Nintendo Switch Gets the Android Treatment Unofficially

While the Nintendo Switch continues to sell globally, some keen developers at the XDA forums have decided to port Android onto the handheld console. This custom firmware runs Android 8.1 Oreo and is based off of LineageOS 15.1. The firmware is far from perfect and reportedly has some issues with regards to battery life and auto rotation among other things.

The ROM can also run games designed for the NVIDIA Shield TV, which opens up gaming opportunities that are lacking on other non-NVIDIA Android devices. However, getting the ROM installed on your Switch isn’t that simple. There are reports that newer models of the Switch may not allow this. So it’s safe to say that if you brick the device during the firmware installation, Nintendo may not honor warranty or even repair requests.

So how do you know if your Switch is hackable? Well, if your Switch can boot into the Hekate tool, half of the job is pretty much done. While this Android port may not be good enough to replace the stock Nintendo Switch OS, gamers will welcome the fact that this can run Shield-exclusive games like Half Life 2, Borderlands 2, and several others.

This procedure may take some custom ROM knowhow, so it’s definitely not meant to be tried by everyone. However, if you’re curious enough to try, be sure to know that you are voiding the console’s warranty by doing so. For keen developers, however, this is definitely worth a try to see how the form factor adjusts to Android.

Source: XDA Forums

Via: Engadget, Wololo.net