The latest (and only) detachable Chromebook, the HP Chromebook X2, is likely to be among the next devices to get support for Project Crostini, which will enable full Linux app support. Thanks to a code commit spotted by Redditor cygnus8595, we have confirmation of this development.
The commit, posted on June 12, is pretty explicit:
This change turns on the kvm_host USE flag so that we can run VMs on poppy/soraka.
Wait, where’s the mention of the HP Chromebook X2, you ask? It’s all in the last two words of the commit.
Poppy is the codename for a baseboard; Google uses these boards to give device makers a certified working Chrome OS reference to build from. And if you look at the official Developer Information for Chrome OS Devices page, you can see which devices are built from which boards (shown below). Right now, only the HP Chromebook X2 is a Poppy board and we also know that the X2’s device code name is Soraka:
There’s no timeline on when to expect Crostini support on the HP Chromebook X2, but if I had to guess, I’d say Dev Channel 69 at the earliest, which should be here by the end of this month.
As exciting as this is, I’m sticking with my Pixelbook even though the HP Chromebook X2 will have the same functionality. My reason? The $599 HP model only comes with 4 GB of memory and I’m leery of how well Linux apps — or at least the ones I use — will run with that amount of RAM compared to the 8 GB of memory in the base Pixelbook. Perhaps I’ll be surprised when someone gets to test Linux apps; in which case, maybe I’ll change my mind.
