ProtonAOSP developer gets Windows 11 and Linux running on the Google Pixel 6

ProtonAOSP developer Danny Lin has gotten Windows 11 and several Linux distros, including Ubuntu 21.10, running within virtual machines on the Google Pixel 6 phone. The developer version of Android 13 seems to have support for running VMs.

And yes, that means that he can play Doom† Lin, who is a hobby Android and web developer, got Linux running on the Pixel 6 last weekend with the Android 13 Developer Preview 1 as a virtual machine with the kvm hypervisor. Android 13 DP1 has been available since last Thursday. Lin show on Twitter that Ubuntu 21.10, Arch Linux, Void and Alpine Linux will work on the Pixel 6. According to Lin on ‘near-native performance’.

Windows 11 for Arm on Pixel 6. Image: kdrag0n

The developer explains that the Android 13 firmware makes it possible to enable a kvm. It has been known for some time that Android 13 makes virtualization possible, but Lin is the first to show this. The Linux kernel runs in an insecure EL2 mode. A secured kvm is also possible, although this somewhat limits the functionality. According to Lin, virtualization is a functionality that Google is adding to Android to detach security and DRM from TrustZone. This could help limit the attack possibilities of hackers, he states† He refers to a presentation by Google developer Quentin Perret from 2020.

In addition to Linux, Lin . has also got Windows 11 running on the Pixel 6, using a Windows vm and kvm. The developer says that after some tweaking Windows 11 is actually usable, although there is no graphics acceleration. He runs the official Windows 11 client for Arm, he explains. Danny Lin developed the first working custom ROM for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro in November: the ProtonAOSP.