Only These Galaxy S26 Variants Can Run Linux Terminal

Samsung officially revealed the Galaxy S26 lineup on February 25, and it’s now available for preorder (and you can win freebies). As expected, the Galaxy S26 series comes in two configurations: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600. If you’re in the US, you’ll get all Galaxy S26 models with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but that’s not the case everywhere.

Exynos 2600-powered Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ support Linux Terminal

Outside the US, China, and Japan, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ ship with the Exynos 2600 chipset. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, however, comes with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in every market. That’s where the key difference lies. As Android Authority notes, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 doesn’t support non-protected virtual machines. That’s why, only the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ powered by the Exynos 2600 can run Linux Terminal.

The outlet says it tried launching Linux Terminal on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it threw an unexpected error. So if you’re sticking with the Exynos 2600 versions of the Galaxy S26 or Galaxy S26+, or buying them in Europe, Korea, India, or other supported markets, you’ll get one feature that other Galaxy S26 users won’t.

Still, it really comes down to whether you actually need it. For most people, it’s not something they’ll use regularly. Maybe they’ll try it once or twice, but that’s about it. Power users and enthusiasts are a different story. For them, getting an Exynos 2600 variant is the smarter move. Aside from the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+, the only other Samsung phone that supports Linux Terminal is the Galaxy Z Flip 7.