Drion · Comparison

Drion vs Anbox

Anbox, started in 2017, was an early way to run Android apps on a Linux desktop. It booted a complete Android system in an LXC container and showed each app in its own window. Its development stopped in 2023, and Waydroid carries the idea forward. Drion has no Android system underneath: each app runs as its own sandboxed Linux process.

Anbox

A complete Android 7.1 system in one container. No longer developed.

Drion

No Android system underneath. Each app is its own sandboxed Linux process.

BothYour Linux kernel, no virtual machine · Android’s own framework code · a window per app · adb
What runs

What runs underneath the app

Anbox ships a minimal Android 7.1.1 image built from AOSP and starts its init, system services and system apps in a container, with hardware reached through a daemon on the host. Drion keeps the parts an app talks to, the runtime and Android’s framework, and replaces everything underneath with its own services.

Anbox
Android app
Android runtime and framework
Android system services
Android 7.1 OS from AOSP: init, system apps
LXC container, binder and ashmem in the host kernel
Linux host: container and session managers
Drion
Android app
Android runtime and framework
Drion system services
no Android OS underneath
no binder kernel module
Linux host: desktop, audio, GPU
Isolation

How apps are kept apart

Anbox puts one container around the whole Android system, started by a container manager that runs as root. Android’s own sandbox separates apps inside it. Drion puts a kernel boundary around every app and keeps its own services outside all of them.

Anbox
Linux host
Container · one for all apps
Android system: init, system services, system apps
App A
App B
App C
Container managerroot
Session manager

Apps are kept apart by Android’s own user IDs and permissions, inside the shared container. The container has its own network.

Drion
Linux host · your user account
Supervisor
System server
Display
sandbox
App A
sandbox
App B
sandbox
App C

The Linux kernel walls off each app’s processes and private files from the host, other apps and Drion’s own services. The network is shared with the host.

Side by side

The practical differences

Aspect
Anbox
Drion
Status
No longer developed. Its README says development stalled and points desktop users to Waydroid. The last commit is from February 2023.
In active development, in closed alpha.
What runs
A complete Android 7.1.1 system, a minimal customized AOSP image, in an LXC container.
Each app as its own Linux process, served by Drion’s system services.
Isolation
One container for the whole system, unprivileged by default. Android’s own sandbox separates apps inside it.
One kernel sandbox per app process. The system server stays outside every sandbox.
Root
Its container manager runs as a root system service. The snap installs only in developer mode, as it is not fully confined, and so does not update automatically.
Runs entirely under your user account. On Ubuntu Touch it also installs without root.
Host kernel
Needs binder and ashmem. On Ubuntu and Debian with Secure Boot on, the ashmem module may not load until you sign it or turn Secure Boot off.
No Android-specific kernel features. Needs unprivileged user namespaces.
Starting the first app
Android boots in the container first. Later apps start inside the running system.
No Android system to boot. An app starts like any other program.
Desktop integration
App menu entries, a text clipboard and sound output. Microphone input is not implemented.
App menu, clipboard, audio and notifications on Linux desktops, partly on SteamOS and Ubuntu Touch. Camera and microphone are brokered by the system server.
Network
Its own virtual network bridge, anbox0, with NAT.
Apps use the host’s network directly, including services that listen only on your machine.
Google Play
Does not work: Google Play Services are not included. Its README suggests F-Droid instead.
Optional, installed in a couple of clicks from the store list in Drion’s launcher. Other app stores work too.
Arm-only apps on x86_64
Do not work, as its README notes.
Drion comes with a Native Bridge translator.
Which fits

Who each one is for

Anbox’s own README now sends desktop users to Waydroid, which has its own comparison below. Drion is for running current apps as part of your Linux system.

Anbox

When you study how Android containers began

Its GPLv3 source and architecture notes stay online, and Waydroid carries the same idea forward. Anbox itself gets no more fixes, and its Android stays at 7.1.1.

Drion

When you want to use apps on Linux today

Each app in its own window and kernel sandbox, on your host’s audio and network, with Google Play or other app stores and no root service.

Architecture · diagramsHow Drion worksProcesses, the per-app sandbox, permissions and platforms, with diagrams.
More comparisons
ContainerDrion vs WaydroidArchitecture, isolation, root and desktop integration, side by side.Server containerDrion vs redroidAndroid in Docker, built for servers: privileges, kernel modules and how you see apps.Virtual machineDrion vs the Android EmulatorA virtual device, or apps as Linux processes: startup, windows, networking and arm64 apps.Commercial virtual machineDrion vs Genymotion DesktopVirtual test devices, or apps as Linux processes: Arm-only apps, Google Play and licences.Translation layerDrion vs Android Translation LayerRebuilt Android APIs, or Android’s own framework: isolation, desktop integration and Google Play.Compatibility layerDrion vs PenguDroidA similar approach at an earlier stage: isolation, system services and arm64 apps.Linux phone OSDrion vs Sailfish OS AppSupportJolla’s Android container, or apps as Linux processes: devices, isolation and Google services.
Closed alpha

Try Drion on Linux desktops and Ubuntu Touch

Email us to join the closed alpha.

alpha@actinis.io Back to Drion