Galaxy Z Flip 7 has one advantage over most other foldable phones

The 3nm Exynos 2500 chip inside the Galaxy Z Flip 7 has been a topic of contention since the announcement of the phone. While it may not be as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip inside the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it has one advantage over its Snapdragon counterpart, and it could be really helpful for developers.

Earlier this year, Google brought a new feature called Linux Terminal to Pixel phones. It allows people to run Linux programs on a virtual machine on their phone or tablet. And it looks like the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the first non-Pixel phone that can run the Linux Terminal, allowing developers, enthusiasts, and power users to run Linux programs, given that most of their tools aren't available natively on Android devices.

Curiously, the Linux Terminal isn't available on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, even though it features a more powerful chip. According to Android Authority, most modern flagship chips from MediaTek and Qualcomm support Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), which is needed to create and manage virtual machines. However, they support more protected virtual machines. The Terminal app, though, requires a non-protected VM, which is available on the Exynos 2500.

The Terminal app can boot a modified version of Debian, which is a popular distribution of Linux. The Linux OS is run in a virtual machine on compatible devices running Android 16.

Until MediaTek and Qualcomm solve this limitation and issue a kernel update, brands can't offer the Terminal app on their phones, even though the devices run Android 16. While Terminal doesn't support graphical Linux apps yet, support for full-fledged Linux apps is reportedly coming in the future, allowing people to run full-fledged Linux apps on phones and tablets.