Samsung ends Linux on DeX without ever releasing a stable version

In an email to the testers, Samsung has announced that it is ending the Linux on DeX beta program. It will no longer provide support for future OS and device releases, including the Android 10 beta. The team behind the app hasn’t offered any reasons for the shutdown of the program but thanked users for the interest and feedback.

Samsung announced the Linux on DeX app nearly a year ago as an experiment to augment the capabilities of its DeX platform. It enables select Galaxy devices to run full Linux OS in DeX mode when connected to an external monitor (or on the device’s display if it’s a tablet). The app has been in beta for the past year, and the company is now ending the program without releasing a stable version.

Technically, the email is about the end of the beta program, but there is nothing in the message to suggest Linux on DeX will be coming back. Moreover, when we asked Hyoungsik Kim, product manager for Samsung DeX, about the Linux on DeX stable version in an interview last month, he was noncommittal and said they are re-evaluating it. You can read the complete interview here.

To be clear, none of this affects the regular DeX mode in any manner. Also, since Linux on DeX is not dependent on any Samsung server to function, you can continue to use the app as long as it works by downloading the necessary APK and the Linux OS images from Samsung’s website or online mirrors.