Android port for Nintendo Switch reportedly nearly ready to go

According to the latest reports, the Nintendo Switch will be updated this year with not one but two variants. In this case, what could owners of the first-gen console do with their slightly outdated hardware? They may have one interesting option soon: install Android and run it, rather than its existing stock software, on the hybrid tablet.

Porting a different OS to this system could have a number of advantages and intriguing diversions, including playing Android-only games, which may also be mirrored on a full-sized screen. This is just one function of the software conversion, which is currently in the works on the part of a team of independent developers.

Android on this hardware is a viable project: the core tablet component has the same Tegra X1 chipset found in the NVIDIA SHIELD TV device, and Linux has also been ported to the console. A team that includes known XDA and LineageOS contributors ByLaws and langer_hans have worked on this possibility since February 2019.

At the time of writing, they have succeeded in getting the OS to boot on the device. In addition, WiFi now works on this port, as does the Nintendo Switch audio system. Furthermore, the group also now asserts that Discord and Chrome are now usable on the Switch in question - not to mention the game Portal for Android.

However, there are various strides left to be made with this project. They include the provision of more stable overclocking; more accurate auto-rotation; the integration of JoyCons within the UI, and the ability to install TWRP recovery (an interface in which ROMs are installed or wiped) on the Nintendo Switch.