Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra leak suggests long-awaited Linux terminal support

Most of the features of smartphones are aimed at a mass appeal. Linux terminal support is not one of them.Yet for a growing class of developers, students, and Android power users, it is one of the most meaningful capabilities Google has added to Android in years. A recent leak suggests Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra may finally join that club.

AVF may sound technical or difficult to understand, and that would be understandable. However, AVF is the area of Android required to support a full local Linux execution environment on an Android device. If the Galaxy S25 Ultra had supported AVF, it would have provided the capability to use the Linux terminal feature in Android, even with all of the flagship hardware that the Galaxy S25 Ultra had.

Why This Matters More Than Just One Feature

Google threw Linux Terminal support into the mix as part of Android's push into full-on desktop computing. That means Android devices can now run command-line tools, compilers, and all the rest of the stuff that typically needs a PC to work.

Practically speaking, this means:

• Local development workflows without a laptop

• Advanced scripting and automation

• Educational use for computer science students

• Secure, sandboxed Linux environments on-device

Samsung's hardware could've done this years ago; the problem was always the software side of things.

The Android 16 Timing Wasn't Just a Coincidence

The Galaxy S26 series is expected to launch with One UI 8.5, based on Android 16 QPR2 if the rumors are true. Now that's the specific Android release that actually lets compatible devices use Linux Terminal support.

Now that AVF is showing up in Samsung's own logs, it's starting to look like the S26 Ultra is all set to have the feature at launch. Which is the first sign that Samsung might actually be willing to let power users get their hands on Android's advanced dev tools.

A Shift in Priorities for Samsung

If Linux Terminal support does make it onto the S26 Ultra, that's more than just a checkbox feature. That means Samsung is having second thoughts about how they view power users.

Galaxy Ultra phones have long promised to be super productive, but usually in a way that kind of limits what you can get up to. Enabling Linux virtualization flips that script. Suddenly, your phone is treated more like a proper computer and less like just an appliance.

Which is actually pretty big in a market where laptops are getting eaten alive by smartphones for real work.

A leak, not a guarantee

None of this is confirmed. Pre-release software often includes features that never reach consumers. Samsung could still disable Linux Terminal support before launch, as it did with previous flagships. Still, after the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s omission, the presence of AVF alone is a meaningful shift. For developers watching Android’s evolution closely, it suggests Samsung may finally be ready to meet the platform where it already is.

If this support survives to release, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will not just be Samsung’s most powerful phone on paper. It will be its most flexible one yet.

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