Credit: Robert Triggs / Android Authority If there’s one thing I must have in my smartphone camera, it is a robust long-distance zoom that brings me closer to the action. Today’s best Android phones offer a wide range of zoom options, with different zoom levels, lens apertures, and sensor sizes contributing to some rather different capabilities. Just because it has a 5x periscope camera doesn’t mean they’re all the same. To test what this means for actual photos, I’ve grabbed the Pixel 9 Pro, Galaxy S25 Ultra, OPPO Find X8 Pro, and Xiaomi 15 Ultra to showcase the differences these sensor specs can make. The latter has a huge number of megapixels to work with, while the Find X8 Pro has the longest optical zoom. Flagships from Google and Samsung sit somewhere in between.

Pixel phones now feature a Linux Terminal app, enabling users to run a Debian virtual machine for desktop apps alongside Android ones. While still lacking features like GUI/audio, the recent Android 16 Beta 4 release removes the previous 16GB storage cap for the Linux VM. Google plans to eventually replace manual storage resizing with dynamic ballooning, allowing the VM storage to adjust automatically based on need. Pixel phones are taking a step towards becoming powerful portable PCs with the introduction of the Linux Terminal app in the March 2025 update. This app lets compatible Android devices run a full-fledged instance of the popular Debian distro in a virtual machine, opening the door to running popular Linux desktop programs alongside Android apps. However, the feature isn’t quite ready for everyday professional use, currently lacking support for critical features like graphical apps and audio output, and until recently, it was restricted to just 16GB of storage space, limiting the Linux VM’s capacity for apps and files. Thankfully, Google just lifted that storage limitation, allowing the Linux Terminal to use as much of your phone’s storage as needed. With the release of the fourth Android 16 beta, Google has uncapped the disk resize slider in the Linux Terminal app’s settings. In previous releases, the disk size was capped at 16GB. In Android 16 Beta 4, however, the disk can be resized to occupy most of the host device’s remaining storage, leaving 1GB free to prevent the virtual machine from consuming all available space. I tested this feature on a Google Pixel 9 Pro running Android 16 Beta 4, successfully resizing the Linux disk to 42.3GB. The process took only a few seconds, and after restarting the VM, the increased storage was immediately available. According to Android’s storage settings, the total size consumed by the Linux Terminal app (including the base app and the resized VM disk) grew to approximately 45.52GB.

Pixel phones now feature a Linux Terminal app, enabling users to run a Debian virtual machine for desktop apps alongside Android ones. While still lacking features like GUI/audio, the recent Android 16 Beta 4 release removes the previous 16GB storage cap for the Linux VM. Google plans to eventually replace manual storage resizing with dynamic ballooning, allowing the VM storage to adjust automatically based on need. Pixel phones are taking a step towards becoming powerful portable PCs with the introduction of the Linux Terminal app in the March 2025 update. This app lets compatible Android devices run a full-fledged instance of the popular Debian distro in a virtual machine, opening the door to running popular Linux desktop programs alongside Android apps. However, the feature isn’t quite ready for everyday professional use, currently lacking support for critical features like graphical apps and audio output, and until recently, it was restricted to just 16GB of storage space, limiting the Linux VM’s capacity for apps and files. Thankfully, Google just lifted that storage limitation, allowing the Linux Terminal to use as much of your phone’s storage as needed. With the release of the fourth Android 16 beta, Google has uncapped the disk resize slider in the Linux Terminal app’s settings. In previous releases, the disk size was capped at 16GB. In Android 16 Beta 4, however, the disk can be resized to occupy most of the host device’s remaining storage, leaving 1GB free to prevent the virtual machine from consuming all available space. I tested this feature on a Google Pixel 9 Pro running Android 16 Beta 4, successfully resizing the Linux disk to 42.3GB. The process took only a few seconds, and after restarting the VM, the increased storage was immediately available. According to Android’s storage settings, the total size consumed by the Linux Terminal app (including the base app and the resized VM disk) grew to approximately 45.52GB.

Pixel phones now feature a Linux Terminal app, enabling users to run a Debian virtual machine for desktop apps alongside Android ones. While still lacking features like GUI/audio, the recent Android 16 Beta 4 release removes the previous 16GB storage cap for the Linux VM. Google plans to eventually replace manual storage resizing with dynamic ballooning, allowing the VM storage to adjust automatically based on need. Pixel phones are taking a step towards becoming powerful portable PCs with the introduction of the Linux Terminal app in the March 2025 update. This app lets compatible Android devices run a full-fledged instance of the popular Debian distro in a virtual machine, opening the door to running popular Linux desktop programs alongside Android apps. However, the feature isn’t quite ready for everyday professional use, currently lacking support for critical features like graphical apps and audio output, and until recently, it was restricted to just 16GB of storage space, limiting the Linux VM’s capacity for apps and files. Thankfully, Google just lifted that storage limitation, allowing the Linux Terminal to use as much of your phone’s storage as needed. With the release of the fourth Android 16 beta, Google has uncapped the disk resize slider in the Linux Terminal app’s settings. In previous releases, the disk size was capped at 16GB. In Android 16 Beta 4, however, the disk can be resized to occupy most of the host device’s remaining storage, leaving 1GB free to prevent the virtual machine from consuming all available space. I tested this feature on a Google Pixel 9 Pro running Android 16 Beta 4, successfully resizing the Linux disk to 42.3GB. The process took only a few seconds, and after restarting the VM, the increased storage was immediately available. According to Android’s storage settings, the total size consumed by the Linux Terminal app (including the base app and the resized VM disk) grew to approximately 45.52GB.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.

I have nothing but respect for the de-Google movement and everyone involved in it. With Mountain View’s influence over our household technology ever strengthening, it’s quite understandable that some people want to rid themselves of Google products, services, and apps as much as possible. I’ve always wondered just how easy that actually is, though. It’s no exaggeration that every screen in my house is a potential portal to a Google service. I own a Nest Mini, several Android phones and tablets, and a smart TV. Even my car can access Android Auto in some capacity. Google is omnipresent, but I wanted to know if this is out of necessity or convenience.