press <Enter> to continue.

The PPA should be added and the APT package repository cache should be automatically updated.

Now, install the Linux headers and Anbox kernel modules with the following command:

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to continue.

Linux headers and Anbox kernel modules should be installed.

Enabling Anbox Kernel Modules:

Now, you have to enable the ashmem and binder kernel modules.

To enable the ashmem kernel module, run the following command:

To enable the binder kernel module, run the following command:

Now, check whether the /dev/ashmem and /dev/binder devices are available as follows:

As you can see, the devices are available. So, you’re good to go.

Installing Anbox:

Anbox is distributed as a snap package. So, it is very easy to install on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

To install Anbox snap package, run the following command:

The Anbox snap package is being installed as you can see.

Anbox snap package is installed at this point.

Starting Anbox:

Once Anbox is installed, you can find Anbox in the Application Menu of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS as you can see in the screenshot below.

As you can see, Anbox is running. It has some preinstalled Android apps as well.

Installing Android Apps on Anbox:

In this section, I am going to show you how to install additional Android apps on Anbox. So, let’s dig in.

We know, Android apps are distributed as APK packages. In order to install these APK packages on Anbox, you need ADB (Android Debug Bridge).

ADB is available in the official package repository of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. To install ADB, run the following command:

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to confirm the installation.

ADB should be installed.

You can download the Android APK file for your favorite app from many websites. One of them is APKMirror (https://www.apkmirror.com).

In apkmirror.com, find your favorite Android App and select the x86 or x86_64 architecture from the downloads page. Otherwise, it won’t install on Anbox. I am downloading WhatsApp in this article for the demonstration.

If you have multiple Android devices connected to your computer, you can use the following command to list them.

As you can see, I have one device (device ID is emulator-5558) connected on my computer. It is the Anbox device.

Now, you can install your favorite APK file on Anbox as follows:

NOTE: If you have only one Android device connected to your computer, then, you don’t have to specify -s DEVICE_ID option.

I’ve downloaded WhatsApp APK file as you can see in the screenshot below.

Now, to install the WhatsApp file, I ran the following command:

As you can see, the installation was successful.

Now, WhatsApp should be listed in the Anbox Application Manager. Don’t start WhatsApp yet. Anbox assigns no permission to a newly installed app by default. But, you have to assign some permissions depending on the app you’re trying to run.

To assign permission to your app, go to Settings.

Now, go to Apps.

Select your app from the list.

Now, go to Permissions.

Now enable the permissions that you need.

Once you’ve assigned the permissions, you should be able to start your desired app. As you can see, WhatsApp is running.

I can click on the buttons, no problem.

As you can see, the phone verification page works as well.

The country selection page works too.

So, that’s how you install and use Anbox on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Thanks for reading this article.

In this article, I am going to show you how to install Genymotion Android Emulator on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. So, let’s get started.

Installing VirtualBox:

Genymotion uses VirtualBox to run the Android emulator on your computer. So, you must have hardware virtualization (VT-d/VT-x/AMD-v) enabled in your BIOS and VirtualBox installed in order to use Genymotion.

VirtualBox is available in the official package repository of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. So, you can easily install it using the APT package manager.

First, update the APT package manager cache as follows:

Now, install VirtualBox with the following command:

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to confirm the installation.

VirtualBox should be installed.

Downloading Genymotion:

Genymotion is not available in the official package repository of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. But, you can easily download Genymotion from the official website of Genymotion and install it on your Ubuntu 18.04 LTS machine.

First, go to the official website of Genymotion at https://www.genymotion.com from your favorite web browser and click on Sign In.

If you have a Genymotion account, just Sign In with your account. If you don’t have one, just click on Create an account, create a new Genymotion account and sign in.

Once you’re logged in, go to Help > Genymotion Desktop > Fun Zone as marked in the screenshot below.

Now, click on Download Genymotion Personal Edition button as marked in the screenshot below.

Now, click on Download for Linux (64-bit) button as marked in the screenshot below.

Your browser should prompt you to save the Genymotion installer file. Click on Save File to save it.

Your browser should start downloading Genymotion installer.

Install Genymotion:

Once Genymotion installer is downloaded, you should be able to find it in the ~/Downloads/ directory.

Now, make the installer executable with the following command:

Now, run the Genymotion installer with the following command:

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to continue.

Genymotion should be installed.

Running Genymotion:

Now, you can find Genymotion in the Application Menu of Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.

Now, type in your Genymotion login information and click on NEXT.

Now, select Personal Use and click on NEXT.

Now, check I have read and accept the end user license agreement and click on NEXT.

Genymotion should start.

Creating Genymotion Android Virtual Devices:

Genymotion has a lot of available Android virtual device templates to choose from. You can search for templates, filter them by the Form factor (Phone, Small Tablet, Large Tablet), Android API (Android 8, Android 9 etc), Density (screen pixel density) and Size (screen size/resolution).

Now, select a device that you like and click on the Menu icon and then click on Install.

Now, you can type in a name to your virtual device, select the display resolution and pixel density from some predefined ones, or set a custom display resolution and pixel density. If you want to start the virtual device in full screen mode, then check Start in full-screen mode checkbox.

You can also select the Android version you want, select the number of processor core to assign to the virtual device, set the memory size etc. Once you’re done, click on INSTALL.

Genymotion should start downloading the required files to create the virtual device.

Once the virtual device is ready, it should be listed in My installed devices section.

Now, to start the virtual device, click on the Menu icon and click on Start.

As you can see, Genymotion is starting the virtual device.

After a while, an Android virtual device should be started. Now, you can install android apps on it, run your favorite games and many more on this virtual device.4

You can create as many Android virtual devices as you want using Genymotion.

So, that’s how you install Genymotion Android emulator on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. Thanks for reading this article.

Why Android Emulators?

The first question you need to ask yourself is what you want the Android emulator to do for you. Many times, you only need it for a specific application that you cannot get for your Linux desktop. Some times you want to run a game and sometimes you are looking to develop your own application.

Which works best for what?

Android Virtual Device

Designed especially for testing your own code when coding from Android Studio. The built-in emulator is superior for testing your own applications, as expected this works best for using the Android SDK but you can use the emulator stand-alone. The images take a lot of disc space and use a lot of memory when used but all the features are there and it runs almost flawlessly. With this package you can also emulate the phone moving around, low battery and other hardware related situations.

Shashlik

Shashlik still works and is surprisingly powerful and simple to get started. Once you have it installed, you can install android applications by starting the Shaslik emulator and connecting to it using adb. Applications can then be started directly from your desktop. They will look like regular applications, but will be a little slow to start since the VM has to start before the application itself. Note that this package is still in beta and the last update was back in 2016 so make sure you don’t rely on updates. If, however, your application works then you can keep using it.

Android_x86

Android_x86 is also possible to run in a Virtual machine, Virtualbox is an idea but not the only one. The fun part about this package is that you can install it as a second OS on your disc and run it. When you do this you are no longer emulating, instead the whole install is done for your laptop. This also works when you want to use have more battery life from your Laptop, it usually uses much less power than your regular OS. Since it can replace your OS, it emulates everything near exactly. The analysis tools for your own applications is not something that has been prioritized in this project so it may lack a little in that area but for regular use it is great. Upgrading it is also simple, as the image is an ISO and there is an RPM file for the install.

Anbox

Anbox is aiming to give you the ability to run Android Apps in Linux; In a box, as the name suggests. The package comes as a snap only, unless you are going to develop. If you want to build the code yourself, you need to download the entire source code for Android. This application is excellent for running small applications directly on your desktop. To install Android apps, the easiest way is to find a package manager and use that. The adb program contacts any Android connected to the computer, Anbox will act as a mobile connected to the computer it is running on. You can also add Google Play yourself, it is not included for legal reasons. F-Droid is a popular open source alternative.

Genymotion

Genymotion is only available as a closed source distribution but you can use it for free. When it is installed it is fully capable of emulating everything a phone can make. It uses VirtualBox in the background but has a nice GUI on top of it that makes running the tests a breeze. The company also offers online farms of emulated hardware that you can rent. This comes at a hefty price of course and it is only intended for professional developers.

Chrome Browser

If you use the Chrome browser, you can also use ARC-welder. This is an app from the Chrome Web store, the install takes a while since the app is large, it does include an emulator. Once it is installed and you start it, you are greeted with an extremely simple screen. The screen contains one big plus and the text ‘Add your APK’, here you have to have the apk file ready in local storage. Once the app is installed, there is an icon on your new tab, which you can click to start the app again. ARC-welder is intended for testing only and there are serious bugs for the Linux version but it integrates well with the Gnome desktop.

Illustration 1: ARC Welder running F-Droid

Conclusion

Sometimes you want to test apps, as a hobbyist use your own, as a pro, use online systems. For playing games, use Anbox, it is still early but already useful. When you are developing yourself, the Android SDK is your best option and their own virtual device will be the easiest to use. Genymotion comes into it’s own though when you need to test hardware related features and mapping applications.

Android Studio demands a lot of system resources, therefore your machine needs to meet up to a couple of requirements for it to run smoothly.

Here are some important specifications your machine needs to meet:

• 64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications
• GNU C Library (glibc) 2.19 or later
• 3 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended; plus 1 GB for the Android Emulator
• 2 GB of available disk space minimum,
• 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
• 1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

Now that we are done checking the necessary details, we can proceed with the installation.

Method 1 (The Ubuntu Software Centre)

The Ubuntu Software Centre remains the easiest place to install ubuntu software from. However, this is only the case when the desired software exists on the software store.

To install Android Studio from the Ubuntu Software Centre, simply search for Android Studio in the search box and you should get a couple of results.

If you are able to find the software,its installation is as easy as clicking the install button. You would get a password prompt to confirm the installation process. After a successful installation process, you should have the Android Studio icon available in your application tray.

If it installed successfully, you can skip the remaining methods and checkup the final setup section.

Method 2 (The Snap Tool)

The Snap tool can come in very handy for installation of software packages, especially when available.

Snaps are containerized software packages that make installation of software easy for users. You do not have to modify any files or type in any scary commands.

However, you need to have Snap installed on your machine in the first place.

To install Snap, use the command below:

After installing Snap successfully, you can proceed to install Android Studio with the command below:

This would take some time, therefore you have to wait for some minutes—go get a cup of coffee. It is expected to install successfully, but if for some reason installation fails due to an error like the one below:

error: This revision of snap “android-studio” was published using classic confinement and thus may perform arbitrary system changes outside of the security sandbox that snaps are usually confined to, which may put your system at risk.

You would have to add the –classic parameter to the command as seen below:

If it installed successfully, you can skip the remaining methods and checkup the final setup section.

Method 3 (The Zip File)

This is one trusted method of installing Android Studio. However, it may take some time as well as patience typing in the commands.

First: We would have to install the Java Development Kit from Oracle.

Installing the Java Development Kit requires some prerequisites which can be installed with the commands below:

Now we can proceed with installing the JDK with the command below:

This would take a while, however you should stay close by. An Oracle License agreement prompt would come up asking you to confirm an agreement to their terms.

The prompt is usually about four lines long, with an option for you to choose “Yes” or “No”. Choose “Yes” and then proceed.

After a successful installation, you can check Java version with:

Also you can check the Java compiler’s version with:

Next, we change directories to the Downloads directory and download the Android Studio zip file there.  This can be done with the commands below:

Just like our previous downloads, this could take some time.  After downloading, unzip the file into the /opt directory where our software files stay with the following command:

You should now have your android-studio directory unzipped in the /opt directory.

To run android studio, go to the bin directory in the unzipped android studio directory and run the

It should run fine, however close the launched application—do not proceed with the setup just yet.  You can symlink the studio.sh file to the /bin directory, so you can simply run android studio from any directory on the commandline.

You can do that with the command below:

However you won’t be able to access Android Studio from your list of applications just yet, we would cover this in the final setup.

Final setup

After finishing installations, launch  Android Studio again—if you used method three, type android-studio in the terminal—and proceed with the Android Studio Setup Wizard.

Running the setup wizard would take some time as the application is expected to make some other downloads.

After completion of all possible downloads, you should download the necessary SDK to develop software for your target android versions. It is expected that this comes up by default, but if it doesn’t you can download it through the following steps:

Click on “File”, then “Settings”, then “Android SDK”. You would see the Android SDKs for the different versions of android you plan to build for, then choose the ones you wish to download.

For those who installed using the third method, you can add the desktop icon to your app tray now. By clicking “Tools” and then “Create Desktop Entry.”

There you have it, Android Studio installed on your Ubuntu 18.04.

Needless to say, all the binaries, SDKs, frameworks and debuggers are going to pollute your filesystem with lots and lots of files, logs and other miscellaneous objects. An efficient work around for this is installing Android on your VirtualBox which takes away one of the sluggiest aspect of Android development — The device emulator. You can use this VM to run your test application or just fiddle with Android’s internals. So without further ado let’s set on up!

Getting Started

To get started we will need to have VirtualBox installed on our system, you can get a copy for Windows, macOS or any major distro of Linux here. Next you would need a copy of Android meant to run on x86 hardware, because that’s what VirtualBox is going to offer to a Virtual Machine an x86 or an x86_64 (a.k.a AMD64) platform to run.

While most Android devices run on ARM, we can take help of the project Android on x86. These fine folks have ported Android to run on x86 hardware (both real and virtual) and we can get a copy of the latest release candidate (Android 7.1) for our purposes. You may prefer using a more stable release but in that case Android 6.0 is about as latest as you can get, at the time of this writing.

Creating VM

Open VirtualBox and click on “New” (top-left corner) and in the Create Virtual Machine window select the type to be Linux and version Linux 2.6 / 3.x /4.x (64-bit) or (32-bit) depending upon whether the ISO you downloaded was x86_64 or x86 respectively.

RAM size could be anywhere from 2 GB to as much as your system resources can allow. Although if you want to emulate real world devices you should allocate upto 6GB for memory and 32GB for disk size which are typical in Android devices.

Upon creation, you might want to tweak a few additional settings, add in an additional processor core and improve display memory for starters. To do this, right-click on the VM and open up settings. In the Settings → System → Processor section you can allocate a few more cores if your desktop can pull it off.

And in Settings → Display → Video Memory you can allocate a decent chunk of memory and enable 3D acceleration for a more responsive experience.

Now we are ready to boot the VM.

Installing Android

Starting the VM for the first time, VirtualBox will insist you to supply it with a bootable media. Select the Android iso that you previously downloaded to boot the machine of with.

Next, select the Installation option if you wish to install Android on the VM for a long term use, otherwise feel free to log into the live media and play around with the environment.

Hit <Enter>.

Partitioning the Drive

Partitioning is done using a textual interface, which means we don’t get the niceties of a GUI and we will have to use the follow careful at what is being shown on the screen. For example, in the first screen when no partition has been created and just a raw (virtual) disk is detected you will see the following.

The red lettered C and D indicates that if you hit the key C you can create or modify partitions and D will detect additional devices. You can press D and the live media will detect the disks attached, but that is optional since it did a check during the boot.

Let’s hit C and create partitions in the virtual disk. The offical page recommends against using GPT so we will not use that scheme. Select No using the arrow keys and hit <Enter>.

And now you will be ushered into the fdisk utility.

We will create just a single giant partition so as to keep things simple. Using arrow keys navigate to the New option and hit <Enter>.  Select primary as the type of partition, and hit <Enter> to confirm

The maximum size will already be selected for you, hit <Enter> to confirm that.

This partition is where Android OS will reside, so of course we want it to be bootable. So select Bootable and hit enter (Boot will appear in the flags section in the table above) and then you can navigate to the Write section and hit <Enter> to write the changes to the partitioning table.

Then you can Quit the partitioning utility and move on with the installation.

Formatting with Ext4 and installing Android

A new partition will come in the Choose Partition menu where we were before we down the partitioning digression. Let’s select this partition and hit OK.

Select ext4 as the de facto file system in the next menu. Confirm the changes in the next window by selecting Yes and the formatting will begin. When asked, say Yes to the GRUB boot loader installation. Similarly, say Yes to allowing read-write operations on the /system directory. Now the installation will begin.

Once it is installed, you can safely reboot the system when prompted to reboot. You may have to power down the machine before the next reboot happens, go to Settings → Storage and remove the android iso if it is still attached to the VM.

Remove the media and save the changes, before starting up the VM.

Running Android

In the GRUB menu you will get options for running the OS in debug mode or the normal way. Let’s take a tour of Android in a VM using the default option, as shown below:

And if everything works fine, you will see this:

Now Android uses touch screen as an interface instead of a mouse, as far as its normal use is concerned. While the x86 port does come with a mouse point-and-click support you may have to use arrow keys a lot in the beginning.

Navigate to let’s go, and hit enter, if you are using arrow keys and then select Setup as New.

It will check for updates and device info, before asking you to sign in using a Google account. You can skip this if you want and move on to setting up Data and Time and give your username to the device after that.

A few other options would be presented, similar to the options you see when setting up a new Android device. Select appropriate options for privacy, updates, etc and of course Terms of Service, which we might have to Agree to.

After this, it may ask you to add another email account or set up “On-body detection” since it is a VM, neither of the options are of much use to us and we can click on “All Set”

It would ask you to select Home App after that, which is upto you to decide, as it is a matter of Preference and you will finally be in a virtualized Android system.

You may benefit greatly from a touch screen laptop if you desire to do some intensive testing on this VM, since that would emulate a real world use case much closely.

Hope you have found this tutorial useful in case, you have any other similar request for us to write about, please feel free to reach out to us.

8. Orbot: Proxy with Tor

Anonymity is the first thing you need to concern before doing Penetration Testing. Among many others apps which provide privacy connection like VPN, Orbot is the best at hiding your identity. Orbot is free and open source project (which you can take a look at the source code in Github or join their community) to provide anonymity on the internet for Android users. Orbot uses Tor to encrypt the internet traffic by bouncing through available server around the world. Orbot can help you to defend against personal and privacy threatens, hidden from monitoring internet traffic third parties app.

TOR – bouncing connections

TOR – live log

7. Wifi Master Key – by wifi.com

Wifi Master Key is the biggest peer-to-peer Wi-Fi key sharing for free Wi-Fi access developed by LinkSure Network (wifi.com). This is my favorite apps when i need Wi-Fi connection around. This app will shorten my tasks to break the locked (password-ed) Wi-Fi. The concept is sharing Wi-Fi key (password) to provide free internet access. Whether the user knows the password or not, they will be able to connect to any nearby Wi-Fi hotspots that are listed with “connect button” without input any login details. Another interesting feature of Wifi Master Key is the Wifi Map to help users find free and open hotspots Wi-Fi available in location.

Wifi Key Master – Display available Free connect hotspots

Wifi Master Key – MAP display available Free and Open Hotspots

6. Fing – Network Tools

Fing is a network discovery tool to do information gathering about devices connected in wireless network connection. Fing also offers several networking utilities including Ping, Traceroute, DNS Lookup, and Service scanning.

5. Netcut (free, requires root)

Netcut is popular desktop network discovery tool which also available on Android. Netcut helps discover device connected on wireless network and display the information including IP address, MAC address, and device name. The difference between Fing and Netcut is, Netcut has feature to change MAC address of your device, and the main feature is to cut connections of others clients connected in your wireless network using ARP spoofing attack. Netcut also can protects users from ARP spoofing attack, using built-in feature Netcut Defender.

4. Packet Capture

Packet Capture is a network traffic sniffer with SSL decryption. Packet Capture has the same main function as Wireshark program on desktop. It is very powerful Android app to debugging, or to monitor the network communication in and out going internet connection. Packet Capture use local VPN to capture and record the traffic. The good news is it doesn’t need any root permission. Not only capturing all packets, Packet Capture is able to decrypt SSL communication using MITM method.

Packet Capture – Sniffing “Mobile Legends” game connections

3. Network Spoofer (requires root)

Network Spoofer is Android app project to perform ARP Spoofing attack to mess the network and clients. Network Spoofer let you prank clients connected on your wireless network, the attack feature Network Spoofer provides are: Flip picture and text upside down, website page redirect, delete and replace words from website and change all pictures on website to trollface meme image.

2. Termux

Termux is terminal emulator for Android with bash linux environment. If you are familiar with Terminal Linux environment than you will not find any difficult on using Termux. Termux using the APT package manager to automate installing any packages. The reason why i exclude “Nmap for Android” on the list is, you can actually install popular Penetration Testing program directly in your Android using Termux “pkg install” command, such NMAP, Metasploit, Traceroute, and much more.

Termux – running NMAP on Termux Android

Termux – Running Metasploit Framework on Termux Android

1. zANTI (requires root)

zANTI is very powerful full-fledged penetration testing toolkit. zANTI has so many features, it is a collection of tools, including network discovery using NMAP, MITM Attack, MAC Address spoofing, password auditing, vulnerability scanning and much more. In the MITM Attack itself has so much features which mostly has the main feature like “Network Spoofer” does, with HTTP sessions hijacking, HTTP requests and responses modifying, capture download files, router exploit and able to check device for shellshock and SSL poodle vulnerability.

CONCLUSION

Nowadays, hacking is much easier to do in line with the advances of technology, even by using your “handy-computer” a.k.a smartphone you can perform Penetration Testing tasks. The applications available above are just tools and require your own responsibility. Be wise (and wild sometimes :-D).