Android is based on Linux, but it's not traditional Linux. It's tailored to run on mobile devices. ChromeOS is not Linux either, or at least it doesn't appear as such in any statistics, but it's a bit closer to being one. Google has long allowed users of its desktop operating system to install Debian in a container, and Linux applications such as Kdenlive can be installed in it.
What is making news these days is that Google is doing the same thing, but for your mobile operating system. The latest versions of Android Open Source Project (AOSP) include the tag ferrochrome-dev-option that allow you to use the Linux terminal. This application is part of the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), and includes a WebView that connects Linux to a virtual machine via a local IP, allowing users to run linux commands.
Android Subsystem for Linux?
As part of Windows 10, Microsoft introduced Windows Subsystem for Linux, a way to install Linux inside Windows that allowed us to use Linux from the terminal. Later, in addition to making it easier to install, it also allowed us to install and run applications with user interface. For now, Google's work is focusing on the first.
Where all this leads remains to be seen, and whether it turns out to be as useful as it is on ChromeOS. If so, you could use Linux desktop apps on Android, and I think that's probably the case. Of course, for many, it's not necessary, since Android has apps for everything, but would open up a whole range of possibilities. In addition to being able to use all kinds of command line tools, it can also make things easier for developers.
Google is still working to refine its terminal and AVF application before officially releasing this feature.