A homebrew developer is attempting to get Android up and running on the Nintendo Switch.
As first spotted by XDA, developer ‘ByLaws’ is trying to get Google’s smartphone and tablet operating system to work on Nintendo’s home console-portable hybrid system.
Given the vibrant homebrew community that has cropped up around Nintendo’s system over the last few months, it’s not surprising someone is trying to get Android running on the handheld. For instance, a few months ago a developer got Linux to work on the system.
Not my work but worth sharing pic.twitter.com/XKctcJSZoo
— natinusala_ctx_t (@natinusala) February 12, 2019
In an amusing turn of events, rumours circulated prior to the Switch’s official reveal that Nintendo was actually considering using Android as the system’s official operating system. The Switch runs on a custom version of Nvidia’s Tegra X1 chip, the same processor featured in devices like the powerful Nvidia Shield set-top box. As a result, it would have theoretically been easy for Nintendo to optimize Android for the Switch.
As it stands, Google’s operating system won’t boot past the ‘Android’ startup screen, according to XDA Developers. The site also reports that ByLaws will also likely run into touchscreen issues as well. Further, it’s unlikely the Switch’s Joy-Cons or even dock would be able to work with the OS.
Still, even with the technical shortcomings, it’s fascinating to see someone is attempting to get Google’s operating system to work on Nintendo’s video game console.
Source: XDA Developers
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