Here’s which Samsung Galaxy S26 phones support Android’s Linux terminal

Source: Android Authority

TL;DR

• Android introduced a powerful Linux terminal for developers last year.
• Initially supporting Pixel phones, we’ve been curious what kind of terminal support the Galaxy S26 family might receive.
• Linux terminal support appears to work only on the Exynos‑powered Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus.

Introduction

For a particularly geeky smartphone enthusiast, there’s probably nothing cooler than having a functional Linux terminal in your pocket. Last year, Google gave us just that for Pixel phones, and ever since we’ve been curious about which other smartphones might pick up support.

A few weeks back we uncovered evidence suggesting that the Galaxy S26 Ultra might be getting Linux terminal support, and today we’re finally starting to get some confirmation about what Samsung’s support looks like.

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Lineup

Samsung officially announced its Galaxy S26 lineup last week. As expected, the company offers two main configurations:

• Qualcomm Snapdragon chips in the US.
• Samsung Exynos chips in most international markets.

The two smaller S26 handsets (S26 and S26 Plus) follow this split, while the S26 Ultra uses a Snapdragon chip worldwide.

Linux Terminal Compatibility

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 that powers the S26 Ultra does not support non‑protected virtual machines—a requirement for Android’s Linux terminal. Consequently, the terminal cannot run on the Ultra model.

Information shared with Android Authority by a tipster confirms that the Linux terminal only works on Exynos‑based Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus hardware (Thanks: Dylan H).

The screen above is from an S26 Plus.

Attempting to access the terminal on an S26 Ultra with its Qualcomm chip results in an error message:

What This Means for Users

While the Ultra model cannot run the Linux terminal, owners of the Exynos variants of the S26 and S26 Plus can enjoy this developer‑focused feature without needing to purchase the top‑of‑the‑line Ultra. This expands the availability of the Linux terminal to a broader segment of the Galaxy S26 user base.