Nexphone dual boots into Windows • The Register
Nexphone dual boots into Windows • The Register
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/27/nex_brax_dualboot_fondleslabs/
Publish Date: 2026-01-27 13:57:00
Source Domain: www.theregister.com
For most mobile devices, the OS is either Android or iOS, but a pair of new systems promises a host of additional OS options you can dual boot into. The Android phone can run Linux and boot into Windows 11 where it functions as a PC while the tablet runs a smorgasbord of Google-free OSes.
Nex
Nex comes first, if only by age. It’s launching the NexPhone. This is a decently specced Android phone, but with one unusual feature and one that we’ve not heard about before. The first is that, along with a clean copy of Android 16 with its own desktop mode, it will also include a bundled Debian Linux VM for running hardware-accelerated desktop Linux apps.
In addition, for a denser desktop experience, the device dual-boots with a copy of Windows 11 for Arm64, meaning that you can reboot into Windows; attach a screen, keyboard, and mouse with the bundled USB-C hub; and have a pocketable desktop computer.
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The company behind the device, Nex, has been around for a decade: The Register covered the launch of the NexDock 2 in 2019 and a year later got its talons on one. A later version, the NexDock 360, is sold alongside Puri.sm’s Librem 5 Linux phone. Founder and CEO Emre Kosmaz has a blog post explaining the history and inspiration behind the device.
Nex plans to start shipping the NexPhone in the third quarter of 2026. For now, Nex is asking for a $199 downpayment to reserve a phone, with another $350 to pay when the devices start shipping.
Brax
Brax Technologies is a newer company, started by prolific – and sometimes controversial – Youtuber Robert Braxman. Following the Brax2 phone in 2022, last year Brax successfully crowdfunded a $300 Google-free Android phone, the Brax3, on Indiegogo. It runs French de-Googled Android variant iodéOS, raised over $1M in backing, and started shipping in May 2025.
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This year, Brax is…
