Valve's version of Android on Linux (based on Waydroid) is now called Lepton

By Liam Dawe - 2 Dec 2025 at 10:56 am UTC

Last updated: 2 Dec 2025 at 10:58 am UTC

Lepton appears to be the new official name for Valve's version of Waydroid (Android in a Linux container).

We still don't have a whole lot of details about how this is all going to work, outside of Lepton enabling Android APKs for developers on the upcoming Steam Frame VR kit, but it's now that little bit more official with a proper name and even a logo.

An interesting looking frog there. No doubt an in-joke from a certain Linux developer Discord server. As for the name, it seems to fit in quite well with the other compatibility layer Proton for Windows games on Linux. Seems Valve are keeping to a similar theme with their naming there.

Courtesy of SteamDB there's a main page and a development version with both actually having (rather blank) Steam pages. I imagine the Steam pages will probably be hidden soon, just like Proton doesn't have an actual Steam page I doubt this will either.

We also saw that recently Valve added support for Linux Arm and Android to the Steamworks SDK.

It's definitely going to be fun to see what kinds of developers get on board with the Steam Frame, and perhaps even more exciting if we can get Lepton running directly on Desktop Linux and other SteamOS machines too. I don't really expect Valve to have it locked to the Steam Frame - but we don't know yet.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.

Tags: Misc, Steam, Steam Frame, SteamOS, Valve

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About the author - Liam Dawe

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8 comments

Petethegoat 4 hours ago

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Supporter

real heads know this is a reference to the (incredibly underrated) dead free to play game, veiled experts.

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Nic264 4 hours ago

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They're definitely having fun with the logo:
-

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And from the current [compatibility list](https://steamdb.info/app/3043620/info/) we see that they've been testing at least those through Waydroid:
- Labogrammetry (no idea what that is)
- [Moss II](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2059670/Moss_Book_II/)
- [Open Brush](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1634870/Open_Brush/)
- [Pistol Whip 🐸](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1079800/Pistol_Whip/)
- [The Lab](https://store.steampowered.com/app/450390/The_Lab/)

4 Likes

kuhpunkt 4 hours ago

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I saw one comment... it could be a great way to bring a lot of streaming apps like Netflix to the Steam Machine as well. People might want that.

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Pyrate 4 hours ago

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Is there any indication of this working differently than Waydroid when it comes to ARM-only APKs ? Currently on Waydroid, only x64 APKs work, ARM ones work only after installing an inadequate emulator.

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MayeulC 2 hours ago

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Quoting: PyrateIs there any indication of this working differently than Waydroid when it comes to ARM-only APKs ? Currently on Waydroid, only x64 APKs work, ARM ones work only after installing an inadequate emulator.

Given that the target platform seems to be the Planck, which uses an ARM CPU, I doubt it. In practice, a tool similar to FEX could work.

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_Mars 1 hour ago

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Interesting stuff indeed. I'm very curious what the goals for the project end up being.

Running Quest games on the Frame? Reverse FEX (running ARM applications on x86)? Getting Android applications like YouTube or Netflix on Linux to make SteamOS more comparable to consoles?

So many potential use cases but only time will tell.

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Gustash 1 hour ago

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I don't see a code repo mentioned, and haven't found anything myself. If someone has a link, I'd love to see it.

Maybe they haven't open-sourced this yet because they don't consider it ready, but I hope they do open-source it like the other work they've been doing. Especially since it's based on Waydroid.

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fabertawe 55 minutes ago

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I was a bit "meh" on VR until the Steam Frame announcement but this is such an interesting and open device that I now can't wait to get one! It goes beyond just VR. Exciting times.

Last edited by fabertawe on 2 Dec 2025 at 2:59 pm UTC

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