The Galaxy S26 Ultra might finally get this Android feature the S25 missed

When Google rolled out its Linux Terminal feature last year, it felt like a meaningful step forward for Android. The tool lets Android run a full Linux environment directly on the device, but Samsung’s own flagships were left out. Despite having the right hardware on paper, the Galaxy S25 Ultra didn’t support it. However, we’ve spotted signs that this may finally change with the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

We’ve gotten our hands on log files from an S26 Ultra, and they show something that was missing on last year’s model: the device declares support for the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF). That system-level support is a key requirement for Google’s Linux Terminal feature, and its absence is what kept the S25 Ultra on the sidelines while Pixel phones moved ahead.

As shown in the screenshot above, the logs have the following reference:

android.software.virtualization_framework

The Galaxy S26 series is expected to debut with One UI 8.5, which leaked builds suggest will be based on Android 16’s second quarterly release. That’s the same release where Google introduced the Linux Terminal feature, suggesting the Galaxy S26 Ultra would finally be in a position to take advantage of it.

If it does make it to the final software, this would let the Galaxy S26 Ultra handle things most Samsung phones haven’t been able to before, like running proper development tools, scripting utilities, or Linux-based apps that normally require a computer. It’s the kind of feature that won’t matter to everyone, but for developers and tinkerers, it could turn the S26 Ultra into something far more flexible than the S25 ever was.

Nothing is guaranteed here. These details come from pre-release log files, and Samsung could still change course before launch. Still, after the S25 Ultra’s omission, simply seeing this support declared at all is an encouraging sign for power users.