Drion · Comparison

Drion vs Genymotion Desktop

Both run unmodified Android apps on a Linux PC, but they are built for different jobs. Genymotion Desktop, a commercial emulator from Genymobile, boots a complete Android device in a virtual machine so developers can test their apps on it. Drion has no virtual device: each app runs as its own sandboxed Linux process, next to your other programs.

Genymotion Desktop

A complete Android device in a virtual machine. Your apps run inside it.

Drion

No virtual device. Each app is its own sandboxed Linux process.

BothUnmodified APKs · Android’s own framework code · standard adb
What runs

What runs underneath the app

Genymotion runs a virtual phone or tablet: its own kernel, Android’s system services, launcher and system apps, on virtual hardware. Drion keeps the parts an app talks to, the runtime and Android’s framework, and replaces everything underneath with its own services on your Linux host.

Genymotion Desktop
Android app
Android framework
Android system services
Android OS: init, launcher, system apps
Android kernel, virtual hardware
Hypervisor: QEMU with KVM, or VirtualBox
Linux host
Drion
Android app, unmodified
Android framework, real AOSP code
Drion system services
no Android OS underneath
no second kernel
no hypervisor
Linux host: desktop, audio, GPU
Isolation

How apps are kept apart

Genymotion puts a virtual machine around the whole device, and 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.

Genymotion Desktop
Linux host
Virtual machine (QEMU or VirtualBox) · one for all apps
Android system: kernel, system services, launcher, system apps
App A
App B
App C

The virtual machine separates the whole device from your host. Inside it, apps are kept apart by Android’s own user IDs and permissions. Images up to Android 11 are rooted, so an app can ask you for root inside the device.

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
Genymotion Desktop
Drion
Built for
Developing and testing apps. Needs a Genymotion account; the free edition is for personal use only and leaves out some features.
Running Android apps on Linux, as part of the desktop or device.
What runs
A complete Android system image in a virtual machine: QEMU with KVM by default on Linux, VirtualBox as a legacy option.
Each app as its own Linux process, served by Drion’s system services.
Where it runs
Windows, macOS and x86_64 Linux: officially Ubuntu LTS, Debian stable and Fedora Workstation, fully only on GNOME, KDE and MATE. Not supported inside virtual machines, in Docker or on servers.
Linux desktops on Wayland, SteamOS and Ubuntu Touch.
Host requirements
Hardware virtualization: Intel VT-x or AMD-V, turned on in the firmware. A GPU with OpenGL 3.3 or later.
No virtualization and no Android-specific kernel features. Needs unprivileged user namespaces.
Starting the first app
The virtual device boots Android before your app starts. Quick boot, which resumes a saved state, is off by default and not in the free edition.
No Android system to boot. An app starts like any other program.
Alongside your apps
The whole virtual device, with the memory you give it. Genymobile asks for 16 GB of RAM, and at least 2 GB of disk for each virtual device.
A few Drion services.
Windows
The whole device screen, in a window, full screen, or inside a phone or tablet skin.
One window per app. Fullscreen in Gamescope on SteamOS, maximized on Ubuntu Touch.
Desktop integration
Sound and a shared clipboard, which is off until you turn it on for each device. Paid licences add the host webcam as a camera, and gamepads on Android 12 and later.
App menu, clipboard, audio and notifications on Linux desktops, partly on SteamOS and Ubuntu Touch. Camera and microphone are brokered by the system server.
Google Play
Not included, for intellectual-property reasons. A built-in widget downloads the Open GApps package and flashes it into the device.
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
Not supported on PCs, where images are x86 and x86_64. Some 32-bit Arm apps run after you flash Arm translation tools, which Genymobile can’t distribute. Arm64 images are for Apple-silicon Macs only.
Drion comes with a Native Bridge translator.
Developer tools
adb, an Android Studio plugin, the gmtool and Genymotion Shell command lines, and widgets that simulate GPS, battery, network and sensors. The free, individual and business licences allow manual testing only.
A standard, authenticated ADB endpoint: unmodified adb and Android test tooling work against it.
Which fits

Who each one is for

Genymotion is a testing tool: it gives you whole devices to test against, on Linux, Windows and macOS. Drion is for running apps as part of your Linux system.

Genymotion Desktop

When you test apps across devices

Pick from more than 40 phone and tablet templates and Android 5 to 16, simulate GPS, battery, network and sensors, and use the same tool on Windows and macOS.

Drion

When you want to use apps on Linux

Arm-only apps on x86_64 PCs, each in its own window and sandbox, with Google Play or other app stores and no virtual device running in the background.

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.Virtual machineDrion vs the Android EmulatorA virtual device, or apps as Linux processes: startup, windows, networking and arm64 apps.Translation layerDrion vs Android Translation LayerRebuilt Android APIs, or Android’s own framework: isolation, desktop integration and Google Play.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